(ORDO NEWS) — From the very beginning of the pandemic, many people are interested in the question – does alcohol help as a prevention of coronavirus? Most doctors agree that alcohol should be avoided. However, the latest study by Chinese scientists suggests that not everything is so simple.
The impact on the body largely depends on the type of drink and the dose of consumption. According to researchers, people who drink unfortified red wine every week have a 17% reduced risk of contracting the coronavirus. But beer lovers, scientists upset – the consumption of this drink, on the contrary, increases the risk of disease. This conclusion was reached by the staff of the Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, who analyzed the drinking habits of more than 470,000 people.
Which alcoholic beverages reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus
Since the relationship between COVID-19 infection and alcohol consumption, i.e. frequency, dose of consumption, type and subtype of drinks consumed, had not been previously investigated, Chinese scientists decided to conduct a study on their own.
It was attended by almost 500 thousand people with an average age of 69 years. That is, the most vulnerable part of the population was taken into account. More than 16,000 study participants were infected with COVID-19.
For convenience, all people were divided into several groups: drinkers, drinkers in the past and non-drinkers. Also, according to the frequency of consumption, they were divided into three groups: consuming less than three times a week, consuming more than three times a week, and never drinking.
The results showed that the consumption of red wine, as well as white wine and champagne, has a protective effect on the body, preventing coronavirus disease. Red wine turned out to be the most effective – it reduces the risk of the disease, as mentioned above, by 10-17%. Moreover, the consumption of red unfortified wine provides a protective effect when consuming a drink in an amount from one to more than five glasses per week.
As for red fortified wine, the protective effect occurs only when consuming a small amount of it – up to three glasses a week. With a greater consumption of strong wine, the risk of infection decreases slightly.
White wine and champagne showed less effectiveness – when consuming no more than four glasses a week, the risk of infection is reduced by 7-8%. When drinking more of these drinks, the protective effect is reduced. Scientists report this in their study, which was published in Frontiers in Nutrition.
Which Alcoholic Drinks Increase Your Risk of Coronavirus?
The authors of the work also investigated the relationship between the risk of contracting COVID-19 and other drinks. In particular, they were interested in beer and cider.
It turned out that these drinks, regardless of the frequency and amount of consumption, increase the risk of coronavirus by 7-28%. In addition, the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages in the amount of more than five machines per week also increases the risk of the disease.
But, the most interesting thing is that scientists have not been able to identify the relationship between mortality from COVID-19 and the consumption of any alcoholic beverages in any quantities.
True, it should be borne in mind that among the participants in the study there were no alcoholics who consume alcoholic beverages in excessive quantities. Therefore, the association between excessive alcohol consumption and COVID-19 mortality needs to be further explored.
Why wine protects against coronavirus
Let me remind you that the consumption of red wine in moderation, especially dry wine, has a number of other positive effects on the body, as we talked about earlier. As for protection against coronavirus, scientists attribute this property to the high content of polyphenols in the drink, which have antioxidant properties.
Red wine contains a large amount of phenolic compounds such as stilbenes, proanthocyanidins and resveratrol. They lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and also suppress viruses that affect the respiratory tract.
It should be noted that beer also contains polyphenols, such as chalcones and flavanones, but it does not have a protective effect. This is most likely due to the fact that only a certain class of polyphenolic components can reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. It is also obvious that alcohol itself does not have any positive properties.
Scientists plan to conduct additional research on polyphenols to find out which components reduce the risk of coronavirus infection and how. Let me remind you that according to one study, smoking can also reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, but at the same time it increases the risk of severe illness and death.
Finally, I note that in any case, a healthy lifestyle should be a priority in the field of coronavirus prevention. Given the latest data from Chinese scientists, it is worth abandoning the consumption of beer and cider during the pandemic.
Regarding red wine, it should be taken into account that the results have not yet been confirmed by other studies. In addition, the consumption of alcohol, even dry red wine, has a number of contraindications. Therefore, do not take this material as a call to action.
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