It’s estimated that t20% of people who have been infected with Covid will have symptoms lasting months or even years. The name for this is Long Covid. Reporting has been mostly a patient driven although the medical community is beginning to become interested. A group of medical doctors in South Africa have come up with a promising, and simple, treatment program. Their research has the potential to help patients with many other chronic conditions.
Warning: This contains some biochemistry but I will try to keep it simple.
The basic idea is that some people are deficient in a chemical that is key to producing energy in cells called NAD+. The full name is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, but NAD+ will do. NAD+ is also used in many other critical chemical processes in the bodfy. The elderly, diabetics, obese and, interestingly, young athletes, all tend to be depleted in NAD+. These are the same people who are most prone to getting Covid and having Long Covid. And Covid itself cause depletion of NAD+.
Why athletes? NAD+ is a key part of making energy inside mitochondria – the little powerhouses inside cells. Athletes, especially those who over train, tend to use up NAD+
We normally make NAD+ from Vitamin B3, called niacin or nicotinamide. When there isn’t enough of this and the body needs more NAD+ it can be made from the amino acid Tryptophan. Making NAD+ from Tryptophan can cause a host of problems. These include the symptoms of Long Covid including brain fog, poor memory, anxiety, fatigue, histamine reactions and abnormal clotting, digestive issues and on and on.
There is a lot more to this but it fits neatly into everything I have been studying for years. Issues with the Tryptophan pathway show up on the OAT (Organic Acids Test.) I have already seen improvements in some patients based on this research.
For more information follow the links below or set up a free phone or video chat with me.
The Team of Doctors and Biohackers Who Seem to Be Successfully Treating “Long Covid”
First Effective Treatment for Long Covid | Stunning Data from Huge New Study – a YouTube summary of the NAD+ research
COVID-19: NAD+ deficiency may predispose the aged, obese and type2 diabetics to mortality through its effect on SIRT1 activity
NAD+ in aging, metabolism, and neurodegeneration
