If only high blood pressure could disappear forever.
A viral Facebook post claims Dr. Ben Carson has discovered how — with three natural ingredients.
The Jan. 10 post shows a screenshot of what looks like a CNN article with a photo of Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, former Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary. The headline says: “72-years-old Ben Carson: Do not kill the heart with chemistry! If your blood pressure is higher 140/80, drink two tablespoons of … “
The post includes a link to a bogus website hawking porcini oil.
“Dr. Ben Carson discovered 3 completely natural ingredients, and as a result, blood pressure disappeared forever,” the post’s caption reads.
This Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
We searched for this headline and found no articles from CNN or other credible news outlets that contained this information.
The photo of Carson in the post is neither recent, nor related to any comments he made on high blood pressure or porcini oil. A reverse-image search found the photo was taken in March 2016 at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
The same image of Carson was used in a scam ad shared on Facebook to sell CBD gummies to treat high blood pressure. PolitiFact rated that post False.
Although high blood pressure can be managed with regular monitoring, doctor-prescribed medications and a healthy diet, it’s so far incurable, according to the American Medical Association.
“There is no cure for high blood pressure, it is important for patients to take steps that matter, such as making effective lifestyle changes and taking (blood pressure)-lowering medications as prescribed by their physicians,” according to the group’s website.
We rate the claim that Dr. Ben Carson has discovered new ingredients to cure high blood pressure False.