Run Away!’ Abuja Kidney Specialist Issues Strong Warning Over Viral Herbal Teas
‘Run Away!’ Abuja Kidney Specialist Issues Strong Warning Over Viral Herbal Teas
A Federal Medical Center, Jabi, Abuja doctor specialising in nephrology has issued a stark warning on TikTok about so-called herbal “cure-all” teas, saying they can push users from healthy to dialysis in weeks.
In a viral video, Dr Maryam Ahmed Almustapha called out products marketed online as “hypertension curing tea,” “diabetes blasting tea,” “body flushing cleansing tea,” and “weight loss tea.”
“So, free advice from an aspiring nephrologist. I’ve been seeing so many funny things online. Avoid anything that says ‘hypertension curing tea,’ ‘diabetes blasting tea,’ ‘body flushing cleansing tea,’ ‘weight loss tea’—all!” she said.
“When you see something like that, run away. Because the next thing you know, now it’s acute tubular necrosis; you’re suddenly anuric. We’re trying to open up your kidneys—oops, unsuccessful. Dialysis. Oh no, the dialysis is not working. Dialysis, dialysis, dialysis,” Dr Almustapha warned.
She explained that patients often end up with chronic kidney disease from unregulated teas and end up in clinic every one to three months.
“The next thing you know, you’ve developed chronic kidney disease and you’re seeing us in clinic every one to three months, spending money on medications when you could have used just one-fifth of that on one or two drugs—but taking it will take you one or three seconds per day,” she said.
Dr Almustapha, who is currently specialising in nephrology at FMC Jabi, ended with a plea: “Try to avoid causing problems for yourself, please.”
Her video comes amid a surge of social media ads pushing “natural” teas as quick fixes for hypertension, diabetes and weight loss. Nephrologists warn many contain unknown herbs or high doses of diuretics and laxatives that can trigger acute kidney injury, especially in people with underlying conditions.
