Claim: Bottle gourd (lauki) can be used instead of blood thinners.

Fact: False. There is no credible scientific evidence that bottle gourd can replace medically prescribed blood thinners. While bottle gourd has some general health benefits, it does not have proven anticoagulant (blood-thinning) properties in humans.

First Check received a fact-check request on our tipline +91 9311223141 from one of our dedicated readers who shared a video titled “The Magic of Lauki!”. It makes a startling claim, that states a bottle gourd can be a substitute for blood thinners and can permanently replace it. 

“Bottle Gourd has got such strength for blood thinning that one bottle gourd in a juice or mixed in a paratha (similar to potato) can make one’s blood thin. One can consume this instead of blood thinning tablets that we consume daily, which harm our liver, kidney, and lead to ulcers in the stomach,” the speaker can be heard saying. “Bottle Gourd will not only heal all these issues along with keeping one’s blood thin thus not needing to consume blood thinner any longer.”

What does science say? 

Dr Vijay Lal Varma, a general physician and nutritionist at AIIMS, New Delhi dismisses the claim as false.

“I’ve never come across bottle gourd or any vegetable being used as a substitute for blood thinners. There are many popular home remedies which are being explored but gourds are not among them,” he told the First Check. “The popular ones I’ve heard are ginger, turmeric, garlic and some spices. But it is never recommended or safe that a person quit medication (blood thinners) and choose anything else.”

Some research papers have also warned that consuming large amounts of bottle gourd juice, especially if bitter, has been linked to severe toxicity, gastrointestinal bleeding, and even death in some cases. 

“Its consumption is advocated by traditional healers for controlling diabetes mellitus, hypertension, liver diseases, weight loss and other associated benefits,” says this study. “However, in the last few years there have been reports of suspected toxicity due to consumption of its juice.” 

Also read: Also read: Video warning against eating bitter gourd with ladyfinger gets 88 million FB views – First Check