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With the second wave of COVID19 cases on the rise in India,
social media is exploding with misinformation about the novel coronavirus.
People are coming up with fresh and inventive ways to share advice that isn't
based on any scientific evidence. Any of it can also seem to be highly
compelling, making it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Earlier in March, a message suggested that the Chinese doctor who first discovered the deadly coronavirus had evidence that substances contained in tea would reduce the virus's effects. Earlier in March, a message suggested that the Chinese doctor who first discovered the deadly coronavirus had evidence that substances contained in tea would reduce the virus's effects.
Then there were tweets about how drinking hot lemon tea
could cure coronavirus. On Twitter and Facebook, viral reports about the
healing properties of teas ranging from black tea to Muellin tea have gone
viral.
Official science, according to a blog post, shows that
drinking tea will destroy the virus. “First, in vitro virus killing experiments
were conducted with tea water (2.5-10 mg/mL) at various concentrations, with
boiling water and commercially available drinking water serving as the
experimental control group,” according to the article.
The compounds that are thought to give tea its anti-COVID-19 properties — methylxanthines are organic compounds contained in tea, coffee, and chocolate; theophylline is a form of methylxanthine; theobromine acts as a bronchodilator (dilates the bronchi in the lungs) to relieve certain respiratory symptoms — are only found in small quantities in black tea.
They also have advantages. Theobromine has been shown to
reduce blood pressure, serve as a mild stimulant, and even help with cough
suppression. Theophylline has similar properties, such as the ability to
increase blood flow and ease breathing. Theophylline is also used to treat
asthma, but in much higher doses than tea.
Tea, on the other hand, cannot avoid or cure COVID-19. It may alleviate certain symptoms in principle, but it will not be able to combat the infection or disease itself. There has been no such study, and there is no empirical evidence to back up the argument.
The only cure is prevention:
Hand hygiene, social distancing, coughing in your elbow or a
towel, not rubbing your lips, and, if possible, self-isolation is the only
ways to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus.
Don't forget to take care even though you've been
vaccinated.
💕
