Dr Hilary Jones debunked the latest TikTok craze on Lorraine this morning - insisting there's "no evidence" drinking lettuce water can aid sleep.
The TV doctor was discussing the trend for lettuce tea with Lorraine Kelly in the health section of her popular breakfast show.
Introducing the item with footage of a TikToker is explaining how to make the drink, Lorraine asked her viewers, "Would you try lettuce tea? Apparently it’s gained an awful lot of popularity on social media."
The short film showed a man saying, "Supposedly if you boil romaine lettuce and drink the liquid, it’ll make you sleepy.”
Lorraine laughed as she continued, "Videos like that, using the hashtag 'lettuce water' are getting over 27.5 million views. "
She dismissed the idea, saying "Yup, people with a lot of time on their hands."
Turning to the medic, she asked, "They’re claimed it helps them fall asleep. Hilary, what do you think?"
Dr Hilary, 68, joked, “Lettuce pray,” and said “I don’t know” before the pair picked up mason jar glasses full of the concoction and had a good sniff.
"Taste it, it smells like damp…" urged the medic.
Lorraine replied, “Oooh, it smells horrible, it smells like boys socks."
As she put the drink down, she said, “I’m gonna give it a bye,”
Hilary agreed, saying, "Yeah it’s not the best taste."
He quickly poured scorn on the idea that lettuce tea could help anyone nod off, saying "There is no evidence whatsoever that I can that that would make you sleep. It might have calming properties, I suppose. "
He then went on to explain the science behind the fad, to a visibly baffled Lorraine. “It’s meant to release lactucarium...
"It's a phyto-nutrient, but there’s no data, at all to support the 27 million people on social media saying this is the thing to have."
As far as chemistry is concerned, Hilary is absolutely right of course. Lactucarium is a milky substance that is present in several types of lettuce, and is reported to have sleep-inducing and pain-relieving properties.
Some even say if you eat enough of it, it produces mild sensations of euphoria.
Lorraine then asked, “But it’s not going to do any harm?"
The doc confirmed, saying, "It’s not going to do you any harm. If you did want anything to help you sleep I would say nuts or eggs which contain tryptophan, that’s a chemical that does help you sleep.”
Once again, the doc was spot-on, as your body changes tryptophan into a brain chemical called serotonin. This helps control your mood and sleep patterns.
A surprised Lorraine replied "OK" as Hilary introduced a slightly less medical source for his knowledge, mentioning the author of dozens of children's books, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny.
"But yeah, I mean I wouldn’t swear by it," he added. "But Beatrix Potter did, of course, she said all rabbits that over-indulged in lettuce in her garden all fell asleep."
An amazed Lorraine replied, "Did they?"
" Well, we do after food, don’t we?" responded Hilary.
"That’s true," admitted Lorraine, who then joked, " I don’t think lettuce is food!”
Hilary has been the medical expert on ITV's morning shows for more than 30 years.
During the pandemic, he was on Good Morning Britain every day last year to allay viewers' fears about coronavirus.
He was awarded the MBE last year for his services to broadcasting, public health information and charity.
