{"id":1205256,"date":"2022-01-10T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T20:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1205256"},"modified":"2022-01-10T15:49:48","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T20:49:48","slug":"fact-check-does-drinking-grape-juice-prevent-the-stomach-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-does-drinking-grape-juice-prevent-the-stomach-flu\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Does Drinking Grape Juice Prevent The Stomach Flu?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-does-drinking-grape-juice-prevent-the-stomach-flu%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1205256&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nancy.yoakum\/posts\/10223851236221631\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook post<\/a> claims drinking grape juice can prevent the stomach flu.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span>Verdict: False<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is no evidence that drinking grape juice can prevent the stomach flu. The claim has been disputed by experts.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span>Fact Check:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The stomach flu, also known as \u201cviral gastroenteritis,\u201d is an intestinal infection contracted through contact with an infected person or by ingesting contaminated food or water, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/viral-gastroenteritis\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20378847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mayo Clinic<\/a>. Its symptoms can include \u201cwatery&nbsp;diarrhea, pain or cramping in your&nbsp;abdomen,&nbsp;nausea&nbsp;or&nbsp;vomiting, and sometimes fever,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niddk.nih.gov\/health-information\/digestive-diseases\/viral-gastroenteritis\/definition-facts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>A post shared on Facebook claims the infection can be prevented through a simple trick: drinking grape juice. The post includes an image of a bottle of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/WEL35400-Welchs-100-Grape-Juice\/dp\/B00416OUKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Welch\u2019s 100% Grape Juice<\/a> along with text that reads, \u201cAvoid Stomach Flu With This Trick!\u201d The post\u2019s caption goes on to explain the alleged trick. \u201cDrink a glass of grape juice 3 times a day after being exposed,\u201d reads the caption. \u201cThe grape juice changes the pH in your intestinal tract so the virus can\u2019t multiply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/media\/images\/ph-scale-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United States Geological Survey<\/a>, and is used to measure the acidity or basicity of a solution, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/pH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Merriam-Webster<\/a>. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2020\/03\/25\/fact-check-swine-flu-kill-18000-americans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Did The 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic Kill 18,000 Americans?)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is, however, no evidence that grape juice can prevent the stomach flu, according to medical experts. Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/dbms.queensu.ca\/faculty\/gerald-evans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gerald Evans<\/a>, a professor of medicine, biomedical &amp; molecular sciences and pathology &amp; molecular medicine at Queen\u2019s University,&nbsp;told Check Your Fact in an email that the claim \u201cis not based on any science I am aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ability of gastrointestinal viruses like Norovirus to infect a host are unaffected by pH levels in the gut nor by any components in grape juice such as Vitamin C or electrolyte composition,\u201d said Evans. He also noted that \u201cGrape juice does not significantly alter gut pH that would impact on viral replication or infectiousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epi.ufl.edu\/people\/faculty-profiles\/john-lednicky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. John Lednicky<\/a>, a research professor of environmental and global health at the University of Florida, agreed with Evans that the claim had no basis in fact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur stomachs have acid (gastric acids) that are quite <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/article\/003883.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">strong<\/a> (pH as low as 1), yet gastrointestinal viruses survive that strong acid to cause infections,\u201d said Lednicky in an email to Check Your Fact. \u201cGrape juice is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/food-science\/grape-juice#:~:text=The%20pH%20of%20grape%20juice,and%20the%20other%20microbes%20present.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mildly acidic<\/a>, in comparison to the strongly acidic stomach acids. So if anything, drinking too much grape juice might actually raise the acidity of the stomach. Bottom line: The answer to your question is no\u2026.the concept is a myth that has been perpetrated on social media but has no validity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Versions of the Facebook claim have also been debunked in articles from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/health\/a19547102\/can-grape-juice-prevent-norovirus-stomach-flu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Men\u2019s Health<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/nutrition\/grape-juice-for-stomach-bug#the-science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Healthline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Viral gastroenteritis frequently lacks a specific medical treatment, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/viral-gastroenteritis\/diagnosis-treatment\/drc-20378852\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mayo Clinic<\/a>. The medical center recommends rest and a slowly increasing, easily-digestible bland diet as the best way to treat the infection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Facebook post claims drinking grape juice can prevent the stomach flu.Verdict: False There is no evidence that drinking grape juice can prevent the stomach flu. The claim has been &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1205256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1205256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1205256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1205256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1205256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}