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Can we talk? I mean really talk? I work with clients who come to me with autoimmune conditions, mainly gut related, however, all diseases start with the gut. Hmm, let me back up, all diseases start with what you put into your mouth. Have you read the report from Consumer Reports about food packaging? If you have, good, read this. If you have not, please read this. Consumer reports did independent testing of more than 100 packaging products from US restaurant and grocery chains. They found what is called “Forever Chemicals” in paper bags for french fries, wrappers for hamburgers, molded fiber salad bowls and single-use paper plates. "Forever Chemicals" means, they stay in our body forever because our overwhelmed liver and kidneys can not detoxify them. With the right tools, it is possible to release them from the body. I believe it is quite possible, given the fact on average, PFAS can remain in the body between two and nine years. Unfortunately, most people are not willing to change their habits. Believe it or not, this also plays a role in the severity of some cases of Covid-19. According to the findings of Consumer Reports', restaurants, especially fast food restaurants had at least one packaging product containing Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (pronounced PEA-fahs). Grocery chains such as Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Stop and Shop. There are more than 4,700 different PFAS chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and among the 9,000 known PFAS, testing can only identify a couple dozen according to Consumer Reports. Here is the thing, this is not the first time Consumer Reports has done this type of a report. They have done it several times. We hear the message, it remains in the news for a couple of days, and restaurants go back to how they have always done it. If we, as consumers, are not demanding change, it is not going to happen.  And, believe me, it is not just Fast food chains, restaurants from chains to high end are all using these types of packaging. More than likely, not knowingly or turning a blind eye. According to Consumer Reports; “retailers that claimed to be phasing out PFAS, including Cava, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, and Whole Foods Market. All 13 of the products the companies said had reduced PFAS still had some detectable organic fluorine, and seven were above 20 ppm. They ranged from a Whole Foods soup container with 21 ppm organic fluorine—the only Whole Foods item to top the 20-ppm limit—to a paper bag for pita chips from Cava with 260 ppm. PFAS are a a class of industrial chemicals used to repel grease, water and stains in consumer products. This is why you will find these chemicals in pizza boxes, fast food packaging, restaurant take away containers, disposable coffee cups and soup containers, nonstick coating on many pans and bakeware, carpeting, in some areas, drinking water, packaging lining (think cereal, crackers), furniture coating, clothing, electronics. Why are PFAS Dangerous?According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the chemicals are linked to liver damage, harm to the immune system, developmental toxicity and cancer, and can accumulate in humans and the environment. PFA’s in packaging, are seeping into the food. This contamination is building up in our body, is leading to health issues. Studies have shown in animal testing to cause liver, pancreas, and testicular tumors, effects on serum liver enzymes, however, how it is effecting humans is uncertain. Other studies have shown increases in prostate, kidney and testicular cancers in people who live near facilities and workers exposed to PFAS Studies looking at the harm of elevated levels of PFOS and PFOA in drinking water found that, people who’d been exposed to higher than normal levels of PFOA had an elevated risk of high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and pregnancy-induced hypertension According to a 2020 Consumer Reports article, PFAS have been detected in the drinking water of more than 1,400 communities in 49 states, according to research by the PFAS Project at Northeastern University in Boston and the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an advocacy organization that estimates that 110 million people may have tap water contaminated with the chemicals. Other studies in people and animals have shown that high enough doses of PFAS chemicals like PFOA can affect the immune system and have toxic effects on the liver and other organs. According to a report from Florida, non- cancer effects appear more common and include, increase cholesterol levels, impact hormones, the immune system and fetal and infant developmental effects. There’s clear evidence that being exposed to high enough levels of PFOS and PFOA is linked to an elevated risk for a number of diseases, and experts say it’s possible that other PFAS chemicals could have similar health effects. Continuous high exposure is what increases the risk the most. What is even more sickening, the federal government still hasn't set limits for PFAS compounds. Keep in mind, it may be small exposure in fast food or grocery packaging, known as chronic exposure. It is the accumulative effect at play here. There are newer chemicals on the market. Researches are testing people to see how these will pan out. Wait, what? Sounds like we are the cohort, once again. But, according to the companies who are producing alternatives they are well-studied and safe. Um, no thank you! Sounds like when we woke