Is Black pepper, honey & ginger a remedy COVID-19? Fact Check on WHO 'approved' cure

A piece of news has been doing rounds on social media claiming that home remedies such as consuming black pepper, ginger, and honey offer a cure for COVID-19 disease. It claims that the remedy discovered by a student of Pondicherry University has also been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to Twitter on Sunday to fact-check the claim and said there is no home remedy for Coronavirus and nor has it been approved by WHO.

“It is being claimed in the news that a student of Pondicherry University has found home remedies for COVID-19 and it has also been approved by WHO. Do not share such confusing messages. Trust only the official sources for the correct information related to,” PIB tweeted.

Although ginger, honey, and black pepper provide some relief from a common cold, there is no scientific proof of it helping to fight COVID-19 or keep it away. WHO has also not approved of any home remedies for the disease to date.

Previously, PIB had fact-checked a similar claim of onions and rock salt curing COVID-19. “In a viral post and audio on social media, it is being claimed that intake of rock salt with raw onion helps in recovering from COVID-19. This claim is fake. There is no scientific evidence that raw onion and rock salt intake can treat the disease,” the bureau had tweeted last week.

How to build immunity in these times?

While there is no remedy for Coronavirus, experts suggest the use of ayurvedic health supplements to improve one's immune system. To boost immunity to deal with this pandemic, there are guidelines from the government that include adopting Ayurveda and Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) products, said senior government health official Dr Vinod Kumar Paul on Tuesday. 

Specific recommendations tell us to consume chyawanprash twice a day; have turmeric milk at least once in a day; it is extremely popular among masses we have found in our surveys; and a warm drink made from basil, cinnamon, and black pepper concoction should also be had, along with doing yoga to boost your immunity.