Claim: A Combination of coconut water and lime juice boosts the sexual prowess of men
Source: Social media (Facebook and TikTok)
Verdict: False
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
GhanaFact has monitored a recent trend of social media videos showing coconut sellers adding lime juice to coconut water for customers. The trend has generated conversation on platforms including X, Facebook, and TikTok.
GhanaFact found a video of a man who identified himself as ‘Sir Money’ at a coconut joint, adding lime to his coconut water while touting specific health benefits of the mixture he was consuming.
Speaking in an indigenous Ghanaian language, Twi, he said, “When I am going on a long journey or when I get tired after a long day’s work, I take coconut water and lime. No energy drink can be compared to this. I, Sir Money, will not advertise anything inferior. This coconut seller is located at Koforidua House, Dome Pillar 2. He introduced me to it and ever since, I’ve never stopped going there.”
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In the same video, the coconut seller also said, “When you mix the lime with the coconut water and drink early morning on an empty stomach, not after you have eaten fufu and are satisfied, it does a lot of work in the body. If you think I am lying, Google has the evidence.”
In another video on Facebook, a man claimed that a lot of affluent people have called to show gratitude to him for sharing the mixture with them.
“Since I came up with this recipe, some affluent people both in Ghana and abroad have been calling to thank me. If you want to have sex like a grasscutter eating groundnut on the farm, get coconut water, pour it into a cup and squeeze three limes into it.”
Given the potential risk of the unverified health benefits associated with the mixture, GhanaFact decided to answer the question of whether or not coconut water and lime have any health benefits to the human system and sexual satisfaction.
Fact-check
GhanaFact traced the source of the trending video to a September 2024 Facebook post by a man who identified as a doctor on Secret of Health TV, advertising the mixture for sexual prowess.
“You know within yourself that your (sexual) performance is not going well. This is one remedy I will teach you. Go and get a fruit of coconut like this with water, and then you squeeze a full lime juice into your coconut,” the self-acclaimed doctor said.
So what does the expert say about coconut water and lime juice?
GhanaFact spoke with Zona Billey, a Nutrition Officer at the Korley Klottey Municipal Health Directorate, to establish whether the combination of coconut water and lime juice boosts the sexual prowess of men.
She told GhanaFact in an interview: “The short answer is no, but there’s a longer answer. Coconut water has a lot of benefits, as we all know, it keeps us hydrated and has a lot of electrolytes. Now, this helps to maintain fluid balance and maintain energy levels, and it also improves blood volume. So this can make you have a little bit more energy than you would on a usual day to do whatever activity you want to do, including sex, but it’s not an aphrodisiac.
“And then the lemon also gives us a lot of Vitamin C. It’s an antioxidant that increases blood flow naturally. Again, all these things work together to give you generally better energy, make you feel better on a normal day, for any activity, but this is not an aphrodisiac either. So combining them is not an aphrodisiac,” she said.
GhanaFact asked about the possible safety concerns raised online about this mixture, to which she said; “Actually, the lemon or lime is acidic, and the coconut is more alkaline on the other side. So, whatever reaction would happen would have happened before the combination in your system.
“The acidity in our guts is more than the acidity of the lime, so if the acidity in your gut is not even causing harm, then the lime. The lime is just a drop in the ocean. The coconut is alkaline, and the lime is acidic, so it already neutralises before it enters the system.”
However, “the acidity of lime may impact people with ulcers or those who already have diseases related to the ulcers,” she added.
Verdict
Coconut water and lime juice are beneficial to the human body, but their combination is not an aphrodisiac as claimed. Therefore, the viral claim is false.