up and screamed “foul-play” on Bisphenol A (BPA). The companies changed to Bisphenol-S (BPS) and we all think this is safe. Um, no! Covid-19 and PFAS, A Deadly CombinationPFAS (perfluorinated alkylate substances) are everywhere! Getting them out of the Environemental is not possible. Even the healthiest of the healthiest packaging will contain trace amounts of PFAS. There are substitutes available, however, CR tested 50 products and guess what? They are not so healthy. One of the newer subset or substitute is erfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA). This has been found to accumulate in the lungs and has been linked to more sever cases of COVID-19. The researchers found; “Measures of individual exposures to immunotoxic PFASs included short-chain PFBA known to accumulate in the lungs. Elevated plasma-PFBA concentrations were associated with an increased risk of a more severe course of COVID-19. Given the low background exposure levels in this study, the role of exposure to PFASs in COVID-19 needs to be ascertained in populations with elevated exposures.”  According to US Department of Health and Human Services; “CDC/ATSDR recognizes that exposure to high levels of PFAS may impact the immune system. There is evidence from human and animal studies that PFAS exposure may reduce antibody responses to vaccines and may reduce infectious disease resistance." According to Toxic Free Future Advocacy Group; many products are made with these compounds, including: "food packaging, such as microwave popcorn bags and fast food wrappers; stain-resistant carpets, rugs, and furniture; non-stick cookware; outdoor gear with a “durable water repellent” coating; aerospace, medical, and automotive applications; and many specialty items such as firefighting foams, ski wax, and industrial applications." These chemicals are everywhere and in just about everything and are here to stay messing up our health. Why do we need talk?Because I really want you to be the healthiest you can be, not just in this moment, but when you are old! You see, what you eat today, or what it is wrapped in, may not show a cause and an effect today. It will show an accumulative chronic effect later. Cancer doesn’t happen over night, an autoimmune condition does not happen over night. It is an accumulative effect. These chemicals are a contributing factor. What you are doing today is going to affect how you feel in the future.I met with a potential client, who has Crohn’s disease. His diet was terrible, two days of eating a better diet, he felt better. Food is powerful! If he keeps going, eating real whole foods and avoiding as many chemicals as possible, he can reverse numerous side effects of his current condition. Of course, we are talking about what our food is wrapped in. Food that you purchase in the organic produce section comes in its own package. Whole organic fruits and vegetables will not contain any PFAS, xenoestrogens and other chemicals. I am keeping this post mainly to food exposure however, this is also a growing concern for children’s toys, baby bottles, toys, appliances and personal care products. How Can we limit our exposure to PFAS?Get Your Water TestedGet your water tested whether it is municipal or well water. Water systems tested in 2013-2015 revealed an estimated six million U.S. residents with drinking water supplies contaminated with PFAS above safety levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A 2018, report drafted by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry suggested more communities may have PFAS levels in their water that are a concern for health. For some, water can be the highest exposure. Not just drinking, but bathing. When these chemicals are heated they are more volatile and steam is an easy way to inhale large amounts of these chemicals, not to mention what is absorbed through the skin.  Reverse Osmosis for your home Invest in a Reverse OsmosisOnce your water has been tested you can either trust what you are drinking out of the tap or, install a reverse osmosis. Whether you live in a building or your home rolls like ours you can get a reverse osmosis. When we had our home, I had the iSpring 7-Stage Reverse Osmosis and I loved it. The water tasted so good! There are different filter stages you can get. I went for this one because the water in Phoenix, Arizona is less than stellar including containing chemicals such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Chromium-6. This Ispring Reverse Osmosis (picture above) has 7 stages of filtration including a UV light stage for microbes, the other filters remove harmful chemicals and the best part, a pH filter to remineralize the water. It was truly the best reverse osmosis system I have ever had. If I could have fit this under the sink in my Motorcoach, I would have it in there too. But, alas, it is too big!  I did find a company that makes RV reverse osmosis units with different tank and cartridge sizes. We got the 2 gallon tank (pictured above) and it is perfect for shore hookup or boondocking. The company is Weco Filters. The one we got is a mini 3 cartridge (with membrane) reverse osmosis machine. I also found it on Amazon which is super nice for the free shipping and getting it in a couple of days. A friend of mine just purchased the same one off of Amazon for his coach and he loves it! We have a 3 stage filter system for the whole coach and a filter on the hose outside. Because of this, instead of changing our WECO Mini Reverse Osmosis filters every 3 months, we can go 6 months, sometimes longer. The membrane is changed every two years. We are just coming up on 2 years and will have to see where it is at and then decide if we can get a little more time on it. Although, the filters are quite inexpensive. For the home, typically the filters are changed every 6 months to a year and the membrane is every 5 years.  