The simple and cheap drink may not work as well as you think
A doctor has warned people that one trend is nothing but a fad and it will not help you sleep. Talking on his BBC show, Dr Xand Con or Cure, the doctor called it “pointless” and urged people to instead speak to their GP.
Co-host and journalist Ashley John-Baptiste, recognisable to many as being from The X Factor, said it’s all about lettuce juice. “We are talking about lettuce juice, or lettuce or water, with claims online that it can help you with a good night’s sleep”, he said.
He noted it’s currently trending online, at the time of the show’s recording, with over 8 million views on TikTok. Joking that he uses it in hospitals, Dr Xand reveals: “There is some underlying science going back annoyingly 3,000 years to Pliny – a Greek kind of medical philosopher and he associates lettuce with sleep.”
He continued: “There is some science looking at chemicals, particularly romaine lettuce. Red romaine lettuce contains lactucin and lactucin is associated with sleep and there are some experiments in mice that suggest it may promote sleep, but there’s no good data to suggest that drinking lettuce water will put you to sleep.”
“I’m not opposed to people trying it because lettuce is fairly inexpensive”, he added. However it’s best to not waste your time, he advises and instead seek better ways to fall into a peaceful slumber.
Tasting the juice for himself, he said: “It tastes like lettuce water, it’s alright.
“Is it a con? Yes, it’s a con because you shouldn’t be getting your health advice on social media.
“If you’re really struggling with sleep and tiredness, engage with your healthcare provider because you may have something else going on. You might be anaemic, you may be pregnant, you might have a serious sleep disorder, you might have all kinds of things.
“So I think this story tells you people are desperate for sleep and want a kind of accessible, easy thing to do. Personally, I would not bother doing this. It’s not dangerous, but it is pointless.”
You can watch Dr Xand’s Con or Cure, Series 2: Episode 14 via BBC iPlayer here.
