A claim going viral on different social media platforms states that using ginger oil on one's belly button helps in reducing body weight and burning fat.
However, we found that the claim is false. We reached out to health experts in the field of Ayurveda and modern medicine doctors, and both refuted the claim stated in the viral posts. Both, however, noted that consuming ginger in a prescribed amount can help in weight loss and burning fat.
CLAIM
Claims along with these videos and photos were often made by people who were selling the product. One such post said, "Tired of all that flab? Get rid of them for good using our Belly Drainer Ginger Oil ✨✨ 50% OFF".
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We spoke with Shweta Mahadik, Clinical Nutritionist in Fortis Hospital Kalyan. She dismissed the claim and said that there is no scientific evidence to prove that rubbing ginger oil on one's belly button can help in reducing weight.
We also spoke with Krushna Pankaj Naram, Ayurvedacharya of Ayushakti Ayurveda, who said that the claim was not true. "Only rubbing ginger oil can never help you lose weight. It may make you feel warm from the inside and generate heat in the body but that is just because of the elements present in it," Naram said.
"Fat loss doesn’t happen overnight, it happens with much deeper methods and is a continuous process that requires efforts, exercising, certain diets which will actually help you to lose fat and remain thin once you lose it," he added.
Studies on Ingesting Ginger For Weight Loss
We also looked up medical journals to see if there have been any studies conducted on the use of ginger oil for reducing weight/burning fat and were not able to find anything.
However, we did find studies on the consumption of ginger for weight loss. A paper published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition noted that ginger intake reduced body weight, waist-to-hip ratio and increased HDL cholesterol.
Similarly, another study conducted in Saudi Arabia and published in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) journal made similar conclusions.
Mahadik also agreed and said, "As per one of the studies, overweight men who consumed ginger feel full for a longer time, while another study found ginger has a significant effect on body weight and belly fat (waist-to-hip ratio)."
"Gingerols encourage certain biological activities in your body. They have an anti-obesity effect, and it helps food to digest faster and stimulates the body to speed digested food through the colon," Mahadik added.
Talking about the consumption of ginger for weight loss, Naram said, "There are toxins present in our blood supply channel and arteries that form a layer of fat over our pancreas, which slows down our metabolism and leads to more fat development in our body. Ginger contains many anti-inflammatory properties which help to cut down toxic fat from our body."
Evidently, the claim that putting ginger oil on one's belly button reduces fat and body weight is false. There is no scientific evidence to prove that.
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