Use a shower and bathtub filterYou can also get shower and bath filter systems to help catch some of these chemicals. Weco Filters carries filters for the bath and shower. Amazon has vast array of shower and bath filters from a simple carbon to elaborate remineralizing filters. Like SparkPod, Aqua Earth, AquaBliss, which have different stages of filtration to not only block out the bad stuff but remineralize for better skin and hair. For the bath, there are bath ball filters such as, Sprite Showers, BB-BN Ball Bath Filter, Organic Cotton Bath Faucet Filter by Santevia, and CuZn Bath Ball Faucet Filter. Upgrade your dining experienceFood chains use less than stellar ingredients, especially the oil. On the notes, your local restaurants may also be using less than stellar ingredients and packaging. Open Googlemaps and search “organic restaurants”. A ton of healthier option restaurants will pop up. They will not all be organic, however, they will be a 100% step up from fast food chains. Now you get to explore cleaner, fresher food.  Before going to the restaurant, bring a glass container with you for leftovers. You can now get glass dishes with bamboo lids. There are tons to choose from on Amazon from small to large and ones with individualized compartments. I recently purchased these bamboo glass containers with separate compartments to try out in my HotLogic. I love that that I can bring home SAFE leftovers, refrigerate, then pop into my HotLogic to reheat the next day. I can also store food in these and pop them into the freezer. Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial, and does not contain any of the forever chemicals. I also leave a glass container in my car, for unplanned nights out.  If you already have glass containers with plastic lids, like I do, I use non-bleached parchment paper to put under the plastic lid. I have been using the brand "If You care" non-bleached, chemical free parchment paper because they really go far to ensure the best healthiest quality parchment paper.  For my round glass dishes, I use "Zenology" unbleached parchment paper rounds. All I can say is one word, GENIUS! They come in every size and are easy to use. I have researched these two companies for parchment paper and they are not using “forever chemicals” to the best of my knowledge. Pay Attention to the PackagingNow that you have a better idea of what is lurking in the food products, limit your consumption of canned foods, foods wrapped in styrofoam, microwaved foods such as popcorn (the ultimate worst) and, liners in food. Look for food in glass over plastic. Now, you are probably thinking, there is no way I am giving up my popcorn. You do not have to. You just need to upgrade what you are eating. Instead of a chemical laden popcorn bag cooked in the microwave, go retro. Go old skool with a popcorn machine. If you like buttered popcorn, go for real organic butter from pastured raised cows or ghee. Voila! Look at you, making yummy buttered popcorn and not a chemical in sight! Pat yourself on the back. This is just one example of how you can easily upgrade your food choices for the better. Here is a great trick. When picking a product off of the shelf, grab the one at the back. If the employees are stocking their shelves correctly, the newest is at the back and the oldest product is at the front. It won't protect you from leaching. But, when you add in the lights beaming on the shelves, the newer product is hiding in the back under the cloak of shade. It just means maybe there is less contamination. Which means, when you get your product home, transfer it from the packaging to a glass dish or jar. Oh, and do not forget to use non-bleached waxed paper or parchment paper if you are using a plastic lid. Upgrade your protein sourcesIf you are subscribed to my weekly newsletter, You all know I order my animal and seafood protein through Butcherbox. Not only am I side-stepping harmful antibiotics, toxins and inflammation, I am also not getting styrofoam packaged foods. Seriously, upgrading your animal and ocean protein means, less chemicals altering your physiology leading to disease and cancer. Plus, its fresh, not hanging around in a supermarket under those harsh lights. I also like that Butcherbox is delivered right to my door. Check out a local Farmers Market. Besides Butcherbox, I also go to local farmers market and chat with the farmer, they are super honest and will tell you up front what they are feeding their animals and how they are raised. I have yet to be handed meat that was stored on styrofoam. Its just a better a choice.  