Long Covid is the silent, dark underbelly of the pandemic that no one is talking about.
Long Covid is referred to as the returning or new symptoms that persist after recovering from the initial infection.
And it can lead to a decreased quality of life, a life that often becomes unrecognizable
To give you some perspective of the severity, Long Covid was recently recognized as a disability under federal law.
Long covid manifests in the body as nervous system dysfunction, debilitating fatigue, brain fog that feels more like dementia, neck and muscle pain, tremors and vibrating sensations, difficulty breathing, anxiety, depression and insomnia to name a few.
It’s estimated that anywhere from 20-30% of people who contract Covid, even in mild or asymptomatic cases, will experience Long Covid.
In one study published in the Lancet of over 62,000 recovering Covid patients, 20% developed a mental illness within 90 days with anxiety, depression & insomnia being the most common. [1]
In another study published in the Lancet of over 81,000 recovering Covid patients, survivors of even mild cases suffered a severe cognitive deficit. With mild cases resulting in a 1 point drop and more serious cases resulting in a 7 point drop in IQ. [2]
Those statistics alone should make us seriously rethink the herd immunity path we are currently on.
“I WAS LIVING A FULL, VIBRANT, ACTIVE LIFE BEFORE COVID. BETWEEN THE FATIGUE, COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION, MUSCLE ACHES, BODY TREMORS, ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA, I AM PHYSICALLY TOO SICK TO GET READY FOR WORK OR PLAY WITH MY KID. THANK GOODNESS I AM ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME OR I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO.”
I am hearing stories like this multiple times a day.
All their tests come back normal but they literally can’t function on a day to day basis anymore.
Clients come to me after going down rabbit holes in various online forums or after participating in Long Covid studies with no results.
MEET LAURENIt felt like I was trapped behind a 10 foot wall of plexiglass.
It was like an invasion of the body snatchers. I no longer recognized my mind, body or spirit from behind the wall of fatigue, pain, shortness of breath, brain fog and fear....lots of fear.
November 2020 I experienced Covid.
Just 4 short months ago, I was unable to get out of bed, was racked by neuropathy, pain and was unable to stay awake longer than 4 hours at a time.
I could not make it to the top of a flight of stairs without stopping 3 times. I'm a fitness coach. Not good!!
All of the following were diagnosed by a physician and clinical testing post Covid: Mastcell Activation Syndrome, Cytokine Storm, Celiac Disease, Osteoarthritis, Anemia, Vitamin D deficiency, Idiopathic Autoimmune Disease, Neuropathy, Anxiety/Panic Attacks
I spent thousands of dollars and a lot of tired angry tears trying to get better.
Nothing was sticking and a good day was not throwing up by 10 a.m. from all of the "stuff" I was taking.
So I started researching ways to support my nervous system.
I found an amazing holistic health coach who focuses on optimizing health through the gut-brain axis with a specialty in Covid Long Haul.
She taught me how to recalibrate the signaling across my gut-brain-heart axis and rebalance my nervous system.
After 60 days my brain fog, fatigue, neuropathy, and pain is gone!!
hear more from lauren in this recent interview
In July of 2021, I had the opportunity to attend a 4 day intensive where I got to learn from one of the world’s leading experts on the gut-brain-heart axis and how it impacts the Autonomic Nervous System.
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes.
We know that in addition to being a respiratory virus, Covid-19 is a neurological virus that attacks the autonomic nervous system which results in dysregulation of the nervous system signaling mechanism. This is further highlighted by loss of sense of smell and taste.
Autonomic nervous system dysregulation or dysautonomia is thought to cause chronic fatigue symptoms, fibromyalgia symptoms and cognitive impairment etc.
Dysautonomia is now being used interchangeably with long Covid which makes total sense.
In addition to the autonomic nervous system dysfunction we also know that there is direct correlation between the health of the gut microbiome and the robustness of the immune system.
During that 4 day intensive we spent time reviewing the lasted peer reviewed clinical studies that have been shown to restore balance of that signaling across the autonomic nervous system and the gut microbiome through natural nutritional interventions.
Here are 2 studies that really stood out as it pertains to repairing the brain, body and nervous system after Covid:
Effect of Coordinated Probiotic/Prebiotic/Phytobiotic Supplementation on Microbiome Balance and Psychological Mood State in Healthy Stressed Adults, Functional Foods in Health & Disease Journal [3]
Results: Improvements in microbiome balance and gut health result in significant and meaningful improvements in how we feel – lower negative mood states and higher positive mood states. Please note Confusion = Brain Fog.
Optimization of Heart-Brain-Axis Signaling Improves Mental and Physical Performance, Functional Foods in Health & Disease Journal Vol 9, No 8. [4]
Results: Following 30-days of supplementation, HRV was improved 11% indicating superior ANS tone and enhanced stress resilience.
Psychological Mood State (POMS) parameters showed dramatic improvements following supplementation:
4 steps to recalibrate the brain, body and nervous system after covid
1. Repair the gut microbiome
When we talk about repairing the gut microbiome we are referring to 3 specific things that need to be addressed in unison: gut diversity, gut integrity and gut environment which are all equally important.
2. Rebalance the signaling across the entire gut-brain-heart axis
When we talk about rebalancing the signaling across the gut brain axis we are referring to neurotransmitters, inflammatory molecules and short chain fatty acids.
When we talk about rebalancing the signaling across the heart brain axis we are referring to electrical currents.
4. Reduce inflammation
The body’s inflammatory cascade begins in the the gut lining. Once we repair the gut lining we can add in additional nutrients to continue to further reduce pain and inflammation.
3. Undergo a process for cellular repair and cleanup
There is an old saying, you are what you eat. But really it should be, you are what you eat and you body actually absorbs. Once we repair the gut lining and rebalance the ph of your digestive tract we will need to up your nutrient intake to make up for deficiencies at the cellular level.
SIMPLE PROTOCOL TO RECALIBRATE THE BRAIN, BODY AND NERVOUS SYSTEM AFTER COVID
With this order, you will also receive a complimentary 30 min Health Coaching Session with me where we will put a step by step plan in place to help you get your health & life back.
With every blog post, I like to empower you with a POWERFUL FREE resource that you can download and incorporate into your life right away.
This week I’ve put together a resource called My TOP 5 HACKS That Will FINALLY Get You “IN THE ZONE” ALL DAY, EVERY DAY!
In it, I outline my step by step process to zap brain fog and fatigue and get your brain and body firing on all cylinders again so can show up fully for the the people that depend on you.
Click the link above to download it!
Love & Gratitude,
Jess
Clinical Study References:
[1]1 in 5 COVID-19 patients develop mental illness within 90 days
[2] COVID-19 linked to ‘substantial’ drop in intelligence, new research finds
[4] Optimization of Heart-Brain-Axis Signaling Improves Mental and Physical Performance
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