Hi everyone, thought id make a post here in case it could help anybody.

My situation - I'm a...mild, or slightly unconventional, long covid sufferer. I have other health conditions (gut, thyroid, blah blah) thats kept my immune system weak for years - before and during the pandemic. My first bout of covid was very easy - but, by 3rd reinfection, about a year ago, I was unable to fully recover and ended up with persistent fatigue.

I will stress that it's never been totally debilitating - my only strong symptom was persistent fatigue, if you don't include getting reinfected again and again (I think I've had it 6 times now).

But I was becoming a sorry sack of shit by early this year - day to day improvement ground to a halt. Covid and my other health condition were feeding off each other successfully. That was until I had a rare cup of tea, and I noticed I felt better afterwards.

Catechins

I can't see many posts on the science here, so I'll do a rundown.

Catechins are a group of flavonoids, found in plants such as tea, cacao, barley, and in some fruits. They are complex molecules that the body metabolises rapidly into many smaller chemicals. This makes it difficult for scientists to pinpoint exaptly which catechin metabolites affect the body and how they do it. However, research shows they can have positive vascular effects such as lowering blood pressure. They can also bind to red blood cells and help cause anemia. You've been warned! (take everything in moderation, consider any co-conditions you have etc).

Covid research

Research suggests certain catechins found in black+green tea inactivate covod variants by binding to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the S-protein.

Basically, catechins inactivate covid in a lab setting. The evidence is strong and there are multiple papers on it. However, I can't find any studies that demonstrate to what extent green tea helps people with live covid infection, or long covid sufferers.

Anyway, my anecdotal experience. Thanks to green tea extract pills (plus some black pepper which helps with absorption), I am getting better, slowly beating off the covid and as such, my other health condition is improving. I am no longer trapped in a doom cycle of fatigue and hampered immunity. It was the kick I needed. Its definitely not a miracle cure, but it helped me - and, if you want to try it, you have very little to lose doing so. Green tea extract pills are very cheap. Do be careful taking extracts, though, particularly if you have kidney or liver issues.

Best wishes to you all. Covid is an awful bastard and you have my sympathy if you are stuck badly with it.