Eat at home, cook at homeSunday dinners were my favourite when I was kid. We would gather together at grandmas house and enjoy good food and great conversations, well the adults anyway. I was just happy to play with my cousins. If you are subscribed to my weekly newsletter, (and, if you are not, get on it now), you know I am always sharing a recipe with you. Ok, so a lot of them are using the HotLogic, but, there is method to my obsession! The HotLogic ((use my discount code HEALTHY GUT for an additional 10% off) is a simple way to upgrade your food with minimal effort. Throw all the ingredients into a glass dish (no chemicals), slap on a piece of non-bleached parchment paper (no chemicals) and then the lid (protected from chemicals), plug the HotLogic in- eat when you are ready chemical free! Seriously, we need to get back to eating real food! It has been proven, that food wrapped in packages especially fat, salt and acidic leach the PFAS chemicals quicker. What foods could these be? Just about everything on the menu! Research suggests, PFAS levels are higher in those who regularly eat out especially in females. Covid lockdown should have had us all cooking again. But, unfortunately, because we had a car and tons of drive-thrus, with a wipe of the sweat off our brow, we thwarted the horror. I believe from looking at the research, our immune system has been attacked, our gut is compromised and we are dealing with the aftermath of ill health, blaming it all on Covid. Seriously, we need to start cooking whole organic, foods that grow from the ground and graze upon it. In other words, less packaged foods and more real food, minimally processed.  I get it, we are all busy, and purchasing a ready cooked meal and popping it into a microwave is quick. Or even quicker, driving up to the drive thru, and spending 15 minutes in a line sucking in exhaust fumes while we pass the time away scrolling through social media. Seriously, have you stopped to understand what is missing when you eat these types of food? You are not getting what you need to run your body, protect you from disease and cancer! Autoimmune disease, cancer are preventative if we take a little time now to do the work. If you do not put the right oil and gas and change the filter in your car, it doesn’t run quite as well. We are much the same. It may seem like a lot of work and in the beginning it may seem like that. But, once you get used to cooking real whole food, you will never go back. There isn’t a client I have worked with who, after working with me has said “I think I am going back to the way I used to eat.” Not one! I have worked in integrative healing centers in 3 different countries. The running theme; whatever the ailment, the diet and lifestyle was the same. Change the diet and lifestyle, and they all got better to reversing their symptoms and diagnoses for the better. You have the ability to change. Don’t do it all at once. Start slowly. Look, if you want to learn how to cook from scratch and have left overs for the next day. Make the recipes I share with you. It is quite easy.  Boondocking with our HotLogic is the best -Use Discount code HEALTHYGUT on the checkout page save 10% My husband and I boondocked for a week in the middle of nowhere. It took me a little prep-work however, my HotLogic did all the work. In my HotLogic MAX Oven I effortlessly cooked at the same time, a whole chicken and beef roast in separate containers. My personal size HotLogic Mini I cooked a pork roast. I made up 3 different salad dressings in left over Kombucha jars. If you are starting to think the HotLogic is the way to check it out and use the discount code HEALTHYGUT on the checkout page for an additional 10% off. I have been using mine for 4 years now. I made sure we had enough for veggies for salads for the week. I will confess, I forgot to buy some onions. I made pickled onions -these went on everything they were sooooooooo good. You can easily cook up a batch of potatoes. Leave some boiled whole, mash some up and you can easily reheat in the HotLogic along with a choice beef, pork or chicken. I cooked my asparagus in the HotLogic for our asparagus pickled onion salad, paired it with chicken and it was absolutely delicious. Guess what was not lurking? PFAS! Yippeeee!  Butcherbox Roast beef reheated in my HotLogic with Feta cheese dressing. so good! We ate like royalty. The salad dressings were out of this world. Way better than any store bought dressing-I promise! The pickled onions were the perfect set of sweet and tangy. And mixing them with asparagus was just delightful. Eating outside every night with the sound of nothing but the Sonoran desert was better than any 5 star dining experience I have done. We had different fresh veggies and salad dressings throughout the week, alternated our animal protein and we never felt like we were eating the same thing every night. You can do this too. You do not need to boondock in order to eat super healthy and effortlessly. Detox your way to healthThere are things that can be done to help remove some of these chemicals from your body. But, first, you must start by removing the culprits and it starts with the what I have suggested above. Once this is done, then you can start the healing process. It can take up to a year or longer to release these stored toxins. Sorry, there is no quick fix. You can however, use foods to help in the process. Foods such as chlorella, spirulina, turmeric and Ginger are wonderful cleansing herbs to add to your smoothies and food. Leafy greens (the darker the better), apples and citrus for the pectin, sprouts and beets are wonderful for supporting the liver and its detoxification pathways. Add lots of organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds to help feed your microbiota that in turn can keep bacteria at bay that interfere with your liver's ability to detoxify. Fiber also helps bind toxins so they can be eliminated via a great bowel moment! Drinking quality water is also a super support. It helps to keep the body properly hydrated so that it can perform the necessary functions for proper detoxification and elimination. If you are taking fiber, it is important to get at least 32 ounces of water daily to help with good bowel movements to get the junk out of you. Sleep is