Can coconut oil help fight Covid-19?

With the number of coronavirus cases sky-rocketing in India, people are grappling to find the right ingredient to boost their immunity to prevent Covid-19. A review by the Journal of Association of Physicians (JAPI) will help you add another ingredient that can modulate your immunity.

JAPI carried a review on coconut oil, in its July edition, focussing on its immune-boosting benefits and its 'ability to act against microbes'. The report suggests, "The anti-microbial mechanistic action of the coconut oil helps activate the anti-inflammatory nature of the immune response in the human body."

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As the government has reiterated the Ayurvedic industry to focus on products to cure Covid-19, the study mentions that coconut oil as health oil was recognized in Ayurvedic medicine almost 4000 years ago.

The review also found that the coconut oil and its derivative have shown to be safe and effective immunomodulatory agents in both humans and animals. However, the reported human trials were very few.

"While Covid-19 wasn't the main reason for conducting this review on coconut oil, it is a fact that Keralites, who consume a lot of coconut oil, have managed to fight Covid-19 well," Dr Shashank Joshi, one of the main authors of the review told The Times of India.

India recorded another big single-day jump of 24,248 Covid-19 cases on Monday that took the country's Covid-19 tally close to the 7-lakh mark, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 19,693 with 425 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry.

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India also went past Russia on Sunday to become the third worst-hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic. Only the US and Brazil are ahead of India in terms of total coronavirus infections.