Sauerkraut and kimchi: a surprising remedy for long COVID?
NCT ID NCT06560554
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This Mayo Clinic study is testing whether eating fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut can improve gut microbiome diversity in people with long COVID. Forty adults with long COVID symptoms will either add fermented foods to their diet or continue as usual. Researchers will track changes in gut bacteria and symptoms like fatigue and anxiety over 12 weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- fermented foods (probiotic-rich diet)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple dietary approach to improve gut health and reduce long COVID symptoms like fatigue and brain fog.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 40 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The diet requires eating up to 6 servings of fermented foods daily, which may be hard to maintain.
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
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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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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: 1. Adult (\> 18 years old) 2. Patients who have long COVID symptoms a. Long COVID will be defined as: i. A previously documented COVID + infection within the last year ii. A presence of neurological symptoms that started within 4 weeks of the COVID infection (fatigue, difficulty concentrating, depression, anxiety) as per CDC definition of Long Covid. 3. Own a smart device capable of downloading a food logging application. Able to understand and document informed consent 4. Seen in the Mayo Clinic long-COVID Clinic within the Department of General Internal Medicine Exclusion Criteria: 1. History of dementia, moderate or severe cognitive dysfunction, developmental delay, psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia 2. Unable to tolerate oral foods 3. Potential contraindications to a fermented food diet (chronically immunosuppressed including organ transplant recipients) 4. Neutropenic as listed in the "active problems" list in the EMR 5. Undergoing chemotherapy at the time of consent 6. Taking MAOIs at the time of consent. 7. Active uncontrolled inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, indeterminate colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (moderate or severe), infectious gastroenteritis, colitis or gastritis, Clostridium difficile infection (recurrent), malabsorptive diseases (such as Celiac disease), major surgery of the GI tract with the exception of cholecystectomy and/or appendectomy in the past 5 years, or any major bowel resection at any time. 8. A reported consumption of 2 servings of probiotic fermented food per day in their normal baseline diet. 9. Pregnancy
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota, 55904, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a brain zapping headset restore focus after long COVID?
- Mindfulness may offer relief for long COVID sufferers
- Can wearables decode the mystery of fatigue?
- Beetroot juice: a natural boost against long COVID fatigue?
- A One-Two punch for long COVID? supplement and therapy put to the test