super important. Sleep is what triggers the liver to start cleaning and sorting nutrients from our food intake and eliminating toxins and chemical processing metabolites from the day. Our entire digestive process is in high gear while we are sleeping; building and repairing. We do not need to worry, but we do need to worryPerfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) may be considered forever chemicals however, I believe we can do something about it. We can detoxify these chemicals from our body. But, first we must do some prepwork to get to the point of releasing these toxins. The first is to incorporate the suggestions in the article. The more you can stop bringing the chemicals in your body, the better your body will react at getting the rest out. We can all get back to basics with our food. What we put in our mouth affects our physiology, our emotions, our frame of mind, and our health. Disease and cancer is preventable. Now that you know how forever chemicals may be affecting your health, what will take for you to do something about it. You have the power to take back our health. If you need coaching or help in upgrading your diet and lifestyle, I am here for you. Email me or text me and let's get you going on your road to the best life now and in the future! Checkout these great articles
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In this post, let’s cover what is Long Covid, how it first started, the difference between Post Covid and Long Covid, How many cases are there worldwide, and the incomplete symptoms list of Long Covid (you will understand as you read on). For the latest COVID-19 news and information, visit Penn State's Coronavirus Information website. Continue to follow CDC-recommended health/safety precautions, contact your healthcare provider if you have questions or feel ill, and review information from state and national health authorities. This presentation does not have a treatment, cure, or prophylactic for SARS-CoV-2 There are no products to cure or treat the virus at this time. This information does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read here. If you think you may have a medical emergency, seek immediate medical treatment. There has been a new phenomenon emerging from the SARS-CoV2 infection known as “Long COVID”, “Long Haulers”, “long-haul COVID”, “Post COVID syndrome”, “post COVID-19 syndrome[1]”,“chronic COVID-19”[2] , “Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)[3]”as well as “Microbiome post COVID syndrome[4], which we will talk about later. Thanks to social media Long Covid is the one most referred to. For this blog, it is also the terminology I will use to describe this concerning emerging conditon. I was listening to one of my many online continuing educational courses and was busy getting dinner ready while the presenter was introducing himself. There was idle chitchat when suddenly, my ears perked in astonishment. He is an ER nurse and was talking about the amount of people coming into the ER saying they didn’t have shortness of breath, they just had to think about breathing. At this time, I had not really paid attention to the information on the virus that was taking over the nightly news. I had been suffering with this type of breathing issue along with inability to breathe properly while sitting and found myself having to sing in order to help me to forget thinking about breathing. It was almost like it reset me. I also would wake up because I was not breathing. I had no idea these were symptoms of SARS CoV-2 because these symptoms were not showing up in the literature. The nurse went on to say, with these symptoms, it could be a very long haul back to proper health. The next day, I was scheduled to give blood. When I arrived, they tested my hemoglobin, and I was well below the healthy threshold to give blood Low hemoglobin and breathing issues, for no apparent reason, I soon discovered I had been infected. What I didn’t know at the time, was the symptoms I had been dealing with for months, were recognized as Long Covid. I suffered in silence, not knowing others were also suffering. It has taken me over a year fighting to get my health back to where it was once. I have written and recorded an informational video for health coaches and practitioners on Long Covid. I have presented the information on Long Covid in such a manner, that even if you are not a health professional, you too can watch this program. There was so much information on the complexities of Long Covid symptoms that I thought I would write about it here, just in case, the common symptoms are not what you have but the more complex ones. I had been infected quite early, December 2019 right as I was healing with from Valley Fever. Talk about leaving the year on a low! By February 2020, I was having such odd symptoms and the breathing issues stayed with me for over a year. I had no idea they were attributed to Long Covid. I wish I had known earlier. I am the type of person who just doesn’t look at the numbers and chalk anything up to what is being presented. I believe in researching for the underlying condition, which starts with understanding our unique physiology. But, for now, in this post I will stick to the foundation the “what” of Long Covid and the symptoms. I really do hope this helps you especially if you have been struggling with symptoms that no one has connected the dots for you. How Did Long Covid start?As much confusion as there is for SARS CoV-2 there is for Long Covid. It has come to be understood once infected with the virus, the recovery was about 2 weeks later. Many were turning to social media[5] as early as March 2020 to discuss symptoms they were experiencing well after the infection recovery time.