For all of you who, like myself, like the occasional glass or two of wine:
THERE IS GOOD NEWS!
Wine is the latest alternative measure against COVID-19.
This, at least, is what an article sent to me seems to suggest: 
At the end of the year, American researchers showed in-vitro that polyphenols in grapes and wine disrupt the way the Sars-Cov2 virus that causes Covid-19 replicates and spreads.
The Taiwan Medical University found that the tannins in wine effectively inhibit the activity of two key enzymes of the virus, which can no longer penetrate cell tissue.
“Of all the natural compounds we have tested in the laboratory, tannic acid is the most effective,” said Mien-Chie Hung, a molecular biologist and president of the university, on TVBS. He also recalled the good results obtained with experimental tannic acid treatments in 2003 during the SARS pandemic.
Now I understand why I haven’t caught the bug yet, I thought to myself, while pouring a large glass of red Bordeaux, my favorite. After yet another glass, I began to feel bad. No, not because of an alcohol overdose. Because I omitted something that might be not unimportant: I should really have told you who sent me the article. It was a source entirely devoted to the promotion of wine, a source related to my wine merchant.
Ah well, I thought, pouring a further glass.
When, many hours later, I had finally sobered up, I decided to conduct a few Medline searches. This is when I found this:
- A very large case-control study concluded that red wine, white wine, and champagne have chances to reduce the risk of COVID-19.
- A review of natural compounds with potential against COVID concluded that red wine, Chinese hawthorn, and blackberry were recommended as supplements because they contained antiviral phytocompounds.
Greatly encouraged, I poured another glass.
PS
As, in my experience, COVID deniers are not the brightest buttons in the drawer, I should point out that THIS POST IS MEANT TO BE SATIRE.
17 Responses to In vino veritas … + the bonus of a protection against COVID-19?
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It’s not real? Shame! Anyway, I’d have thought a cup of tea might be higher in tannic acid than a glass of wine?
it might not be real but it is the 1st fun therapy against COVID
Certainly preferable to drinking bleach or injecting ultra-violent radiation (UV photons are violent).
I think there is another important fact. Taking a glass of wine is an excellent test if you are infected. If you still taste it, you have not lost your sense of smell and taste, which is a common sign of Covid infection. To be sure, I advise to take another glass, and maybe a third as well. A slight headache the next morning might be a sign, that another winetest is required.
one might even design an entirely new COVID test:
it consists of a blind tasting of 1 glass each of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Aussi Shiraz, Chilean Malbec.
if you cannot tell the difference, you are COVID positive.
if you get 2 or more wrong, you must repeat the test.
… and of course, the test would be free.
One cannot but reflect, in the present discussion, on how small serendipitous observations can lead to powerfully effective new approaches. Consider Dr. William Withering (1741-1799) whose observation regarding Foxgloves (Digitalis pupurea) led to an effective cardiac medication that is still widely used today.
Clearly (or as clearly as the glasses of wine will permit), we are seeing the emergence of a powerul new diagnostic and therapeutic modality!
In vino, sanitatem!
(Do Cognac and Armagnac also work??)
Do Cognac and Armagnac also work?
Whenever I tried, I cannot remember the outcome next day.
Ahhhhh….
As far as I know digitalis (Digoxin) is no longer used. Better and safer drugs have replaced it. Even if it is a purified and standardised ‘natural’ substance found in a plant, it has a narrow safety margin and common adverse effects.
Fair enough!
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cannabis-cbd-could-prevent-covid-19-infection-in-human-cells
Great, I thought marijuana is the latest wonder drug against COVID.
I guess, bottle of bleach and horsey pills are old school now. Can’t wait for antivaxers to show up to work drunk and high as a kite.
Thank you, Edzard, for that space between your text and the PS. This makes it a lot easier to screenshot it as evidence. BTW: I would appreciate if you would add the wine from my home region (“Badischer Wein”) to your test procedure.
Baden wine is ineffective for basic scientific reasons. Franconian wine shows high effect size – especially combined with bratwurst.
Yes, of course, Joseph, anybody with just a minimum sense of taste left will be able to recognise the difference between any decent wine and this stuff they have to do with in Franconia.
Norbert, your answer seems a little biased by local patriotism. Where is the evidence? Maybe on occasion we should do a controlled trial.
Yes of course, we should give it a try.
My judgement, I have to confess, is mostly based on personal experience alone. Anecdotal evidence. When I lived in Franconia, quite a few years ago, they did not grow any red whine there – and the white wine from that area most of the time gave me heartburns. Which the wines from my current region, where Switzerland, France and Germany meet, never did.
More research seems warranted and badly needed.
Fairly lax controls might be appropriate…..