Do you know how to drink wine during quarantine?
A case study
“We are outnumbered, comrade COVID!” shouted the little Covid, crawling away trying to avoid contact with a giant Y-shaped creature chasing him and several others. As programmed, he had fulfilled his mission successfully; he had managed to pass through his designated alveolus cell’s ACE2 receptor and had managed to copy himself into hundreds, mission accomplished. He and his troop had then set off on a journey to move to other cells planning to float in that red stream when this happened. A group of giant Y-shaped creatures had attacked them and by now, several of his friends were dead, along with the cells they had invaded, leaving pus behind them, but the battle was still on and he had been trying to evade this last Y for a long time now.
It was in this heat that he called his commander, the head COVID who had led them here, in this host. The head COVID was said to have been in contact with their species’ chancellor, one who was never seen but was said to have created them all, long ago, in primeval times. His commander was, though, still in his designated cell, busy doing something in the nucleus; but to his astonishment, no copies were created out of the commander. The little Covid called out again and this time, his commander looked out of his cell and found him in that heated battlefield.
“We have to wait for the storm” he shouted to his soldier, sounding cooler than normal in this mess.
“What storm?” said the soldier, now with the tip of the Y very close to his epitope_ his hand and his key to open other cells. Once caught by the Y’s tip, he would be done, doomed forever.
“Yes, The cytokine storm. When that comes, they will all be killed. This is what the chancellor said. Just keep crawling away” said the commander, closely following what was happening.
And he was right, the cytokine storm could be called the fifth column in a host’s immune system’s army and he knew it. They were a blind army of freaks that would be unleashed at the time of crisis, and once they came, they would destroy everything, even their own soldiers, even the Vs, and everything.
The battle went on for a few more hours. After a long desperate struggle, the little Covid’s epitope was finally caught by the Y. He now stopped struggling and just looked to the cell where his commander was still doing some mysterious work.
“Comrade, comrade! We are doomed.. Everyone is dead”
“I know” the head COVID came out of the cell, smiling as if having accomplished something great.
“You betrayed us comrade!” shouted the soldier in disappointment “the storm was never meant to arrive. We have lost the war!”
“No!” said the commander calmly “the victory was meant for you to die and for me to accomplish my mission. Your death is a small price you pay for your species!”
The little Covid’s eyes were fixed on the head COVID in disbelief while he was being destroyed by the Y. The commander had successfully embedded his nucleic acid in that cell and would now leave that world, back to his limbo existence in the outside world.
Mystery explained
This battle supposedly took place in the body of a host, a 25-year-old patient, who was infected by the COVID-19 virus and was resting at home with a severe fever. Fortunately, she recovered a few days later.
The Y-shaped creatures were Antibodies produced by plasma cells. They are released to kill the pathogens invading cells.
The cytokine storm is an overreaction of the body’s immune system. In a cytokine storm, the number of cytokines soars and they start to even attack the healthy cells, causing the person to die, and this is thought to be one of the causes of death among the people affected by the Coronavirus.
Now, why didn’t the storm come? Apparently, I was told that this patient kept quit calm and didn’t have elevated levels of stress during her sick days. She had her routine one glass of wine every day and kept in touch with her friends.
For more information, see the Notes section at the bottom of this article.
Why not wine?
It is true, and it has been repeated countless times on the news, that any amount of alcohol is harmful to your body and it can undermine your immune system. So don’t fall for the myth which says that “Drinking alcohol can kill the virus!” because it does not! At least, that amount of alcohol existent in wine cannot. You need 5 times more of that to give the virus only a nudge. All in all, you are not going to drink wine to destroy the virus.
Research indicates that strong immunity depends on numerous factors; apart from a good diet, you need exercise and adequate sleep. There is empirical proof that low levels of stress have a direct relationship with a strong immune system as well, and here is when the wine comes to play its part.
A couple of glasses of wine every day can relieve your stress, especially if it is part of your regular routine. After all, no one can deny the positive effects of relieving nerves in fighting disease.
Wine the medicine
There are numerous studies indicating that red wine is good for health, and this is partly due to the existence of a compound called resveratrol. Resveratrol is a substance found in the skin of red grapes, peanuts, and berries, all of which have a part in making various varietals of red wine. The substance is said to have antioxidant properties and it is thought to protect the body against damage that puts your body at high risk of cancer and heart disease. Apparently, Pinot Noir has more concentrations of this substance. Of course, the health benefits of resveratrol have been approved in studies with high concentrations of this substance, but who knows? A glass or two of wine on a daily basis could boost your health too, even if it would be just because of its placebo effect. This information is in the medical literature, but for advice on the amount of drinking, please consults your physician!