[6] It was then discovered by news media[7], and then various clinical media picked it up from there. In your search operating system type in "Long Covid" and you will see numerous academic papers on the phenomena.  Frequency of reported ongoing symptoms in survey participants (n=2526) Ziauddeen N, Gurdasani D, O’Hara ME, et al. Characteristics of Long Covid: findings from a social media survey. medRxiv; 2021. DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.21.21253968. Doctors understood the viral infection could lead to chronic illness but exploring this was not a priority. “At the beginning, everything was acute, and now we’re recognizing that there may be more problems,” according to Helen Su, an immunologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. “There is a definite need for long-term studies.”[8] What is the difference between Long Covid and Post Covid?This is a tough one to answer, because the information is still being collected. Although there are tons of studies pouring in, the distinction between post COVID and long COVID is blurred, due to a temporal evaluation only.[9] According to Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection May-June 2021 publication Diabetes metabolic Syndrome (published April 2020; Long Covid: An Overview “Long COVID is the collective term to denote persistence of symptoms in those who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection[10]”. The difference between Long Covid versus Post Covid according to Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection[11]; Post COVID syndrome is the time lag between the microbiological recovery and clinical recovery. The majority of people with post-COVID syndrome are PCR negative, indicating microbiological recovery.[12] “Long COVID can be divided into two stages-post acute COVID where symptoms extend beyond 3 weeks, but less than 12 weeks, and chronic COVID where symptoms extend beyond 12 weeks.[13]  Classification of long COVID | Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2021 May-June; 15(3): 869–875. Published online 2021 Apr 20. doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2021.04.007 Looking at insurance records of nearly 2 million people who were diagnosed with COVID-19, researchers found that 23% of people of all ages developed a condition 30 days or more after infection.[14] According to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)[15], the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network[16], and the Royal College of General Practitioners[17] use the following terms to characterize different stages of post–COVID-19 condition[18];
Research[19] group from Spain proposed the following groupings;
Long Covid Frequency is still being researched as the symptoms keep coming in. According to JAMA Systematic Review[20] looking at the short term and long term rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection showed that at least 50% of people who have been infected with and survived COVID-19 will continue to suffer from symptoms for 6 months or longer. Other institutions worldwide have defined Long Covid into subtypes;
The short answer for what is Long Covid according to JAMA Network; “Long COVID is the collective term to denote persistence of symptoms in those who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection beyond the acute infection phase 4 weeks after being infected.[28]” What has been established so far, it will take researchers at least 5 years to understand the long-term health impact of SARS-CoV-2[29] as we are the cohort for COVID and for Long Covid drug trials. How many Long Covid cases are there worldwide?The prevalence of Long Covid is quite extraordinary. According to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, more than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience post-COVID symptoms -- more commonly known as 'long COVID' -- up to six months after recovering.[30] How frequent is long covid? Another study, “Global Prevalence of Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or Long COVID: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review[31]”, researchers at the University of Michigan examined the prevalence of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) across the world to provide prevalence. Looking at 886,000 patients who tested positive for COVID-19, overall, the research team found that global prevalence of long COVID was about 43%. Among patients who needed hospitalization, the prevalence increased to 57%, between the sex, 49% among women and 37% among men. According to WebMD quoting World Health Organization on long covid frequency, estimate of 237 million worldwide COVID-19 infections in mid-October, more than 100 million people still experience or previously had long-term health consequences from the coronavirus, the researchers calculated.