The homemade trick ensures that potatoes absorb impurities from the body overnight and help cure colds, but it has no scientific support.
With the arrival of colder weather, more colds and viruses also arrive. And if put a piece of raw potato inside your socks overnight is the holy medicine?
This is what a homemade recipe that went viral on TikTok consists of, with its fans claiming that putting slices of raw potato in your socks while you sleep can extract toxins and speed up recovery and that the darkening of potatoes in the morning indicates that absorbed impurities from the body.
However, there is bad news for those who were hoping that potatoes were the miracle cure for their cold, as, despite its popularity with internet users, this trick has no scientific basis.
According to doctors, the idea that viruses or bacteria can be extracted from the body through the skin and transferred to food defies basic principles of biology. “This would mean that the virus or bacteria would need to be extracted from the blood, pass through the skin and tissues and reach the potato. It’s a long way for a disease or toxin to travel,” explains doctor Joanna Parga-Belinkie, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, to .
The discoloration of potato slices, often cited as evidence that the medicine is working, is simply a natural chemical reaction. Potatoes, which contain iron and starch, darken when exposed to oxygen and this process occurs regardless of whether they are placed in socks or not.
Experts note that reports of symptom relief are most likely the result of the placebo effectin which patients feel better after receiving treatment without physiological activity. Placebos can produce real improvements, illustrating the power of the brain-body connection. Furthermore, many cold and flu viruses begin to resolve naturally around the fifth day of illness, which means that improvement may just coincide with the use of home remedies and not be a result of them.
Although the tendency to put potatoes in socks is generally harmless, there are some risks. Potatoes can occasionally cause allergic skin reactionssuch as dermatitis. More concerning is the potential for bacterial and fungal growth when placing cut produce in a warm, moist environment like a sock. “This would have the opposite effect to what people expect,” warns Parga-Belinkie.
The consensus is clear: potatoes in socks do not extract toxins, cure colds or prevent infections.
