Fortunately, our bodies have a special program for cellular repairs and recycling of damaged components. It has been well established that fasting triggers a cellular stress response called autophagy. Autophagy operates at a cellular level to recycle damaged proteins and mitochondria – the batteries of our cells. Not only that, but autophagy also promotes viral clearance when cells are infected with virus or have residual viral debris. It also stimulates stem and progenitor cells to recolonize most damaged tissues including the the vascular endothelial cells that line our blood vessels and epithelial cells such as those that line our gut.

Disclaimer – Please do not misconstrue any of this as medical advice. I am not a doctor. This is just my personal experience and my attempt to connect the dots. This is a long long ways from a scientific double-blinded placebo controlled clinical trial! Nothing is proven. Especially be careful if you are having heart complications or tachycardia. Consider your situation carefully and review your plans with a doctor before starting any supplement or fasting regime.

I started with time restricted eating as soon as possible. For three or four weeks I limited my food intake to an 8 hr window each day. Outside that window, I drink water and some green tea. This 16 hr daily fast lowers my insulin and insulin like growth factor levels and throttles back my cells from a constant growth mode. I believe low glycemic load foods further help… i.e. no sugar and I avoid all breads, potatoes, rice and processed carbs. Just eating between 7 am and 3 pm each day decreased my fatigue and got rid of my brain fog and headaches within a few weeks!

Then after a few weeks, to really trigger maximum autophagy, I did a 3 day water fast. During which time I ate nothing. I did drink plenty of water and take the appropriate amount of fasting electrolytes (salts). That is what I did from July to August to recover 100% from my long haul symptoms including headaches, brain fog, shortness of breath, fatigue, and next day post-exertional malaise (PEM).

Anecdotally, many long haulers have reported significant improvements in their various symptoms after doing a 2 or 3 day fast. One woman told me her tachycardia improved following a 3 day fast. When walking up the stairs her heart rate had fallen from 180 to 130 bpm.

Now, I realize that some long haulers have many more symptoms and/or more severe symptoms. Fasting is not appropriate for everyone! Personally, I waited to do a water fast until I was strong enough to walk for an hour. If you have any concerns at all about the time restricted eating or the 3 day water fast, do it under a doctor’s supervision.

Generally it is best to start a fast after an evening meal and then end a fast after 1, 2 or 3 days with a late evening snack. This video is useful about the refeeding part and the importance of taking electrolytes during your fast. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h3L_118IIgE#menu

A scientific outline of how Intermittent Fasting might help fight SARS-CoV-2 infection.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7351063

Supplements I was taking:

500 to 800 mg Quercitin plus 22 mg Zinc

750 mg NAC 1X -2X per day

Vit D 2000 IU

Vit C 500 mg 3X per day

Daily 50+ multivitamin with zinc and selenium

A fun explanation of cellular autophagy from Dr Dan Maggs