Long COVID Caused by Mast Cell Activation
There are countless people who are struggling with long Covid. Not knowing what to do, they seek medication and supplements to try to control symptoms. Though it seems like the obvious decision, with long Covid, it’s more complicated than that.
In this article, I will unveil the connection between mast cells and long Covid. This will help you realize that your own immune system is to blame for your long Covid symptoms. As you will see, you must focus on calming down your immune system to eliminate your symptoms. First things first, let’s go over how COVID can change the way your body works.
How Long COVID Changes the Body
Long Covid Alters Mast Cell Function
Studies have shown that long covid mimics MCAS in many ways. In both cases, mast cells are hyped up and more likely to react negatively to foods, mold, stress, etc.. Once your body starts to have these reactions one after another, it’s like the train has left the station. It’s like a gene/switch was turned on by exposure to Covid, and now the body is having a tough time turning it off.
For these reasons, you must increase your awareness of what triggers your mast cells and make changes. If you make decisions without these cells in mind, you will eventually trip yourself up. No matter what anyone says, these cells are truly the key to beating your symptoms.
New Food Sensitivities Often Develop
After people get Covid, they continue eating the way they did before contracting it. Unfortunately, Covid can really wreck your gut microbiome. Once this happens, your ability to digest proteins and fats can become impaired. This leads to a leaky gut, which generates various hidden food sensitivities. These sensitivities then trigger mast cells which create the symptoms that you identify as long COVID.
The best dietary strategy when battling long Covid is to implement a plant-based elimination diet. This focuses on building your diet on foods with the lowest chance of triggering your immune system. From there, you reintroduce foods one at a time, and if symptoms pop up, you know that food doesn’t agree with you. This will help you reduce the activity and population of mast cells, improving symptoms.
Mold Sensitivity Common with Long COVID
I have seen plenty of people who became intolerant to mold after getting Covid. Your tolerance to mold depends on how reactive your immune system is at the moment. If your mast cells are highly reactive, they will likely perceive mycotoxins as a severe threat. Once the immune system is pushed over the edge and perceives these mold toxins as a threat, all hell can break loose.
People often think their symptoms are long Covid, but in fact, they have developed an intolerance to mold mycotoxins. Some people even have to remove themselves from their living environment to progress. It all depends on what type of mold they are being exposed to, and how reactive the person. If you are dealing with long COVID, don’t count mold out. It is FAR more common than you think, and it makes your mast cells go crazy!
COVID Causes Fight or Flight Response
Neurological dysfunction is often part of having long Covid. Once the body is exposed to COVID, it can make the mast cells in the brain far more reactive. This causes the body to enter a more exaggerated form of the fight or flight response. Since the mast cells are dysfunctional, they are more likely to secrete inflammatory chemicals when exposed to stress or anything else that triggers them.
To escape the fight-or-flight response, you must identify and eliminate all triggers in your life/environment. After doing so, you must recondition or retrain your limbic system. I have found that slow deep breathing is the most effective way to accomplish this. It can be done in any situation to insulate yourself from the effects of stress.
Stress Resistance is Greatly Reduced
Many people with long COVID experience symptom flare-ups after too much stress is put on their bodies. This can be from exerting themselves too much physically, not getting enough sleep, experiencing something emotional, etc. Whatever the cause, you must be willing to pay attention to how this stress affects the way you feel. Each time you push it too far, you trigger your mast cells, and this prevents your immune system from healing.
If experiencing this stressor aggravates your symptoms, you must eliminate it or reduce its intensity. Otherwise, you have no choice but to implement a stress management technique like deep breathing. This can be done before or after the stressor to reduce the likelihood it will aggravate you.
My favorite stress management technique is slow deep breathing. Doing this twice daily for at least 30 minutes can dramatically change how your body responds to stress. It has been truly a life changer for me. With enough effort, I know it can be for you too!
Treat Long Covid like MCAS to Succeed
To successfully beat long COVID, you must treat it like mast cell activation. This means you must be hyper-aware of how everything you do affects the way you feel. Without being committed to increasing awareness, you will remain stuck in a cycle of symptoms. To win this battle, you must acknowledge your role in the symptoms and change things within your control.
This includes what you eat, how much you eat, and even how fast you eat. Also, you MUST also pay close attention to how your indoor air quality affects how you feel. This is a huge one for people with long Covid who often have a hidden mold sensitivity. Lastly, you must be cognizant of how stress impacts your symptoms.
This process of increasing awareness may take months. Be patient with yourself and remain focused on making changes. Treat each flare-up like a learning experience and grow from it. Remind yourself that you MUST understand what you are doing that is counterproductive to overcoming your chronic illness. Just because you were able to do something in the past doesn’t mean it’s not causing a problem now. The key to success is remaining willing to see the things contributing to your problems and making the necessary changes. After you accomplish this, you can add supplements that calm down the immune system further. From there, you are inches away from a full recovery.
