Post-Infection Support

Following on from our Low Immunity and Supporting Immunity series, we hope that you feel empowered with an understanding about how to comprehensively and holistically reduce your risk of infection in the first place, and support yourself if and when you have an infection. Now, we are shifting our focus towards how best to support ourselves post-infection since this is often characterised by symptoms which have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life.

We often under-estimate the importance of supporting our immunity until we fall ill, and also how long it can take to recover until we experience lingering symptoms following an infection. Recovery from an infection ‘normally’ lasts one to two weeks. For some, however, this recovery process can last months, even years, characterised by prolonged post-infection symptoms, such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, muscle aches, and loose bowel movements. So, why do some individuals experience this prolonged recovery period, and others do not?

Identifying the underlying drivers of lingering post-infection symptoms, and how they can go on to affect our physical and mental health, facilitates implementation of tailored nutrition and lifestyle interventions which have the most chance of helping individuals to feel better. This is important now more than ever given the emerging problem of ‘post-viral fatigue/ syndrome.’

Over the next few blogs, we will delve into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind these prolonged post-infection symptoms, focusing on three integral areas: energy, cognitive health, and digestion.

Part 1: Effect on energy Fighting an infection is a tiresome job for your body. Most of us feel a bit more fatigued following an infection, but some of us are sometimes left with long-term and more debilitating symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after the infection. Why does it happen and why not everyone is affected? We explore the impact of infections on energy production and our mitochondria, and provide some insights into how to support yourself. Learn more

Part 2: Effect on mood and cognition “Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.” Astrid Alauda In our next instalment we continue to explore the systemic effects of infections, this time focusing on the nervous system, specifically mood and cognition. In our current situation we need to do whatever we can to prevent the long-term effects of viral infections, and here we look into nutrition and lifestyle aspects that can minimise the potential risks. Learn more

Part 3: Effect on digestion In this blog we are going to delve into how infection can affect digestion and the long term implications. Digestive symptoms are common in patients during any infection, these can include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In a recent study of hospitalised patients, 57% suffered with digestive symptoms. Read our latest blog to find out why this might happen and what you can do to support your gut and overall digestive health. Learn more