As we are entering the third year of the pandemic, more studies are being done into the effects of long Covid and how to help recovery.
Recently, many studies have been published around the effects of gut health and recovery. We know that nutrition and therefore gut health is incredibly important when it comes to immune support and mental health and thanks to the pandemic, more research has finally shown the direct link between the microbiome of your gut and your long-term health.
So, what is your gut microbiome?
The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of microbes that live in our digestive tract. Our gut health has a profound impact on our physical, immune and mental health. Sadly, modern living is decimating our microbe’s causing insomnia, brain fog, fatigue, joint pains, depression and many other conditions. If you can imagine that a damaged gut cannot absorb or process foods efficiently, leaving us deficient in so many vital nutrients, causing long term health issues. So, when Covid-19 reared its ugly head, smacking the world around the face, our bodies were not equipped to deal with this new virus threat.
With so many people contracting Covid, it was inevitable that a large proportion would suffer a long-term impact on their health. So, what is defined as long Covid? Most people will make a full recovery within 4-12 weeks, but symptoms can last much longer.
Common long Covid symptoms can include:
· Extreme Fatigue
· Shortness of breath
· Chest pain or tightness
· Brain fog
· Difficulty sleeping
· Heart palpitations
· Dizziness
· Pins & needles
· Joint pain
· Depression & anxiety
· Tinnitus, earaches
· Feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
· Loss of taste & smell
· High temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat
· Rashes
Improving our gut health can not only have a huge impact on our overall health, but help with the recovery of long Covid, how do we do it?, It’s not as difficult as you may think. I’m working with a lot of people at the moment who are seeing vast improvements just by making a few simple changes:
· Managing stress
· Creating good sleep habits
· Daily movement
· Adequate hydration
· Limiting processed foods & alcohol
· Eating a varied diet full of colour, vegetables, fruits, legumes & pulses, whole grains, lean proteins & plant-based fats.
· Including fermented foods in your diet
· Supplementing with pro & prebiotics and vitamin d
Small changes can make a huge improvement to symptoms and in fact help with any long term conditions.
If you would like help or advice for long Covid recovery or any auto immune / long term health condition, please get in touch – sarahglicksman@outlook.com
Comments