Thread by @NGKabra

1. There are videos floating around on WhatsApp implying that Bhramari Pranayama (yogic breathing/humming) can protect you from Covid. I would like to poke holes in that theory and hope that a real expert (@bhalomanush?) will also chime in.

2. The claims start by talking about SaNOtize, a Canadian nasal spray that releases NO (nitric oxide) in your nose and claims to be a "prevention and early-treatment for Covid-19". Then they point out that bhramari increases NO naturally. Thus implying bhramari prevents Covid-19

3. Here is one of the better and more sensible videos in this category: facebook.com/Yogapoint/post…

An aunt sent this to me for validation before forwarding. Since I want to definitely positively encourage this behavior, I put in a bunch of effort at researching this.

4. To give credit where it is due, this video doesn't make any ridiculous claims, states the known facts accurately, gives the right disclaimers

I agree with his overall point: bhramari won't hurt you, can reduce stress, can have other health benefits, so why not give it a try?

5. But, people are interpreting this to mean that bhramari can protect you from Covid, and forwarding accordingly. That conclusion has problems which I would like to identify as an exercise in critical thinking. (You remember I teach kids a course on this, right?)

6. The good news first: NO is known to have good antimicrobial properties, and it can actually kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Also, it is believed to be quite safe.

Similarly, pranayama is generally beneficial to mental and physical health and is generally safe.

7. And 2 disclaimers: I am not an expert in these areas, so happy to be corrected (please tag the right experts). I will update this thread if that happens. Also, I'm not saying don't do bhramari. It is probably good for you; just don't expect miracles.

8. So, hole 1: SaNOtize hasn't had any large trials of efficacy. Their study in UK was small (phase 2; 72 patients only), and as far as I can tell, it only showed a decrease in viral load; not yet any direct impact on Covid symptoms. So we don't know if it works in reducing Covid

9. But suppose we accept that SaNOtize is very effective in reducing Covid, here's the (flawed) chain of logic: SaNOtize works by giving our body NO. Bhramari increases the natural NO in our body. Hence bhramari will have a similar effect.

But consider the details...

10. The research about bhramari cited by the video was with 1 hour of bhramari daily. Which might or might not give the same effect as 15 minutes. And almost certainly wouldn't be the same as the "4-5 breaths" being recommended in the video.

11. More importantly, the concentration of NO in SaNOtize is 60000-80000 nanoliters per liter. The amount of NO produced by our body normally is about 30 nL/L. Bhramari can increase it to 500 nL/L. Seems like this wouldn't be anywhere near enough to have an effect on Covid?

12. So, in summary: do your yoga, drink your kadha, snort your haldi, but keep your bloody mask on, and stay in your f**king house. Using the former to justify skipping the latter is the kind of thinking that got us in the mess we're currently in.

People keep pointing me towards this paper pointing out the benefits of bhramari for Covid-19 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

But AFAICT, it contains no experiments and is simply a written version of the same logic as in the video

And no, people are not snorting haldi (as far as I know, but I'm sure we are capable of it). That was me taking poetic license.

However, people are doing various weird things with haldi, methi, and more, and landing up in the hospital: theprint.in/health/too-muc…

Yes, please get the vaccine as soon as you're eligible. Doing bhramari and eating haldi does not eliminate the need for the vaccine:

https://twitter.com/vineetd13/status/1387329035705978880