Does cheese help against corona?

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the foodies of online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our chefs serve you: the research on cheese and Covid-19.

In patients who ended up in intensive care with Covid-19, researchers found a deficiency of vitamin K. This is the vitamin that is found in cheese and spinach, among other things. Would a different diet help against the coronavirus? That is currently being investigated.

The research focuses on patients from the Canisius Wilhelmina hospital in Nijmegen, writes The Guardian. They see a connection between the deficiency of vitamin K and the patients who have been severely affected by the coronavirus. Symptoms of Covid-19 include abnormal blood clotting and problems with the elasticity of the lungs. Vitamin K plays a role in the production of proteins that regulate blood clotting and protect against lung diseases.

Spinach against corona
Would eating extra spinach, eggs, and blue cheese, all foods with a generous amount of vitamin K, help against coronavirus infections? The research team cannot promise that yet. While waiting for funding for their follow-up research, the head of the team, Dr. Rob Jansen, says that for healthy people, it certainly cannot hurt to take the recommended daily amount of vitamin K. ‘My advice: take vitamin K supplements. If it doesn't help against Covid-19, it's at least good for your blood vessels, bones, and probably also for your lungs.’

Cheese platter as medicine
There are two types of vitamin K, K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 is found in spinach, broccoli, green vegetables, blueberries, and other types of vegetables and fruits, K2 is found in hard cheeses and moldy cheeses. Dr. Jansen explains that the vitamin in cheese is better absorbed by the body. A preventive cheese platter? Sounds like a healthy plan.

Healthy living helps, but vitamins do not
Nutritionist Martijn Katan looks critically at claims that link food and viruses. In his column in the NRC, he explained why: no research shows a connection. He mentions a study in Wageningen where elderly people received extra vitamins for a year. Did they get the flu less often? No connection was found. ‘Healthy eating reduces the risk of various diseases,’ he writes. ‘Those who have eaten and drunk healthily for years have strengthened their condition and indirectly improved their chances of surviving a corona infection. But don't think that by filling your shopping cart with healthy food from now on, you can prevent infectious diseases like corona.’

Text: Favorflav