[32] Penn State research looked 57 systematic reviews which included data from 250,351 unvaccinated adults and children who were diagnosed with COVID-19 from December 2019 through March 2021. Among those studied, 79% were hospitalized, and most patients (79%) lived in high-income countries. Patients' median age was 54, and the majority of individuals (56%) were male. The researchers analyzed patients' health post-COVID during three intervals at one month (short-term), two to five months (intermediate term) and six or more months (long-term). According to the findings, survivors experienced an array of residual health issues associated with COVID-19. Generally, these complications affected a patient's general well-being, their mobility or organ systems. Overall, one in two survivors experienced long-term COVID manifestations. The rates remained largely constant from one month through six or more months after their initial illness. In the beginning, some thought long covid was nothing but a psychosomatic phenomenon. After turning to social media to share their experiences and then the review of over a year’s worth of data; these studies proved Long Covid is not psychosomatic like some believe.  Approach to patients with Long COVID | Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2021 May-June; 15(3): 869–875. Published online 2021 Apr 20. doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2021.04.007 What are the symptoms of Long Covid?The early lack of awareness of the range of symptoms associated with Covid19 meant that many people did not associate their symptoms with Covid19 and therefore did not associate their enduring symptoms with Long Covid.[33] Long Covid symptoms vary from person-to-person. A 2020 follow up after discharge from a Paris hospital report that 64% of respondents reporting a period of wellness before relapsing, 76% presented new symptoms that were absent during the acute phase of their Covid19 infection. 86% of respondents experienced relapses occurring in an irregular pattern, or in response to specific triggers (such as physical or mental activity, stress, menstruation, heat, or alcohol).[34] Long Covid can affect anyone – old and young, otherwise healthy people and those battling other conditions. The list of long COVID symptoms is long, wide and inconsistent. For some people, these lasting symptoms are nothing like the original COVID-19 symptoms.[35] Long covid without initial symptoms can occur, whereas the same can happen with severe symptoms of the initial SARS CoV-2 infraction. One can have one, some or numerous overlapping symptoms, some may start with a couple and over time, have more symptoms. Some people may be suffering with more than one syndrome at the same time.[36] According to the CDC As of July 2021, “long COVID,” also known as post-COVID conditions, can be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).[38] National Institute for Health Research Review (NIH) found there are 205 different symptoms related to Long Covid leading to the bundled name of “Corona coaster.” According to the NIH[39] the common symptoms were identified into two categories;
According to the CDC[40] Multi-organ system effects of COVID-19 have been documented in most, if not all, body systems including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, dermatologic, neurologic, and psychiatric along with multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS)[41] and autoimmune conditions. To date, the most commonly reported persisting symptoms include:
These may be the more common symptoms of Long Covid, leaving you thinking you may not fall within the parameters. Think again, there are other symptoms associated with this critical emerging condition.  Long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The meta-analysis of the studies included an estimate for one symptom or more reported that 80% of the patients with COVID-19 have long-term symptoms. CRP C-reactive protein, CT computed tomography, IL-6 Interleukin-6, NT-proBNP (NT)-pro hormone BNP, OCD Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder. This figure was created using Biorender.com | Lopez-Leon, S., Wegman-Ostrosky, T., Perelman, C. et al. More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 11, 16144 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95565-8 Long Covid Parosmia (Pernio)During the acute infection phase of SARS CoV-2 was the loss of taste and smell. Most recovered from this condition without any long term effects. For others, this was not the case. Parosmia is a condition which cause normal or familiar pleasant smells to now smell unpleasant or even of disgust. This olfactory disorder is considered a rare occurrence; however, it is coming into the spotlight for some suffering with Long Covid, now known as Long Covid Parosmia. Potential cause of parosmia includes upper respiratory infections.[42] Viruses can lead to olfactory dysfunction by causing damage to the upper respiratory tract and olfactory neurons.[43] Although researchers are still trying to understand the relationship between the virus infection, long covid and parosmia, what they do note is that COVID-19 vaccine cannot cause parosmia.[44] Covid ToesCovid toes is a skin condition that can also affect the fingers. What causes covid toes has yet to be determined. The symptoms of covid toes includes the skin on one or more toes or fingers swell up, may start with looking bright red, the gradually turn purple and may have brownish-purple spots. Covid toes can last 10-14 days, for some, the symptoms may persist for months. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association[45] for some with covid toes, may develop blisters or a small amount of pus under the skin. There may also be;
 Alteración dermatológica en los dedos de los pies provocada por coronavirus | Dermatology registries[46] created during the COVID-19 pandemic have collected more than 8000 cases since they opened for case reporting in March and April of 2020. In multiple states, COVID toes are now part of their testing criteria and have served to highlight the importance of dermatologic data for characterizing the different phenotypes of COVID-19.[47] A JAMA research letter[48] from Italy found that 87% of people recovered and discharged from hospitals showed persistence of at least one symptom even at 60 days. Long covid quality of life was also assessed on the questionnaire finding a difference of 10 points defined worsened quality of life (44.1% ). Other commonly reported problems include;
