Long Covid is being linked to ME/CFS, can nutrition help?
There have been some interesting articles of late comparing M.E (Myalgic encephalomyelitis) also known as CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) with Long Covid.
M.E/CFS is characterised by a range of neurological symptoms; extreme and unrelenting fatigue that lasts longer than 6 months, persistent exhaustion, cognitive impairment, flu-like symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, mood swings and chronic pain. Something that I am very familiar with having struggled with it myself for 3 years from 2011–14.
M.E/CFS is a condition that is often overlooked, has not been extensively researched and is a condition that the medical profession can’t seem to agree on, some going with the theory that it is related to a viral infection and others to severe stress. The more recent studies have shown that there is significant evidence indicating that chronic fatigue syndrome is a biological illness, which may be caused, in part, by an overactive immune system, often triggered by an infection. However, as there are now distinct similarities between Long Covid and M.E, the hope is that more extensive research can be done into finding treatments for both.
I was one of the fortunate ones, I have made what I would consider to be a 95% recovery from the condition. I lead a full and normal life and just occasionally suffer bad days which are bad enough to remind me how hideous the condition is but no where near as bad as they used to be.
The causes of my condition were having had typhoid, dengue fever and dengue related hepatitis in the space of a month. Over the next 4 months, my parents between them had a stroke, 3 heart failure episodes, a cracked vertebra and a broken arm. It was like living in a savage game of top trumps. I fill the criteria for having had the viral infection and stress. I was diagnosed relatively quickly by my doctor but was offered no real solution, it was explained to me that there was no cure but that they would arrange for me to have therapy and give me anti-depressants. The former took them months to arrange, and only then when I turned up at the doctors early one morning, before they were open, unable to control myself and so desperate that I tried to smash the windows to get it. I was put on the emergency list. It took a month to receive a letter confirming my appointment which was in three months’ time. At that appointment I was told there was a nine-month waiting list. My parents stepped in and I found a private therapist, a lady who had recovered from the condition herself.
With this lady I discovered things such as pacing and we also kept a diary. Not every day was the same for me, some days I could function at some level, but normal tasks could still be overwhelming, I remember once sitting on the floor, behind my front door, crying at the thought of having to pull the newspaper through the letter box, other days were quite normal, other days were just horrendous. I kept a diary looking for triggers, there was never any pattern, rhyme nor reason to it. She also told me that the way to fight the condition was to give into it. Given that this condition tends to affect go getters and lovers of life, that’s a pretty tough to accept. I am from Yorkshire and a family where giving in is just not an option. To put this in perspective, my mother was 75, she had had three heart failure episodes, a pace maker fitted, cracked a vertebrae and still, when the worst was over, managed to always look immaculate and get to the pub with the gang on a Friday night. My father had had a stroke. When he came home he was still partially paralysed down his right hand side, he set himself dexterity tests every day and set up a gym in the garage. The lead physio from the hospital brought the junior physios round to show them what was possible. My 92 year old aunt was living alone, driving and in that year had chopped down a tree in her garden and wallpapered her kitchen. My other aunt, at that time 85 still made all her own jams and pickles, pies and pastry, did the flowers at the local community centre and twice a week helped cook and serve dinners to the people from the old folks home. That always made me giggle, half of them were 10 years younger than her. Yet I had been told to give in, to stop trying to work, to be prepared to lose everything. Jobs and possessions could be regained, health if permanently lost, could not.
It was frustrating but I did just that, I stopped working and worrying about it, with the help of therapy of course. Not easy when I was only entitled £46.00 a week in benefits. The next 18 months were tough, very tough and nothing really seemed to be working. I knew that this was not how I wanted to or ultimately would live my life, but I couldn’t see how it could change. I was then contacted by a friend I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. The long and short of it is that she introduced me to two ladies, who said that they would work with me on a physical, nutritional and emotional level and that they would get me better and they did. It wasn’t a quick journey but around a year later, I was on a plane back to India to resume my life. Like I mentioned at the start of this article, I live a very normal life, I have occasional bad days and I know that I have to give into them. I do, and the next day I am back up and running.
What prompted this article is that I was looking up nutrition in relation to brain fog, that being one of the symptoms of long Covid and which struck a chord as it is also part of M.E.
I was intrigued by an article I came across from a man who had helped reverse his mother’s dementia by altering her diet. I found that the foods listed were very similar to much of the diet that the nutritionist who helped me recover from M.E had me on. As discussed, there have been various articles on the similarities between Long Covid and M.E, brain fog being one, hence the link to the foods and dementia.
I am no medical expert, far from it, but I am someone who has recovered from M.E. The power of positivity and nutrition were fundamental factors in getting me back on track, together with some incredible and supportive friends. For anyone suffering with long covid, it could be worth looking at a holistic approach to healing and factoring in nutrition. What harm can eating healthily do? I would suggest, if it is at all possible, to try working with a professionally qualified nutritionist, after all, as the saying goes, you are what you eat. But remember, there is no quick fix, it takes time.
To give you some pointers:
· I started each day with a carrot, apple and beetroot juice which I hate! I’d add ginger for flavour and turmeric just because its good for you.
· Breakfast was red berries, strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, pomegranate with chopped brazil nuts and walnuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
· I had to give up the classics of wheat and dairy (once I started to notice the benefits, I did still have wheat and dairy on a Saturday as a treat). I still can’t eat yogurt or cream in any quantities as they are the only foods that cause a relapse.
· Raw, as many raw fruit and vegetables as possible and also use them as replacements for pasta and rice etc. I would make spaghetti out of carrots and courgettes (you do get used to it), rice out of raw, finely chopped cauliflower.
· Chickpeas, lentils etc 3 x a week.
· Meat was still recommended for me 3 x a week.
· Oily fish 2–3 times a week.
· No alcohol.
The recommendations as per the article from the gentleman who helped his mother recover from dementia:
· Fish such as salmon or mackerel and other foods rich in Omega 3 oil or capsules if preferred, taken 2–3 times a day
· Wholegrains, especially oats
· Wholemeal bread
· Beans
· Sweet potatoes, carrots and swede
· Leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, kale and spinach
· Mushrooms, especially brown varieties
· Nuts, especially Brazils and walnuts
· Berries, especially blueberries, blackberries and strawberries and preferably fresh, not frozen
· Linseeds
· Sunflower seeds
· Herbs and spices
· Tea, especially herbal and green teas, taken without sugar and with low-fat or no milk
· Coffee
· Good quality dark chocolate (with a cocoa content of 70 per cent or more)
I do appreciate that my symptoms were not as severe as many people who struggle with M.E, nor have I had Covid. But my message is this, don’t give up hope, no matter how tough the day, how chronic the pain or how futile it all seems. Work through it, you don’t have to be brave, cry and moan and do what you need to do on the bad days, but remember that old cliché, tomorrow is a whole new day and it can get better.
Useful links:
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/25/paul-garner-on-his-recovery-from-long-covid/
https://www.actionforme.org.uk/get-support-now/coronavirus-and-me-cfs/me-and-coronavirus/
https://rezilirhealth.com/long-covid-long-haulers-symptoms-solutions-and-me-cfs/
