Mint vs Covid: A Culinary Perspective
A growing body of scientific evidence suggests drinking mint tea can fight Covid. I therefore upped my mint game. Because why not.
A January 2024 update is posted here.
I recently published an academic review of the surprising idea that eating mint-family herbs can prevent or treat Covid. The writing project inspired me to explore ways to translate the scientific literature into routine day-to-day habits that might help protect me against Covid. I also wanted to identify possible technical barriers to the development of decentralized clinical trials that could conclusively test the hypothesis.
I’m among the minuscule percentage of Americans who remain “Novid.” I attribute the bullet-dodge to the fact that I’ve carefully followed (or exceeded) public health guidance on vaccination, testing, and N95 masks. The idea I’m playing with in this article is that mint tea can serve as an additional cheap, easy, low-risk, and comparatively pleasant way to help my family fight Covid.
I experimented with a wide range of fresh and dried herb combinations, both out of epicurean interest and out of a desire to implement the general nutrition theory that it’s healthy to eat a varied diet. I had fun reorienting my back-deck container-gardening hobby to focus on mint-family herbs. Quite a few of my favorites survived or self-seeded despite lows in the teens this past winter.
When I hear that a friend or family member has tested positive for Covid, I first recommend a ten-day course of Paxlovid and metformin, and then I send them a gift of mint tea. Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic (spearmint, peppermint, chicory, cinnamon, and orange peel) and Pukka Three Mint (peppermint, spearmint, field mint) ship quickly and make delightful teas. On the gift label, I advise the Covid-positive loved one to consider drinking two cups of mint tea a day, making each cup with three tea bags.
The purpose of this article is to offer cooking and gardening notes. I’m some guy on the internet, not your doctor.
Recipe 1: Hot Tea. I’m the most hard-core type of coffee fiend you can possibly imagine. I home-roast. This month, I’m dry-processing beans from an arabica bush I’ve nurtured for a decade as a houseplant. I basically share Ted Lasso’s opinion of regular tea. Although you’d have to pry my morning coffee from my cold dead hands, I’ve gotten to the point where I feel like mint tea is an acceptable substitute for my habitual afternoon cup. The secret is to include some yerba mate or yaupon in the mix. In addition to providing a happy hit of caffeine, these American members of the holly family are also rich in a different compound called caffeic acid - which is reportedly a principal antiviral agent in mint-family herbs.
I put 15 grams (3-4 heaping tablespoons) of dried loose-leaf mint tea products in a French press and stir them together with half a liter (2 cups) of boiling water. When I happen to have fresh herbs on hand, I add some of those to the mix as well. I know it sounds like a lot, but these are the sorts of doses that were successful in the scientific literature - and I honestly enjoy the good strong cup of tea. Go big or go home, as the saying goes.
My current frontline favorites are bohe mint, peppermint, and perilla. Although I don’t like the taste quite as well, here’s a less-expensive bohe product that ships quickly.
A current preprint reports that extracts of the mint-family herbs thyme, sage, and oregano serve as an effective Covid treatment. Although I enjoy these herbs in savory dishes, I find them a bit harsh as single-herb teas. I’m also cognizant of the risk of consuming too much thujone, which can be abundant in sage. Self-heal flower spikes have been shown to have high antiviral potency in culture. In contrast to traditional seasoning herbs, self-heal makes a mild-flavored tea. Lemon balm is another mild member of the mint family. Although the reported caffeic acid content of different basil cultivars is all over the map, tulsi basil tea is great for an occasional culinary change of pace.
Recipe 2: Iced Tea. Drinking two glasses of strong iced tea each day is an easy way to meet or exceed the 200 mg/kg/day dose that was shown to be effective for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters. I mix about 60 grams (1⅔ cups) of loose-leaf mint family herb tea products with about half a liter (2 cups) of room-temperature water for about an hour and then strain the cool-water extract into a pitcher using a funnel fitted with a mesh strainer. I then re-steep the leaves in half a liter of near-boiling water for about an hour. The cooled hot-water extract is then strained and combined with the initial cool-water extract. I often do a brief third extraction with half a liter of boiling water. An optional 25 grams of honey (1 tablespoon) and/or 40 grams (scant ¼ cup) of table sugar per liter of iced tea balances herbal bitterness without being overly sweet.
Recipe 3: Fresh Herbs. For many years, I’ve been in the routine habit of enhancing daily salads with a small handful (5-10 grams) of fresh herbs. Mint-family herbs that are easy to grow include – in descending order of my personal preference for eating by the handful – basil, spearmint, Vietnamese balm, peppermint, temperate basil, Korean hyssop, perilla, lemon balm, dragonhead, self-heal, hyssop, oregano, rosemary, sage, and skullcap.
At times when I suspect my household might have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, I serve mixed-herb pesto over pasta or beans. It’s nice to have an excuse to eat pesto. Covid-fighting or not, I love that stuff.
Table: key characteristics of various herbs. The Potency column indicates the dilution that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture (larger numbers are better). The Caffeic column lists the reported average concentration of free caffeic acid in micrograms per gram of dry plant material. The Growth column lists the vigor of plant growth in my drip-irrigated back-deck organic container garden in Bethesda, Maryland. The “Taste” column shows my opinion about the overall culinary utility of each plant. The abbreviation “nt” indicates “not tested,” to the best of my knowledge. Corrections and amendments are of course most welcome in the comments section.
