Diet and fasting show promise for long COVID relief
NCT ID NCT06214455
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether a low-sugar diet, eating only during a 8-12 hour window each day, and periodic water fasts could reduce Long COVID symptoms. 77 adults with at least five Long COVID symptoms participated. The goal was to see if these dietary changes could lower symptom severity and number.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- dietary intervention (low-sugar diet, time-restricted eating, and periodic water fasting)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, drug-free way to ease Long COVID symptoms through diet changes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study with no control group, so results may not be widely applicable. Dietary changes can be hard to maintain and may not help everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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77 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2022
- Finished
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Sep 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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19 to 69 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
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
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Pacific Northwest University
Yakima, Washington, 98901, United States
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Remote trial - anyone residing in the United States
Boulder, Colorado, 80303, United States
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