This cross-over study will assess a no added sugar diet, a restricted daily eatingwindow, and one or two full day water fasts to determine if there is an effect onself-reported symptoms of Long Covid (PASC).
This remote study will use a cross-over design to test a diet change plus a 10-12 hour
eating window (Treatment A) compared to a diet change, an 8-hour eating window, and one
36 or 60 hour fast per week (Treatment B). Both potential Treatment A and potential
Treatment B are 4 weeks in duration. To be eligible, subjects must have a minimum of five
common long COVID-19 symptoms. The fasting will limit food intake but not water intake.
There will be a two-week run-in with weekly surveys of patient-reported symptoms and
severity. The subjects will be randomly assigned to Group AB or to Group BA. Since the
water fasts are at the beginning of the week (with symptoms surveyed at the end of the
week) there is a 5-6 day washout and then a cross-over to the other treatment for Group
BA. A Likert 0-4 scale is used to track the severity of 28 of the most common
patient-reported symptoms each week. An additional 30 symptoms are also tracked. Subjects
are asked to follow a no-added sugar diet for the entire 10 weeks of the study.
Other: Low sugar diet and 10-12 hour eating window
Low sugar diet and 10-12 hour eating window for four weeks
Other: Low sugar diet, 8 hour eating window and fasting
Low sugar diet, 8 hour eating window and a 36-60 hour fast once per week for four weeks.
Inclusion Criteria
- Adult (18-69 years old)
- Five or more common Long Covid symptoms
- Free from fever > 100F and known bacterial and parasitic infections
- Must indicate willingness to limit certain supplements and report all medications.
- Must indicate willingness to make significant dietary changes - and limit daily
eating to an 8 or 10 hour window.
- Must indicate willingness to attempt 36 hr or 60 hr water fasts each week for 4
weeks.
- Have a valid email address and phone number
- Reside in the United States
- Be able to read and to communicate in English
- Must indicate willingness to avoid "extra" supplements such as Fish Yes Oil, Cod
liver Oil, Krill Oil, MCT oil, Coconut Oil, Tumeric/Curcumin, Berberine, Quercetin
(> 500 mg), Red Yeast Rice, French Marine Bark extract, Red Sage, Ginko biloba,
Oregano Oil, Peppermint Oil, Black seed oil, Cinnamon bark extract, Elderberry,
Stinging Nettle, Milk Thistle, Monolaurin, Vendicinals 9, Tollovid, QuadraMune and
all Probiotics.
- Must indicate willingness to avoid certain nutraceuticals such as Zinc (more than 25
mg), Arginine, Glutamine, Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), Alpha Lipoic Acid, L
Carnitine and Taurine during the study period.
- Must indicate willingness to avoid longevity supplements such as NAD+, Niacin, NMN,
Nicotinamide Riboside, Spermidine and Fisetin during the study period.
- Must indicate willingness to halt Olive oil consumption greater than 1 tsp daily
during the study period.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Likely COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 infection < 45 days before enrollment
- Body Mass Index (BMI) must be 20 or greater
- Past history of an eating disorder.
- Previously fasted more than 18 hours with Long COVID
- Currently doing intermittent fasting
- Pregnant or breast-feeding
- Severe pulmonary disease requiring supplemental oxygen
- Partial loss of vision due to macular degeneration
- Any recent (90 days) history of malignancies, fractures, surgery, radiation, chemo,
anesthesia, or traumas
- Diagnosed with Type I or Type II Diabetes
- Previous Autoimmune condition
- Heart condition (Coronary artery disease, Heart valve disease, Heart No failure,
Stroke)
- Pre-pandemic Arrythmia
- Liver disease
- Previous Chronic Health Conditions that did not fully resolve (Includes ME/CFS, Lyme
Disease, and Fibromyalgia)
- Prescription anticoagulation medication that cannot be halted during the study
period. Brilinta (ticagrelor), Plavix (clopidogrel), Coumadin, Warfarin etc.
- High Cholesterol medications that cannot be halted or reduced during the study
period (Fenofibrate, Statins > 10 mg)
- Anti-inflammatories or immunosuppressants such as Steroids, Low dose Naltrexone
(LDN), Maraviroc, Remicade/Infliximab or Colchicine that cannot be halted during the
study period
- Metformin, Ivermectin, or peptides such as BCP-157 that cannot be halted during the
study period
Remote trial - anyone residing in the United States
Boulder 5574991, Colorado 5417618, United States
Pacific Northwest University
Yakima 5816605, Washington 5815135, United States
Jeffrey Novack, PhD, Principal Investigator
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences