Four Supplements To Help With Long Covid Plus One More Supplement

[chartist]

It is now common knowledge that Covid-19, at least for many people, can still cause moderate to severe symptoms even after you are over the main symptoms of Covid-19 and test negative for the SARS-CoV2 virus.

These symptoms can persist for months or even years, and some people seem unable to ever become 100% clear of these symptoms, which are typically referred to as "Long Covid."

health.ucdavis.edu/coronavi...

Typical Long Covid Symptoms

Fatigue (Very Common)

Brain Fog

Depression

Headache

Sleep Issues / Insomnia

Chronic Cough

Lightheadedness

Shortness of Breath

Chest Pain or Tightness

Loss of Smell

Muscle Aches

Heart Palpitations

Dizziness

Joint Pain

Pins and Needles feeling in hands and or feet

Gastrointestinal Issues

Previously I have written about how melatonin can be useful for some of these post covid symptoms here so I won't discuss that now or count it as part of this group, but I will add that melatonin has anticoagulation effects in the blood :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Now that more research into long covid is starting to be done, we have a greater understanding of what is going on in this post-disease process and consequently an increased understanding of what supplements are more likely to be beneficial to try and counter these symptoms.

A lot of what is driving long covid is oxidative stress and inflammation which antioxidants are very useful to try and counter the increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and the symptoms related to elevated oxidative stress levels and inflammation.

The Role Of Oxidative Stress and Hyper Inflammation In Long Covid

This newer article (April 2022) details how Oxidative Stress and Hyper-Inflammation are major driving forces in long covid :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Here is a relevant quote from the review:

' Oxidative stress is a pivotal point in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and presumably also in Long-COVID. Inflammation and oxidative stress are mutually reinforcing each other, thus contributing to the systemic hyper-inflammatory state and coagulopathy which are cardinal pathological mechanisms of severe stages. COVID-19 patients, like other critically ill patients e.g. with pneumonia, very often show severe deficiency of the antioxidant vitamin C. '

ALA + CoQ10

Along that line of thinking, Alpha lipoic Acid (ALA) + CoQ10 should serve well to lower oxidative stress overall in the body and the mitochondria in particular, which will go a long way in improving cell function. Melatonin is a highly potent antioxidant and radical scavenger as well as a potent anti inflammatory as outlined in the very first link.

The following new study (August 2022) gives pertinent information on why the combination of ALA and CoQ10 are likely to be useful against post Covid-19 symptoms :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Here is an important quote :

' A FSS complete response was reached in 62 (53.5%) patients in treatment group and in two (3.5%) patients in control group. A reduction in FSS core < 20% from baseline at T1 (non-response) was observed in 11 patients in the treatment group (9.5%) and in 15 patients in the control group (25.9%) (p < 0.0001). To date, this is the first study that tests the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid in chronic Covid syndrome. Primary and secondary outcomes were met. '

Those are good positive results in a moderate sized study group and clearly show the efficacy of the combination of ALA + CoQ10 in trying to deal with long covid. It is already established that ALA is useful for peripheral neuropathy or the pins and needles feeling in the hands and feet so I won't go into that aspect here, but those can be post covid symptoms and ALA would show its relevance there also. It is worth mentioning that the Ubiquinol form of CoQ10 is likely to be a better choice because of its superior bioavailability in adults.

Vitamin C + L-Arginine

In this new study (September 2022) they showed the combination of Vitamin C and L-Arginine to improve long covid symptoms via their Lincoln Survey :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Here is a relevant quote from their review :

' This survey is the first to show the beneficial effects of the combination of l-Arginine and Vitamin C in Long-COVID. Our investigation was based on a robust rationale, i.e. targeting endothelial dysfunction in Long-COVID. Indeed, endothelial cell infection with consecutive inflammatory cell recruitment and endothelial dysfunction could explain the impaired microcirculation observed across vascular beds in COVID-19, triggering vasoconstriction, ischemia, and a pro-coagulant state [92], [93], [94], [95]. Consistent with our view, several investigators had proposed that endotheliitis could be a critical mechanism underlying systemic impaired microcirculatory function observed in different vascular beds in patients experiencing Long-COVID symptoms [92], [96]. '

It is worth noting that melatonin also helps repair and or protect the endothelium through its anti-inflammatory and potent antioxidant effects.

So here we have four supplements, well 5 if you add melatonin in, that have shown benefit against many of the symptoms of long covid in these brand new studies. These supplements are common and readily available with good safety profiles and are likely to help alleviate the symptoms of long covid and as a side benefit are likely to offer other health benefits rather than negative side effects often seen with prescription medications.

