
Your Anti-Covid Mocktails could take you to hospital before Covid-19 does
2020 hasn’t been most people’s cup of tea. We saw the worst of many things this year, and worst of all, we saw the worst of pandemics the modern world has seen, COVID-19 . we have lost friends, relatives, religious leaders, government leaders and worst of all, we have lost health workers who sacrificed their lives to give other people life. May their souls rest in peace.

The scares of COVID-19 have followed us even to our dreams. Many people must have dreamt being in ICU , bedridden, or quarantined because of this deadly pandemic. I for one have undergone 14 days of complete isolation following contact with a COVID-19 PCR positive patient months ago while on duty. Currently, the story is different. Been in contact with many, but I didn’t need isolation , so have many health workers today.
Going back to the scares of COVID-19, many people have resorted to taking mocktail combinations with lemon, ginger, garlic , pineapple etcetera, all to boost our immunity. Others go ahead to take azithromycin, vitamin C and Zinc daily. Some are counting months as I speak today. But surely, you don’t need to be taking Azithromycin daily when you aren’t sick . You don’t!
These juices have led to yet another “pandemic” . Every one is coming to hospital with one major concern, epigastric pain. I can assure you that 6 of 10 patients I see in the outpatient department will have this complaint alongside their other complaints. And about 5 of 6 have consumed this juice mixture in the last 8 days. (Completely anecdotal). It’s not just the adults, the children too. The adults feed these mocktails to the children too.
For some of our bodies, we have a high acid production in the stomach. Supplementing this with more acids which we consume in these drinks worsens this and isn’t good for our stomach wall lining. It can predispose us to gastric ulcers (call them stomach wounds) or could worsen already existing ones. It can also worsen an existing H.pylori (a type of bacteria ) infection. If not well treated, it can lead to perforations or in long term predispose us to stomach cancers. Ofcourse the riskfactors and foods which triggers these symptoms are way more than those listed .
You don’t want to survive one pandemic and succumb to other nasty things that could have been prevented. You could take these mixtures in moderation, or even do away with them and take Vitamin C supplements instead. Exercise, wear a mask , wash hands, and maintain social distancing.
I wish you a happy and healthy living.