天美传媒

Long Covid, Sars-CoV-2, water fast, dry fast, dyspnoea, chest pain, anxiety, chronic fatigue, healing crisis

Introduction

The term ‘Long COVID’ is commonly used to denote the chronic physical and/or psychological symptoms that can continue or develop following acute infection with SARS-CoV-2. It is typically defined as lasting for at least 12 weeks, with symptoms that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis [1]. The scale of Long COVID has increased steadily in the years since the original outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in late 2019. In the UK, for instance, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that approximately 1.7% of the entire population was suffering from Long COVID in 2021 [2], with the figure rising to 2.9% in 2023 [3] and up to 4.8% of the population in 2025 [4]. Clearly, the problem is getting worse, not better, as more people succumb to Long COVID than recover from it.

Due to the lack of satisfactory outcomes through standard medical treatment, an increasing number of patients are seeking alternative protocols to alleviate their symptoms. This includes water fasting, which can be defined as the withholding of all food and any liquids containing calories over a period of 3-40 days. Numerous scientific papers demonstrate that, in general, fasting facilitates the body in healing from a range of chronic conditions, such as diabetes [5], hypertension [6], autoimmune issues [7] and cancer [8], as well as chronic illness caused by viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 [9]. However, to date only one paper (Rhule & Goldhamer, 2024) has documented the improvement specifically of Long COVID symptoms through extended fasting. In this case, the protocol yielded significant but not full improvement through two separate fasts [10]. The outcome described in this case report, therefore, is the first documented case of a full and lasting resolution of Long COVID symptoms achieved through fasting.

Although sharing underlying fasting principles with Rhule and Goldhamer, the protocol applied in this case report differed in two fundamental respects. First, it involved a significantly longer period of fasting: 28 days instead of 10-14 days. Second, whereas Rhule and Goldhamer applied a water-only fast, the protocol here involved a hybrid water fast, which in this context may be defined as a zero-calorie fast consisting of an extended water fast into which brief, targeted periods of dry fasting are inserted in order to further upregulate autophagy and immune system activity. Dry fasting may be defined as the complete abstinence from the intake of all solids and liquids.

Case Presentation

On December 29^th 2020 a 28-year-old male presented with chronic dyspnoea, chest pain, anxiety and depression. He explained that he had contracted COVID-19 in March 2020. In additional to the constellation of his current symptoms, he had also presented with a sore throat, cognitive impairment (‘brain fog’) and extreme fatigue during the first four weeks of the infection. After the acute phase of his illness resolved in April 2020, the dyspnoea, chest pain, anxiety and depression continued to persist until our consultation in December, nine months later. A COVID diagnosis had not originally been confirmed through antigen or nucleic acid testing, which, in March 2020, was only beginning to become publicly available. However, his specific symptomatology, the duration of both acute and chronic symptoms, the timing of his infection as the pandemic broke out, and the fact that prior to March 2020 he had been an otherwise healthy young man, all led to the conclusion that he had indeed contracted COVID-19 which had then developed into an ongoing case of Long COVID.

Despite repeated visits to his primary care physician, he was told that there was ‘nothing wrong’. This diagnosis had prompted him to seek alternative therapies to bring relief to his symptoms. Given his previous good state of health, the considerable length of time he had been suffering from Long COVID, and given his adequate BMI of 25.8 (183cm, 86kg) as well as the fact that he already had some experience in water fasting (a 10-day fast), we decided the best course of action would be to undertake a 28-day hybrid water fast. This consisted of bottled spring water drunk ad libitum along with occasional non-caffeinated herbal teas (maximum 2-3 per day). Minimum total fluid intake was set at 1000ml per day. A dry fast was included approximately once a week, with the duration of each dry fasting period increased incrementally from 36, to 60 and then 84 hours. Throughout the fast and subsequent refeeding period, the patient was monitored online via a daily 20-minute video call.

The fast began smoothly with no detox symptoms, likely facilitated through the patient’s prior fasting experience. Further key points of the fast included:

• Days 6-8: The patient’s acute COVID symptoms of dyspnoea and fatigue returned intermittently.
• Day 10: The patient undertook his first period of dry fasting (36 hours).
• Days 15-16: The patient undertook a second period of dry fasting (60 hours). Towards the end of the first 24 hours of this dry fast his acute COVID symptoms returned, including dyspnoea and a sore throat, the quality of which he described as closely reminiscent of that experienced during the acute phase of his illness.
• Days 22-25: The patient undertook a third period of dry fasting (84 hours). His acute COVID symptoms reappeared intermittently throughout this dry fast.
• Day 2 of refeeding: the patient reported a feeling of inflammation inside the chest, reminiscent of acute COVID, which lasted for 48 hours before disappearing. From this point onwards, none of his acute or Long COVID-related symptoms presented again. Experiencing full relief, we finished our daily work together after finishing his 10-day refeeding period, which consisted of a wholefood diet based largely on plant-based food groups such as vegetables and fruit, but also including some meat.

