Extended Fasting: An Effective Intervention for Long Covid? | The Rationale and the Science
*Important note*
Social media is abound with stories of long haulers who have crashed hard when attempting to fast. Don’t be one of them: consult your doctor first if you want to try it. Or do it under medical supervision at an expert clinic (like I did).
*lecture over*
In this video, the first of two (or possibly even three), I introduce the subject of extended fasting, after discovering it has made a huge positive impact on my symptoms. I discuss the various types of fasting, the rationale for why it might work, and the published science we’ve got that supports it. In the next video I’m going to discuss my own personal experience after two extended fasts, which symptoms have improved, which haven’t, and what I think the lessons are for everyone watching.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
1:36 Types of Fasting
3:23 Rationale for LC
5:27 Physiological Effects
6:13 What Does AI Think?
7:18 The Science
8:20 Conclusion
LINKS:
Pathomechanisms and possible interventions in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) – [source of diagram used.] Fluge, Tronstad & Mella.
https://www.jci.org/articles/view/150377
Measurement of circulating viral antigens post-SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multicohort study. [The one with the 43% and 21%], Swank et al:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241009122346.htm
https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(24)00432-4/abstract
Improvements during long-term fasting in patients with long COVID – a case series and literature review. Grundler et al:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1195270/full
FastCoV: Study on the potential benefits of fasting for long Covid treatment:
FastCoV: Study on the potential benefits of fasting for long Covid treatment
Exploring autophagy in treating SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-related pathology, Halma, Marik and Saleeby:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666396124000074
VIDEOS:
How Intermittent Fasting Might Help Dysautonomia and MCAS:
The Latest Research on Mitochondrial Dysfunction, with Prof Klaus Wirth:
There’s absolutely tonnes of research on fasting and chronic inflammatory conditions – just google anything you like, with ‘scholarly article’ on the end of the search and you’ll find swamps of the stuff.
20 Comments
I had covid March 2020. I finally felt better after 2x a week IVs and a big 24 day juice cleanse in April 2023. If felt so good I signed up for 70.3 ironman. Then hen I got covid January 2025 and I also now have a thyroiditis. Now broken worse than 1st time
Which clinic did you go to in Germany
I have been thinking of trying the intermittent fasting. Would this have benefits the same as the fasting you are trying?
OK colour me interested…..when's the next video? How long does an extended fast need to last for?
OK colour me interested…..when's the next video? How long does an extended fast need to last for?
Hello Gez, medical dr here, long covid nearly 5 years.. big sigh! Find your channel immensely helpful and interesting and have done for some years. Given your weight loss, presumably you've lost some muscle mass also… I think you're savvy enough to have considered this already. This seems to be me to be one potential significant downside of this type of approach, particularly given link btw muscle mass and longevity, and also insulin sensitivity which seems so important for general health (I'm sure insulin resistance is somehow part of my pathology given my reaction to carbs etc) .. or are you thinking you take loss of muscle mass has a "hit" shorter term with the idea you build it back up again when well again? I'm not sure if you follow him but I notice Peter Attia seems to have changed his mind on fasting for more than a day for this reason given inability to maintain muscle mass – although granted this seems to be a huge focus for him. Very much hope you're paving the way for a breakthrough which trickles down to the rest of us!! All the best. (sorry long message.. and realise you may not be able to reply given the traffic on your channel!)
I am long distance runner and coach. Mainly thanks to fasting I cured most of my Long Covid, Dysautonomia and POTS symptoms. It took some time, but I got back to my best running shape.
Thanks for sharing! Can't wait for the next video, what a cliffhanger! Please share the exact amount of days you went for and why you had to go into a clinic to do it and could not do it at home. Many thanks
Well I've been doing I.F along with Low Carbs to Keto for several years for my Compromised Immune System, which was due past work place exposure to toxins
Interesting how fasting is helping so many. I have not done anything all that long but I have done intermittent fasting that resulted in ZERO changes to my symptoms. So far the only thing that regularly helps my systems is going to the coast in Mexico. The salt in the air helps to clear the lungs, the natural vitamin D and much higher quality food. When I am there i am able to live a very normal life but after I come back to Canada I slowly start to have my symptoms return. I started to workout, 4km on a treadmill, breath work, 20min sauna with salt in the water vapour and cold shower. After a solid week I crashed. So after I recover I will have to try again but cut it back. I will also be heading back to Mexico in March and I hope it does what it always has… Good Luck everyone!
The thing that seems to help me the most is removing the sugar from my diet..complex carbs are fine but even healthy sugar like honey is too hard for the pancreas with 5 year long covid..and fasting too much has an effect of making me feel like i could drop dead i have experimented with both and can feel a rebuilding of tissues and feeling much better after eating but have to be VERY CAREFUL what to eat and the time of day and portion size
Thanks Gez, My first 72hr fasts in 2022/23 were game changers for me, made huge progress. Along with nicotine patches these two things have got me to a much better baseline. Intend to start another soon as struggling with pre diabetes bloods and vascular issues causing mobility problems and bloated weightgain.
I'm afraid of doing fasting because the lack of nutrients and minerals. I have heard stories about heart problems etc for people doing extended fasting. I simply don't think this is for me, but I'm glad to hear it worked for you Gez.
Congrats on your fasting journey Gez. Almost a year ago I happened to find the Buchinger Wilhelmi channel here on youtube and watched a few of their fasting video's. I decided to do my own N=1 experiment. Last April I did a 14 day fast. The first week I just had water with electrolytes and black coffee. The second week I also added a cup of home made bone broth so as not to stress out the body too much. Results were really good for the rest of the year. It seemed to get rid of a lot of inflammation and bloating and my brain fog lifted. Had very few times that I could feel brain fog come back but didn't stay. It also helped stabilize my blood pressure and pulse which were all over the place. I believe my body was always in fight or flight mode. It's the best I felt since the summer of 22 when I got long covid. It didn't cure me though. Fast forward to the end of 24, I got laid off (seasonal construction work) and after sitting at home the past 2 months, the symptoms have returned. I think me cheating on my ketovore diet and eating honey and pastry started it. I will be doing another extended fast soon. I've been waiting for the weather to warm up here in Canada so I get get out in the sun and fresh air. Cheers!
What about the no carb keto type diets, I believe those also put you in ketosis. Would it be the same thing as fasting? Sounds like it could be much easier.
Hey Gez, do love the video but feel like a good disclaimer is granted for your viewers to make sure they talk to their Dr prior to attempting as it’s important to blood testing while doing extended fasts to avoid complications.
Pottenger's Human here on YouTube is your best resource if you are interested in extended fasting.
Great post. Thanks for sharing Gez. Curious if you have looked into Rapamycin as a treatment option? It appears to have a number of potentially beneficial mechanisms of action and one of these is triggering autophagy (similar to fasting).
how long did you fast
Gez! My man! Thank you AS ALWAYS! This is exciting information. Come to think of it, ive done intermittent fasting up to 22 or 23 hours long before…maybe thats what helped me back in those times? Im going to get back into that again and work my way up to 36, 72 hours and go from there to see if theres more improvements. Looking forward to your germany fasting experience and everything you did. Thanks a million! It must be a positive and worthwhile experience since you are posting on here about it 😉
I, we, appreciate you more than you even know. Thank you and god bless you, for all of your help and support and guidance.