Go well-armored into the battlefield
If nothing, what this pandemic showed us was the significance of health protocols more than ever. So if you are going to arrange a get-together with your friends during the quarantine time, and I believe you should take all the health precautions. After all, you wouldn’t want to escape the virus but die of depression. Therefore, you can invite your friends over, and a limited number I would suggest, but prepare in advance. Set the seats and the tables around the room well distanced from each other; each seat must be preferably placed a meter and a half from the next. Place everything necessary on each table that is, trays, treats, chocolate, etc. Then put the bottles of wine on a table in the middle. Fix a place near the entrance and leave a sufficient number of masks in it. This is in case someone shows up unprepared. And don’t forget to put sanitizers beside them. This way, you can make sure you have your social life and are safe in the meantime.
If you are well prepared, once your friends show up, you can also safely do any other activity. For example, why not watch a movie while tasting wine? Watching a movie together with your friends while sipping at Nik Pegasus Mystic Pearl, for instance, would be a lot of fun. With its exotic spices and its long-lasting finish, this wine can ensure that your friendship will last long as well.
Still worried? Well, studies have shown that the virus is less likely to travel in open spaces. So if you are obsessed with your health but still want to have your circle of friends around you, you could have your get-together outdoors. Even a balcony will do, a relatively big one, though. Your yard can be a suitable venue as well. However, you should still take the above-mentioned precautions.
Don’t quarantine your wine!
Yes, it is true that we are all quarantined and are left helpless and lonely at home, but this should not be the case with wine, always pair your wine with suitable complements. And this is especially useful because you can make use of treats that are nutritious and that can strengthen your immune system in these hard times. You can use your usual pairings but at the same time try to incorporate more food that doctors mention as specifically healthy during the pandemic.
Internet the savior
These days, during quarantine, most activities are done on the Internet and God knows how we would have managed to get through this pandemic without the Internet. Meetings are held online, students are studying online, people get together online, and why not have a wine-tasting party online? Arrange a get-together with your friends and ask each of them to buy a different type of wine. Then Zoom your friends and hold a group call. Once everyone is present, you can start toasting and chat at the same time. I mean, yes, it is possible to just get together virtually without wine, but there should always be a purpose and ‘wine’ is a good excuse. You know what I mean I guess.
I would suggest that each one of you buy a different Nik Pegasus variety, namely Nik Pegasus Black, Mystic Pearl, or Nik Pegasus Gold, and start tasting them. This way, you can taste good quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from California, famous for its Cabs, especially.
Moderation in everything
Well, it goes without saying that moderation is the key to success. There is a Finnish proverb that says “happiness lies somewhere between too little and too much”. Drinking is no exception either. In fact, much of wine’s popularity goes back to its moderation in everything, alcohol, taste, and the moderate pleasant feeling it leaves you with. So neither should you assume that the alcohol in the wine is going to kill the virus in your oral and pharyngeal cavities, nor should you think that you must forget drinking altogether. A glass of wine every day will not only be of no harm but it can relieve your stress and so be helpful too, in fact. But still, talk to your physician if you have fragile health!
What became of the patient?
As I said earlier, she recovered. I’m not sure if that glass of wine she had every day had helped her spirits, or whether it was because of her contact with her friends through the internet, or it could even have been because of her kind and supportive family, but I just remember a picture I saw of her in her room. There was a bottle of wine in the background, somehow blurred, but I guess I could read Nik Pegasus on the label, but still, I’m not sure!
Notes
ACE2 Receptor: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, also known as ACE2 receptor; the entry point at the cell’s surface that allows the Coronavirus to hook into the cell and infect a wide range of other cells.
Host: A living creature’s body serving as a virus’s residing environment
Cytokine: A signaling molecule secreted by the immune system as a response to the infection
Antibodies: Also known as an immunoglobulin, an antibody is a Y-shaped protein also released by the immune system to fight the infection. Antibodies combine chemically with intruders considered aliens by the body, destroying them in this way.
*Viruses are dead outside the body of a living creature and they become active once inside the host’s body. The law of adaptation in the course of evolution dictates that every creature that adapts best with its environment will survive. Viruses are highly adaptive and it is best for them to survive in the host’s body, so a dead host is no use to them. However, an infection can become fatal due to numerous reasons. Therefore, adapting to the environment and residing in the body is the best option for viruses, and this was probably what the head COVID was doing in our patient’s body, making changes to a cell, embedding virus nucleic acid in the cell, which he did successfully.