On April 9^th 2021, one month after finishing the fast, the patient reported continued success: ‘The only time I ever feel chest symptoms is when I do vigorous exercise and I’m pushing myself to the limit while running. Even when I do, it’s minor. Nothing compared to what it once was and mild enough that I don’t really think much about it. I also didn’t realize how much COVID had affected me mentally. It’s like I’m back to my old way of thinking without the depression/anxiety.’ On May 31^st 2021, the patient confirmed that he was back to pre-COVID health, with full energy and continued full relief of symptoms.

In September 2025, over four years later, I followed up with the patient to enquire about the long-term outcome of his 28-day hybrid fast. He reported that he still remains symptom-free and healthy: ‘I’m back to normal. I can breathe normally and exercise to the same capacity as I did before getting sick.’

Discussion

Since 2020 I have worked with dozens of patients suffering from Long COVID, and it has been my experience that a full and permanent relief of Long COVID symptoms is certainly possible. When fasting has been most successful in eliciting a subsequent long-term relief of symptoms, it usually involves one or more periods of symptom intensification during the fast itself. In naturopathic terminology the return of latent or the intensification of current symptoms as part of the healing process is known as a ‘healing crisis’. In chronic illness, the symptoms of a healing crisis are usually neither as intense nor last as long as those experienced during the initial acute stage of the given illness. In my experience of Long COVID healing crises, the symptoms of acute COVID most commonly return for a duration of 12-72 hours before subsiding, and, when multiple periods of intensification are concerned, these take place at approximately weekly intervals. The return of the patient’s acute COVID symptoms on Days 6-8, 15-16, 22-25, and on Day 2 of refeeding closely fit this pattern.

The defining feature of a hybrid water fast is the insertion of brief periods of dry fasting into the overall extended water fast. As illustrated through the patient’s own fast, these periods of dry fasting often show a clear correlation with a temporary intensification of COVID symptomatology. Although no healing crisis took place on his first period of dry fasting (Day 10), this was likely because a spontaneous healing crisis had already taken place on Days 6-8, and it was thus too soon to expect another. From this point on, however, his subsequent dry fasts consistently coincided with healing crises (Days 15-16, 22-25), and, following this weekly rhythm of intensified acute symptomatology, also on Day 2 of refeeding. The logical conclusion is that, if healing crises constitute a common if not essential element of the healing process, and if dry fasts tend to elicit healing crises, then hybrid fasts are likely to be more effective than water-only fasts in bringing relief to Long COVID. Certainly, my own clinical experience bears this out.

Despite the success of this case, an extended hybrid fast or extended water-only fast does not necessarily guarantee a full healing. As Rhule and Goldhamer have demonstrated, a partial improvement is also possible. This tends to occur especially in those whose health is more severely compromised by other underlying health conditions, or in older patients whose immune system has weakened with age. Partial improvement can also occur if the fast is not long enough to fully address the issue. In such cases, it may be necessary to undertake a subsequent fast to continue progress.

As with any other therapeutic fast, several factors should determine the length of the fast, as well as whether periods of dry fasting should be considered. These include the age and prior health history of the patient, any prior experience in water fasting, the period elapsed since originally contracting COVID, the severity of current symptoms and the length of time since current symptoms have presented.

Conclusion

As the world comes to grip with and successfully manages outbreaks of acute COVID, the plight of literally millions suffering from Long COVID is likely to continue to become a growing issue – as well as a continuing strain on health systems across the world. Because of the typically multisystemic nature of this illness, the usually targeted therapies of standard Western medicine are unlikely to be fully effective. In contrast, extended hybrid water fasting offers the necessary boost to the entire immune system, in order to effect systematic long-term relief of symptomatology.

References

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• Goldhamer A, Lisle D, Sultana P, Anderson S, Parpia B et al. (2002) . J Altern Complement Med 8: 643-50.

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• Goldhamer A, Klaper M, Foorohar A, Myers T (2015) . BMJ Case Rep 2015: bcr2015211582.

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• Rhule C, Gabriel S, Myers TR, Goldhamer A. (2024) Integrative and Complementary Therapies 30 (1)

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