Experts rubbish claims garlic and betel leaves can reduce blood pressure and sugar level

"Place five cloves of garlic onto a betel leaf and chew thoroughly, then swallow it. Afterwards, drink only a small amount of water. Soon after, you'll experience a remarkable decrease in symptoms of hypertension and diabetes," reads part of a Burmese-language Facebook post shared on August 20, 2025. 

"With prolonged use, hypertension and diabetes will go away," it goes on to say.

The post includes an image of five cloves of garlic placed over betel leaves. 

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on August 26, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The false claim has circulated on social media at least since 2021.

But experts said there is no scientific evidence that chewing garlic and betel leaves can cure hypertension and diabetes.

"Garlic might help slightly lower blood pressure, but it's not a cure, and betel leaves don't have proven benefits for these diseases," Dr Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw, a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health, told AFP on August 21 in an email (archived link).

She went on to say that herbal remedies are not substitutes for proper medical care. 

Dr Thurein Hlaing Win, country manager of the Myanmar healthcare website Hello Sayarwon, also rejected the false claim in an email to AFP on August 22, adding it would delay proper treatment and allow "blood pressure and blood sugar levels to remain dangerously high" (archived here and here).

"This uncontrolled state significantly increases the risk of life-threatening complications, including heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, nerve damage, and vision loss," he said.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Singapore General Hospital, there is no cure for either diabetes or hypertension, but keeping a healthy weight through diet and regular exercise can help people achieve the optimal level of both blood pressure and sugar (archived here and here). 

The World Health Organization said the availability of affordable treatment, including insulin, is crucial for diabetes patients (archived link). 

AFP previously debunked health claims related to herbal remedies here, here and here.