Other symptoms reported also included;
Patients also reported inability to do routine daily activities, in addition to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. According to a white paper initiated by A FAIR Health White Paper,[49] June 15, 2021 “A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID. An Analysis of Private healthcare Claims” found the five most common post-COVID conditions across all ages, in order from most to least common, were;
 Table 2. Top 15 Post-COVID conditions by age group ranking, March 2020-February 2021 | A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID. An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims. A FAIR Health White Paper, June 15, 2021 According to Mayo Clinic more severe symptoms of long COVID include damage to other organs including the brain, heart and lungs, as well as blood clots or blood vessel problems.” According to Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis and the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System[50] are urging attention to kidneys to be an important part of post-COVID-19 care. Their research shows that people who have had COVID-19, including those with mild cases, are at an increased risk of developing kidney damage as well as chronic and end-stage kidney diseases. Senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University states; “If kidney care isn’t an integral part of COVID-19 post-acute care strategy, then we will miss opportunities to help potentially hundreds of thousands of people who have no idea that their kidney function has declined due to this virus. This is in addition to the millions of Americans who suffer from kidney disease not caused by COVID-19.” Having regular blood work that includes glomerular filtration rates (GFR) or (eGFR), BUN and creatinine can help a doctor to determine level of kidney function. In the same Washington University School of Medicine study[51] found after the initial 30 days of COVID-19 infection, 4,757 (5.3%) of the patients experienced a decrease of 30% or more in glomerular filtration rates (GFR). People who had milder COVID-19 cases had 1.09 times the risk of having an estimated GFR decline of 30% or more. For hospitalized COVID-19 patients not in intensive care units, there was two times the risk of having an estimated GFR decrease of 30% or more, while intensive care unit patients were at three times the risk of experiencing an estimated GFR drop of 30% or more. A collection of more studies have shown the following Long Covid symptoms including; Kidney damage, kidney abnormalities Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) Inflammation of the heart muscle, lung function Skin rashes Neurologic issues Depression, anxiety and mood swings Brain Fog, forgetfulness Dizziness Chronic inflammation Hair loss (alopecia) [54, 55, 56} COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia Disrupted sleep, insomnia Gastrointestinal pain, stomach pain, diarrhea Loss of taste and smell Fibromyalgia Ringing in their ears Skin issues (e.g., rash), dermatological issues Cough Persistent fatigue Heart damage Lung scarring and others Another study[52] showed common symptoms in people with “Long COVID” are profound fatigue, breathlessness, cough, chest pain, palpitations, headache, joint pain, myalgia and weakness, insomnia, pins and needles, diarrhea, rash or hair loss, impaired balance and gait, neurocognitive issues including memory and concentration problems and worsened quality of life.  According to Penn State College of Medicine[53] researchers have found several trends among Long Covid such as:
This is by no means a complete or final count of Long Covid symptoms for “long haulers.” Long Covid can result in prolonged illness, even among young adults without underlying chronic medical conditions and doctors do not know when the symptoms will subside. If you are experiencing Long Covid symptoms, do not hesitate to reach out to your physician. Keep track of your symptoms with dates to help your doctor determine the best course of health for you. And if you are not being listened to, then you keep going until you find a doctor that will believe you. This is not in your head. There are more than 100 million people worldwide with Long Covid symptoms. You are not alone! If you would like to learn more about What Long Covid is all about, this on demand webinar is for you. The 1:45 minute on demand video broken down into relevant parts for you to easily watch at your convenience on any device at any time. Download full size slides, and all supporting material. All references are hyperlinked for your convenience. You will not find a more comprehensive program specifically targeted at understanding the nutritional support connection to Long Covid and what it entails. Includes Serum panel checklist, Polyphenol chart, additional reference material related to video. You can check it out here. If you would like to get back on track and just feel good again, reach out via email HelloKarenLangston@gmail.com or call me (347) POO-WELL (347 766-9355) Head back on over to the blog for more great articles or check out these articles
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