FAQ- Beating Long COVID Symptoms
How does Covid affect the gut microbiome?
They have found that COVID can disrupt the gut microbiome by reducing the levels of critical immune-modulating bacteria. One of the most important is Bifidobacterium. If the levels of these important bacteria are depleted, the mast cells start to go haywire. In addition, pathogenic bacteria start to take over, which drives inflammation further. The eventually translates into symptoms.
Does Covid affect any other important immune cells?
In people with long Covid, they have found that the mast cells and regulatory T cells are dysfunctional. These are the most important immune cells for making sure you don’t react strangely to things in your environment. If either cell is out of whack, your body will perceive everything as a threat. This fuels the inflammatory fire, causing your long COVID symptoms to worsen as you unknowingly have immune reactions to various things.
What are the most common immune system irritants?
The three main areas you must focus on are what you put into your mouth, what you inhale, and how stressed you are. Typically, your flare-ups are caused by one of these three things. Keep in mind, the immune system doesn’t become triggered for no reason. If we identify why and make changes, we can start reducing the severity of symptoms. Eventually, the immune system calms down over time and starts to react normally again to its environment.
Can mold be making me sick if I don’t see it?
Yes. Mold spores can be in the air, particularly in older homes or homes where there has been some type of water damage. In the homes where my daughter was extremely sick, I was unable to see any mold. However, when I did the petri dish test, it showed plenty of toxic molds. If you have long Covid, you must be hyper-aware of your indoor air quality. I have seen a number of people develop sensitivities to mold after getting Covid.
Have you worked with people with long Covid?
I have worked with a number of clients who were diagnosed with long COVID. The clients who followed the principles I mentioned in this article were most successful in relieving symptoms. I found the biggest problem was convincing people that their own actions could be causing the flare-ups in their symptoms. Most people think that these flare-ups are not under their control. This leads them to continue making wrong decisions, perpetuating the condition.
Are synthetic supplements risky when you have Covid?
When people have long Covid, their immune system can often become overreactive. When this happens, they often become sensitive to things that are synthetic. This includes things like fragrances, chemicals, and, yes, even synthetic vitamins. Don’t get tricked by these synthetic nutrients. At first, they may feel like they are helping, but two weeks later, they are likely to turn on you. All supplements, in my opinion, must be plant-derived immune modulators. If not, you could have issues with the mast cells at some point.
Any other info on how mast cells are linked to Long Covid?
Yes, I have provided a study showing the link between mast cell activation and long COVID. Also, I have linked a video I created, explaining the connection between mast cells and long COVID. If you need more information, please reference both of these.
What are common mistakes made by those with long COVID?
The most common mistake is believing that your long COVID symptoms are not within your control. This leads you to make no changes to your lifestyle. Another mistake is taking too many supplements. Though supplements can be helpful, their success depends on how well you have eliminated your immune triggers. In addition, any supplements you use must be natural immune modulators, or they will trigger you eventually.
Will I need supplements to overcome long COVID?
At some point, you may need supplements. In my opinion, that is not the first step though. As I mentioned several times in this article, you must identify what is causing the immune system to flare up. After you accomplish this, you can start implementing one supplement at a time and make sure it is benefiting you. Trust me, don’t put the cart before the horse. This is what many people do, which leads them to suffer even longer.
Do I have to change my diet to overcome long COVID?
It is likely that you will have to make dietary changes to beat your symptoms. One of the most common changes that are necessary is the reduction of animal products and protein. This is because protein digestion often becomes impaired in those with long COVID. In addition, you may need to consume only foods that have a lower allergy potential. For more information on this, read the hypoallergenic food list.
Conclusion – Target Mast Cells to Beat Long COVID
If you have long Covid, the reality is, your immune system has become dysfunctional. Unfortunately, it has been conditioned to send out inflammatory molecules after being triggered repeatedly by things in its environment. The symptoms you are experiencing are not “long COVID”, they are you immune system being triggered by something. Whether it’s something you ate, inhaled, or thought, the cause is always visible if you look closely enough.
If you can identify what is triggering your immune system, you can stop the cascade of inflammation. This can be caused by things in your diet, environmental irritants in your home, stressful situations, physical exertion, supplements, medication, and more. The reality is, when you have long Covid, less is better. The main goal is to identify the triggers, not to mask them with more supplements.
If you have any questions about long Covid, reach out to me. I’ve worked with plenty of clients with long COVID and have utilized this approach successfully. If it worked for them, it’s possible it could work for you too.
Happy healing everyone!
Matt Nedin, B.S.
Certified Holistic Nutritionist
EndSickness, Founder
Phone: (734) 846-8619
WhatsApp: +17348468619
Email: endsickness@gmail.com