Supplements for Long-Covid

1. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)

2. Co~Q10 as Ubiquinol

3. Vitamin C

4. L-Arginine

+

5. Melatonin : healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Dosing

As far as dosing, it seems prudent to start with label recommendations and work upward if needed.

Many supplements are starting to show some benefit against long covid, but testing is in the very early stages as of now, but as those studies become available, I will add them to this thread. Some interesting areas of research into Long Covid are amino acids and synbiotic combinations.

Art

[Sydney75]

Thank you! I have also read a few promising studies regarding NAC with covid and long covid. NAC is the precursor for gluathione a master antioxidant.

//efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/europeanreview.org/wp/wp-co...

[chartist in reply to Sydney75]

You're welcome!

NAC is a potent antioxidant and in some studies has shown synergy with melatonin while in other studies it has not shown that synergy, but in any case they are not likely to work against each other. From the sound of those three papers, potent antioxidants sound like an overall good direction to take toward Long Covid and NAC, ALA and Mel certainly seem like they should fit nicely.

Given their different methods of action NAC seems like it should be additive to ALA. I am a little concerned about the L-Arginine without also including L-Lysine to keep their ratio in balance, but probably not much problem in a shorter term scenario and if it turns into longer term the L-Lysine could always be added in.

Art

[LindaP50 in reply to Sydney75]

NAC ad Glutathione are recommend for folks with Lyme Disease.

[chartist in reply to LindaP50]

NAC, ALA, Vitamin C, Arginine, Sulforaphane and Melatonin have all shown the ability to increase Glutathione in the body and that should make them useful for multiple heath conditions where oxidative stress and inflammation are chronically at elevated levels.

Art

[LindaP50 in reply to chartist]

Very good to know. My hubby is on Vitamin C to help/eliminate uti's. Didn't know Vit C was associated with Glutathione. Good news!

[chartist in reply to LindaP50]

For some people, too much vitamin C can cause kidney stones, but not all people. Another consideration that I have seen benefit for UTI prevention in a friend is grape seed extract. This is the product they used to good effect and it has worked well to prevent the frequent UTI's they were having :

amazon.com/Carlyle-Grape-Ex...

They used the recommended dose on the label of 3 capsules per day. GSE has many other health benefits if you read up on it. It is also an ingredient in the supplement Restore Gold (RS), but I believe the dose used in RS is too low to be maximally effective for the purpose they are using it for.

Art

[LindaP50 in reply to chartist]

Thanks, Art. I will look research further.

[wriga]

Hello Art, I totally agree with the supplements you propose to deal with oxidative stress and inflammation and I would like to add sulforaphane (SFN) to that list as the most potent natural activator of the the transcription factor Nrf2,the master regulator of redox homeostasis. The role of Nrf2 in long Covid has been well documented by A Cuadrado et al. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

According to S Zhang et al, Covid-19 impairs Nrf2 activation. nature.com/articles/s41423-...,

SFN is also good to protect mice from Covid, nature.com/articles/s42003-...

The relation between virus infections such as Long Covid and PD is becoming more evident every day.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I contracted Covid 19 in December last year in spite of 3 Covid vaccinations and had severe symptoms for more than 6 weeks. I finally broke free of these symptoms after a large dose of SFN in the form of Broccoli Seed Tea.

You can learn more about that via the Broccoli and Sulforaphane Research Group here patientresearcher.com/

[chartist in reply to wriga]

I agree, Albert! The most potent antioxidants seem like a good play to fight Covid-19, during infection and after according to their research in order to reduce symptoms and significantly speed recovery.

I will say that I am surprised that you waited as long as you did to initiate SFN knowing how potent it is???

Art

[LindaP50]

Thank you for taking the time to post this useful information. I will dig in and read all the links you provided while drinking my 2nd cup of coffee!

[chartist in reply to LindaP50]

Enjoy the reading with your coffee!

Art

[EnterTheDragon]

Are these multiple negative symptoms actually COVID related, or ( more likely) a result of the experimental injections administered?

[chartist in reply to EnterTheDragon]

I added the link from UC Davis that lists the symptoms of Long Covid. These are symptoms of Long Covid and it says nothing about any experimental injections. Here is the link that I added to the original post :

health.ucdavis.edu/coronavi...

Art

[EnterTheDragon]

Thanks Art. The experimental injection I referred to is also called the COVID vaccine, even though it doesn’t work as a vaccine.

[chartist in reply to EnterTheDragon]

If a vaccine is meant to prevent you from getting Covid-19, it seems fairly clear that it doesn't work as intended, but it does seem to attenuate the symptoms if/when you do get Covid-19, at least in the majority of people. I have however heard of "fully vaccinated" people getting Covid-19 and requiring hospitalization and possibly died. So I guess it is true, there are no guarantees in this life except death and taxes .

Art