In videos posted on social media, apparent doctors wearing white lab coats and a stethoscope around their necks frequently appear giving advice about natural remedies or tips on whitening teeth. But in many cases, these aren’t real doctors, but bots generated by artificial intelligence (AI) sharing medical advice with hundreds of thousands of followers. Not everything they say is true.

Can chia seeds help get a handle on diabetes?

Claim: One AI-generated bot on Facebook claimed that “Chia seeds can help get diabetes under control.” The video garnered over 40,000 likes, was shared more than 18,000 times, and generated over 2.1 million clicks.

Fact check: False.

Chia seeds are trendy, thanks to the many positive active agents they contain. They contain unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, essential amino acids, and vitamins. A 2021 report from the US found that chia seeds had a positive effect on consumers’ health. Participants with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension were found to have far lower blood pressure after ingesting a certain amount of chia seeds over several weeks. Another study from this year confirmed that chia seeds had antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, among other things.

So, chia seeds can have positive health effects for people struggling with diabetes. “But nobody said anything about a cure,” said Andreas Fritsche, a diabetologist at Tübingen University Hospital. He explained that there was no scientific evidence that chia seeds could cure...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihQFodHRwczovL2Zyb250bGluZS50aGVoaW5k...