Ginger, turmeric, and ginger are good for increasing endurance, but not necessarily able to cure COVID-19.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 attacked, all products with claims of prevention and healing suddenly sold well on the market, not to mention the variety of archipelago spices such as ginger, turmeric, and ginger. They are believed to be able to increase endurance so that it can counteract the transmission of the corona virus.
Let's examine the health claims of materials that were the allure of the colonialism.
Before discussing the ingredients in ginger and other rhizome plants, we should first understand the immune system. The human body and animals have a unique mechanism to ward off various dangerous pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The "gatekeeper" mechanism of the immune system was discovered by Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann.
They revealed that the immune response has an innate and adaptive phase to ward off pathogens. As reported by the Nature page, pathogens invade the body through open wounds or mucosa. Therefore to prevent transmission of COVID-19, we are asked to diligently wash hands and avoid holding faces.
Because a virus-contaminated hand can become a medium of transmission when it touches the eyes, nose, or mouth. When it enters the body, pathogens will multiply and have a mission to damage cells in the body, aka making disease. But, their journey to reach this stage is not easy.
Pathogens will be blocked by macrophages (cells in the tissue in white blood) as the vanguard of body guards. The war between the two will invite reinforcements from other sidelines in the white blood tissue, called neutrophils. The second layer of the army is tasked with preventing pathogens from making further damage such as infections and diseases.
If the war is still fierce, then the dendritic cells that from the beginning oversee the course of the war will call in additional troops in the form of antigens. Then T cells and B cells advance to the battlefield against pantogens, they produce weapons in the form of antibodies to paralyze the enemy.
When the army wins against the enemy, the body cells that die from the war grow back. While immune cells that have finished work will commit suicide. But they leave memory cells that record the characteristics of enemies, these memory cells will recognize and kill the same enemy in the future and form adaptive immunity.
Thanks to comprehensive exposure from Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann, the world of modern medicine has finally found a way of developing, preventing and treating various kinds of infections, inflammatory diseases, and even cancer.
God Plant rhizomes
Ginger has long been believed to have the ability to relieve various symptoms of ailments such as colds, nausea, arthritis, migraines and hypertension. This fact is listed in the second edition of Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. This herb which is commonly consumed with honey offers anti-inflammatory compounds including antioxidants - substances that protect the body from damage by free radicals.
A study by Sepide Mahluji, et al (2013) concluded that ginger supplements taken orally succeeded in reducing inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes. Ginger supplements can also reduce digestive disorders, bloating, and intestinal cramps.
While other research published in the journal Ethnopharmacol (2013) mentions steeping fresh ginger - we know it as ginger - has antiviral properties and antibacterial properties. The research team found that ginger can counteract the virus that causes respiratory infections (HRSV).
It's just that the dose of ginger in the study averaged high doses, so the effect of the ginger "antidote" corona was unknown - the average dose was uncertain or the dose supervised by experts.
Chairperson of the Indonesian Medical Herbal Medicine Association (PDHMI) Hardhi Pranat called another herbal plant, turmeric containing curcumin which works to increase endurance. Similar benefits are provided by polyphenols in ginger. Turmeric also has anti-cataracts which can increase mucus production.
The mucus can help remove the virus when attacking the respiratory tract. It's just that Hardhi underlines these effects can only be obtained after consuming herbal rhizomes routinely in the long term.
Its usefulness also only helps increase endurance, not kill viruses or bacteria. Moreover, the corona virus in the drug's healing claim is not necessarily SARS-CoV-2 which triggers COVID-19. But corona virus can cause common colds.
"Don't compare ginger or turmeric like antibiotics (which kill bacteria)," Hardhi said.
The Solution Is Just Wash Your Hands
From Vietnam, which succeeded in healing all COVID-19 patients, Indonesia needs to learn that the government has a big role in prevention and treatment.
Dr Kidong Park, WHO representative in Vietnam, said Vietnam's success was the fruit of proactive and consistent government efforts. Two weeks after the COVID-19 case was first announced, the Ministry of Health of Vietnam immediately banned about 10,000 residents of Son Loi from leaving the house for 20 days.
They also closed schools, stopped imports, and banned the consumption of wild animals. At the same time the government is increasing intensive surveillance, laboratory testing, ensuring infection prevention and control and case management in health facilities, as well as providing risk communication, and multi-sectoral collaboration.
"At the healing stage the doctor will treat the patient's symptoms, patients are asked to undergo a strict nutritious diet. Then the level of oxygen saturation in a patient's blood is always monitored, "wrote Al Jazeera summarizing the efforts made in this country.
Do not forget the call to always wash hands, conduct temperature checks, and spray disinfectants in public places. Presumably by far the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is hand washing, while healing is still supportive.
WHO has also warned that antibiotics do not work to cure COVID-19 because they only function in bacterial infections. While viral infections such as SARS-CoV are only vaccines - not ginger or other gaps.
Most viruses (including SARS-CoV-2) are composed of RNA, proteins and lipids. Imagine the shape of this virus resembling a wall composed of bricks with an adhesive in the form of a combination of hydrogen bonds. They are increasingly firmly attached to rough surfaces such as wood, cloth, and leather because rough surfaces form more hydrogen bonds.
The strong foundation of a virus can only be broken down with moisture, sunlight (UV light), and heat (molecular motion). So washing your hands with soap has proven to be the most effective way to destroy a stronghold of the virus. Judging from its constituent structure, soap contains a fat-like substance known as amphiphiles (structurally similar to lipids in a viral membrane).
"Soap molecules compete with lipids and other non-covalent bonds that help proteins, RNAs and lipids stick together," explained Palli Thordarson, a chemist from the University of New South Wales, quoted by Market Watch.
In short, soap dissolves the glue that holds the virus together. Disinfectants, or liquids, tissues, gels, and creams that contain alcohol have a similar effect but are not as effective as soap. The antibacterial agents in these products do not affect the structure of the virus much.
It's okay to drink ginger and the like rhizome to strengthen the immune system. What's wrong is to think of everything as a COVID-19 drug. Though we have a more practical way, which is enough to wash hands with soap.
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