Drinking wine, a cure for Covid-19? Grandmother's remedies are making a comeback, and some claim that drinking wine protects against coronavirus. Except that, as often, if the study was well conducted, the results have been extrapolated.
Against Covid-19, we've heard everything, sometimes wacky remedies for others, which are adorned with science. One year that more or less high hopes are born and are disappointed to prevent the virus. The last example is very Latin: a study which affirmed that drinking wine protects against Sars Cov-2. So put that bottle down, that's another hasty conclusion.
Beware of the misuse of science: a single study does not allow definitive conclusions
An article from the Futura Sciences site dissects this infox in a very educational way, which suggests that drinking wine protects against infection with the coronavirus. The announcement is enticing. However, it is the result of an extreme extrapolation of scientific results. First, Futura recalls, a study does not allow definitive conclusions to be drawn. In order for it to acquire a scientific and definitive character, the results of several different studies must converge. Then, the results obtained must be tested empirically.
If we take the study in question, the lab experiments conclude that certain compounds present in wine inhibit two key enzymes of the coronavirus, which then could no longer enter human cells. However, that's not to say that it works in real life. This is the whole difference between the experiments which take place "in vitro", under laboratory conditions, and what takes place "in vivo", in real life, here when transposed to humans and no longer in the form of simple cell cultures in test tubes. Finally, if tannic acid would inhibit the coronavirus and it is present in wine, it is not its only component. However, the different components of a food interfere with each other in complex ways. We cannot therefore draw the conclusion that wine truly protects against the virus. He might even do more damage than anything else …
Against the virus, the "Château Gestes Barrières"
Alcohol consumption can do a lot of damage to your health. Because if it contains these famous tannic acids, wine contains mostly alcohol. This is bad for you when the maximum dose recommended by the World Health Organization is exceeded – one drink per day not every day. In addition, although hydroalcoholic gel is recommended for disinfecting your hands, there is no need to rely on alcohol to disinfect your mouth and throat. The only effective bottle, therefore, is the hydroalcoholic gel on the hands, supplemented by other barrier actions: ventilate, wear a mask, keep a distance from others.