Skip to main content

Christmas Diets vs Long COVID and CFS

Merry Christmas!

Since this is a very new web site and many people are finding it each day, I would like to point out my recent post “Thanksgiving Feast Adjustments for Long COVID and CFS”.  In this recent post I shared some strategies I planned to use for Thanksgiving to help keep my symptoms in check.  In short, it included:

  • Reducing reined carbs
  • Reducing refined sugar
  • Reducing exertion to manage my energy budget

I will not bore those who already read it by repeating it all, but with Christmas coming up it seems worth calling attention to that post for new readers since the typical Christmas feast is so similar to that of Thanksgiving.

To add some extra value to that topic, here are some supporting links providing additional dietary recommendations for long COVID.  If you read them carefully, you will see that they offer mostly similar advice, though some emphasize the importance of including whole grain complex carbohydrates for energy over simple carbs, while others emphasize the fruits, vegetables and proteins.

For me, the takeaways are diet is important to recovery and symptom management, simple carbs, sugar and bad fats are bad, and medical opinions vary slightly on how much complex carbohydrates to consume.  In the context of a Christmas Dinner, this likely means that I should go easy on the bad carbs, sweets and fats,enjoy the turkey and vegetables, and make a point of including some fresh fruit in lieu of snacks or desserts.

For More Information

© 2023 All rights reserved. This blog reflects the personal experience and opinions of a long COVID and CFS survivor and is not qualified medical advice. Consult a doctor for your situation.

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

I invite on-topic, helpful comments from readers with free Google accounts. I am especially interested in comments that share useful tips for fighting long-COVID, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain and Migraines. Off-topic comments, comments that name other sites or products without including much relevant textual explanation, and comments disparaging any person or group will be deleted. As I am trying to keep this a positive place, I may also delete comments in a despairing tone that focus only on symptom misery rather than helpful ways to combat it. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and helpful tips!

Popular posts from this blog

Neuro Diet for Brain and Nerves

Dietary Advice I Received from a Long COVID Program As with many conditions, eating the appropriate foods can help with symptoms of chronic fatigue, brain fog and neurological strain.  Interestingly, when I started the post-COVID rehabilitation program, they put me on a diet that was extremely high in lean animal protein which runs somewhat counter to the modern fads of plant-based everything.  But many of their other suggestions seem similar to aspects of the Mediterranean Diet, The Harvard “Healthy Eating Plate” and other mainstream health diets.  Here are some of their suggestions to me, which were adapted from a pamphlet called “ Healthy Brain, Healthy Nerves ” by Doctor Jinny Tavee, a neurologist specializing in neuromuscular disorders and integrative holistic medicine. They Asked Me to Eat: wild caught fish: 3-5 servings per week, prepared without much fat (e.g. avoid deep frying, butter poaching, etc.) brightly colored fruits and vegetables: 5-6 servings per day gr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recognizing Symptoms of Brain Fatigue Can Help

My last article discussed how to use pacing and energy budgets to improve performance and reduce symptoms.  However, I did a poor job of listing common signs of brain fatigue and how to recognize when a rest and cognition break might help so I decided to remedy that with this post.  Many of the warning signs are counterintuitive, so without a list it can be challenging to recognize when a symptom might be caused my mental fatigue and thus when a mental break is needed. Below is a list I copied nearly verbatim from a handout from a long-COVID recovery program from a highly respected research hospital.  It is not copyrighted nor proprietary, so I am free to share it here: Common Signs of Brain Fatigue Cognitive Symptoms of Brain Fatigue Difficulty concentrating Forgetfulness Slow speech Headache Word-finding difficulties Emotional Symptoms of Brain Fatigue Irritability Nervousness Withdrawal Physical Symptoms of Brain Fatigue Loss of appetite Low energy Nausea Balance ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Traumatic Brain Injury Strategies May Help Long Covid Symptoms

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) People who have not experienced a significant post-viral crash such as long-COVID may be surprised to learn that it is sometimes treated as if it were traumatic brain injury (TBI).   But anyone who has lived with long-COVID, or other causes of chronic brain fog, memory issues and fatigue will understand it.   Even though after COVID most people do not show physical damage to their brains, the symptoms are can be remarkably similar to those of traumatic brain injury, such as after a stroke or a blow to the head.   Where it gets weird, is that when many such people get lots of rest, avoid stress, and do not overwork their brains, they can function quite well at times, and someone who did not know them before their symptoms started would think they are “normal” if they meet them on a good day. It took me over a year of waiting before I was allowed into a great research hospital’s post COVID program.   But once I finally made it in, one o...
Post a Comment
Read more