Reality Check: Guyabano Juice won’t cure cancer, says FDA

Just to be clear: no, guyabano juice does not cure cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released Advisory No. 2016-055 informing the public that the claimed therapeutic effects of a certain product simply branded as “Guyabano Juice” are yet to be proven. More importantly, this juice is not registered with the FDA, contrary to its label.

Part of the advisory reads, “Taking food and/or food supplements that have not undergone evaluation and testing in terms of safety and quality may present harmful effects to one’s health. Food products including food supplements should not bear any misleading, deceptive, and false claims in their labels and/or any promotional materials that will provide erroneous impression on products’ character or identity.”

The posts about the alleged miraculous health benefits of this guyabano juice are prevalent on social media, ranging from the believable “it boosts good cholesterol level” to the preposterous “10,000 times stronger than the drug used in chemotherapy.”