Deputy Secretary CSIR and wife die after taking Baba Ramdev’s prescription

(TheMedGuru) The juice of bottle gourd, the long green vegetable known by different names like lauki, ghiya and doodhi, abhorred by children, but widely recommended by yoga guru Baba Ramdev claimed the life of a scientist, Sushil Kumar Saxena, deputy secretary with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in New Delhi.

Sushil Saxena, and his wife Neeraj, both diabetics had been consuming juice of lauki and bitter gourd regularly for over four years. They were inspired to follow the herbal remedy for their ailment after watching Baba Ramdev’s programme on TV.

Their daily regime was consuming a concoction of 'lauki'and 'karela' juice with black salt. 

"No doctor told us to have vegetable juice. We were inspired by Baba Ramdev's suggestions and his programmes on the television. I will never ever listen to his suggestions again," stated Neeraj. 

Couple taken ill after consuming lauki juice

The couple fell sick after drinking the fresh juice which had gone bitter. It began with severe stomach cramps, but soon they were both vomiting blood and were rushed to the CGHS dispensary. 

However, Sushil’s condition deteriorated and he was shifted to Rockland Hospital, but passed away before the doctors could examine him. 

Neeraj, managed a narrow escape, perhaps because she had consumed a smaller amount of juice. 

An endoscopy revealed the presence of toxins. Her entire stomach was inflamed and she had ulcers. The doctors had to put her on intravenous fluids for two to three days and clean the stomach. 

Though, stated to be out of danger she is still under observation.

Tangy juice cause of death

Meanwhile, the medical report on Sushil’s death has confirmed that the cause was poisoning from the tangy juice of bottle gourd.

Dr M P Sharma, former head of the gastroenterology department at AIIMS and now working with Rockland Hospital stated,

 "Saxena was brought dead to us while Neeraj was in a bad condition. It was a case of bottle gourd poisoning. 

"An endoscopy revealed that his stomach was profusely bleeding. The deceased had consumed 250 ml of the juice while his wife had consumed 150ml of the same juice.”

Giving some insight into the dangers associated with herbal remedies, Dr Sharma explained that vegetables like bottle gourd, cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melon, though healthy can turn lethal if the bitter parts are not removed before eating.

These parts have harmful toxins called tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins compound which can be very poisonous if they taste unusually bitter.

Experts advise diabetic patients not follow traditional remedies as mainstream treatment for diabetes