The Role of Nutrition and Supplements in Managing Chronic Fatigue Post-COVID

Posted on behalf of Dr. Bala Munipalli, M.D., from the Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID (PASC) Clinic at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.

We have known for many years that nutrition is linked to immunity and severity of infections. People who are not well-nourished are at higher risk for infections. Chronic and severe infections can cause people to not have enough vitamins, minerals, or other important nutrients they need.   People with diabetes, hypertension, older age, and cancer tend to have more severe COVID-19 infection and are more likely to have long-term problems from COVID-19 (Zheng, et al, 2020).

For those reasons, it is important to eat healthy.  A healthy diet includes lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes (beans), and nuts, and moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and poultry (chicken, turkey). It also encourages people to limit red and processed meats, refined carbohydrates, and sugar.  By eating this way, the body gets all the vitamins and minerals along with the protein, fats, carbohydrates it needs to help recover from COVID-19.

Many people have read or heard about supplements being recommended for managing acute (short term) symptoms of COVID-19 (vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics) (12).   This comes from research done to look at the use of these nutrients in acute respiratory infections.  We have seen the benefit of using supplements in older people who often do not have enough of these vitamins and minerals because of chronic health conditions, changes in appetite, or limited access to healthy foods.

We may see that limited access to healthy foods, or the cost of healthy foods, makes having a healthy diet even more difficult. Surveys have shown that most people in the U. S. do not eat the types or amounts of food that meet national guidelines.

Currently there are no studies that show a definite benefit for people to take vitamin or mineral supplement to help reduce the effects of COVID-19 either short or long-term.  For that reason, it is important for people to practice good nutrition when they can.  If people are unable to get enough vitamins and minerals through food, then and only then, they may want to consider a multivitamin and Vitamin D3 (1000 IU) to take every day. Older people, black individuals, smokers, and people with autoimmune disorders may often not have enough Vitamin D. Vitamin D may help because it reduces the levels of a certain enzyme, which is thought to be a way for the COVID virus to get into the body.

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References

Bland, J. The Long Haul of COVID-19 Recovery: Immune Rejuvenation versus Immune Support. Integrative Medicine. 2020; 19 (6):18-22.

Myhill, S, Booth, NE, McLaren-Howard, J. Chronic fatigue syndrome and mitochondrial dysfunction. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2009;2(1):1-16.

Thomas, L. Some nutritional supplements may help prevent or mitigate COVID-19 severity. News Medical Life Sciences. 2020.

Zheng, Y, Liu, X, Le, W, et al. A human circulating immune cell landscape in aging and COVID-19. Protein Cell. 2020;; 11(10):740-770.

Article by Dr. Bala Munipalli, M.D., from the Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID (PASC) Clinic at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.