Drinking tea and wine might help ending flu faster
When flu hits and you want to stop it in its tracks, the answer usually lies in a heavy dose of vitamin C and plenty of rest.
However, new research shows that the best remedy might be hidden in a glass of wine or a cup of tea. The study was conducted by scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine and publushed in the journal Science. It concluded that a compound specific to certain foods like red wine, black tea and blueberries might help gut bacteria fight infections and prevent severe flu.
The researchers explained that the flavonoids found in wine and tea worked with a specific gut microbiome, clostridum oribiscidens, to create a metabolite that improves the immune response. The flu symptoms lessen and the recovery time is reduced as a result, as the Independent reports.
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“For years, flavonoids have been thought to have protective properties that help regulate the immune system to fight infections,” said Ashley Steed, the study’s author. “Flavonoids are common in our diets, so an important implication of our study is that it’s possible flavonoids work with gut microbes to protect us from flu and other viral infections. Obviously, we need to learn more, but our results are intriguing.”
However, the study was only performed on mice and is yet to be tested on humans with flu symptoms. The definitive effect that flavonoids-containing foods have on health remains unclear until then.
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