So, you thought Metformin was just for those sugar-high, type 2 diabetes moments? Think again, smarty pants. Some ultra-smart folks hailing from the University of Minnesota have just discovered that this old-school diabetic drug may also double as an agent against our dear friend COVID-19. How's that for a one-two punch?

In what can only be defined as health science meets Russian roulette, the scientists played a round by randomly assigning over 1,300 COVID-ridden adults to pop a Metformin pill or a placebo for shits and giggles. And oh boy, did they giggle (underneath their face masks, of course). They scoped out the viral levels flowing in the participants' bodies through swab tests executed on days 1, 5, and 10 of the study.

Hang onto your seat, it gets even more exciting. Lab coat-wearing boffins found Metformin quite the diligent worker, slashing COVID-19 virus counts in bodies, while playing goalie against any viral level rebounds post the initial reduction phase amidst treatment.

On an average day, Metformin outperformed the placebo pill, causing almost a 4 times drop in the amount of virus merrily swimming in the body. It also increased the odds by 28 percent of achieving the "undetectable" gold star status for the virus at either day 5 or 10 of the study. Oh, and here's the cherry on top - Metformin made "rebound" (when the virus disappears but then decides to show up again) 32% less likely.

More you ask? Dr. Carolyn Bramante, the lead author of the study, explains how Metformin blocks a protein known as mTOR which plays a hearty role in cell growth, reproduction, and immune responses. So, they pitched the hypothesis of Metformin dousing mTOR's flame and thereby causing a reduction in SARS-CoV-2, the real culprit behind COVID-19.

Now, I know what you're thinking - the 'COVID-cover' of Metformin looks like a glossy magazine print but understand that it's still relatively fresh and previous studies have shown mixed results.

However, there's something that stands out as a beacon of hope here - lowering the levels of the virus means reducing 'viral shedding', or to put it simply, making infected folks less contagious.

Should you start popping Metformin to knock out COVID? Well, I hate to burst your bubble but it’s not recommended yet. We don’t have enough evidence for prescribing Metformin for the mild COVID-infected populace, and the NIH strongly recommends against using this drug in patients hospitalized with severe infections unless they are part of some fancy clinical trial.

So, sit tight, stay armed with your mask and sanitizer, and let’s leave Metformin to the researchers and your diabetic aunt for now.