- Goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that she had COVID-19 “in the beginning” and deals with ongoing symptoms of fatigue and brain fog.
- She said she is using a vegetable-based ketone diet, intermittent fasting and supplements to “detoxify”
- Experts say there is little evidence that any of these strategies will help with COVID-19.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
Gwyneth Paltrow, a wellness expert, revealed that she was diagnosed with COVID-19 last year and has used a range of diets and supplement strategies to combat long-term side effects.
In a February 16 product run for her lifestyle brand Goop, Paltrow detailed her “healing detox”, mentioning for the first time that she contracted the new coronavirus “at the beginning” of the pandemic.
It is not clear when she was diagnosed, but Paltrow said she continued to suffer the symptoms experienced by many COVID long haulers, including continuous fatigue, brain fog and inflammation.
To deal with this, Paltrow wrote that she is cleaning, using a combination of intermittent fasting, a plant-based ketogenic diet (with some fish) and eliminating sugar and alcohol. She also shared a list of products and supplements that she said would work for her, from $ 60 detoxifying powders and infrared blankets to gym clothes and sleepwear.
But experts warn that almost no expensive welfare intervention, touted for COVID-19, is based on good science. Although you can follow Paltrow’s example by observing alcohol intake, neither your routine diet nor supplements are proven to treat coronavirus.
Cutting carbs and fasting won’t help with COVID-19
It is true that diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity are risk factors for worse coronavirus outcomes, and that diet plays an important role in these chronic diseases.
However, experts have repeatedly emphasized that no specific diet routine has been proven to prevent or treat COVID-19.
While Paltrow’s low-carb ketone diet, for example, can help you eliminate unhealthy processed foods and stabilize blood sugar, a few weeks of cutting carbs won’t make much of a difference and certainly won’t protect you from the virus.
“Low carb will not treat or prevent COVID-19,” Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of Brigham and Womens Hospital’s Weight Control and Wellness Center, said earlier to Insider.
Likewise, intermittent fasting, while linked to a promising range of health benefits (including less inflammation), is not proven effective against COVID-19.
In fact, some forms of fasting can even be harmful in a pandemic, as fasting can increase levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, potentially damaging the immune system.
Cutting alcohol is a good idea
If you’re going to make a Goop-inspired dietary change, however, you can follow Paltrow’s example by watching what you drink.
Alcohol is known to interfere with your immune system, especially when you overdo it. You don’t have to be completely dry – an occasional glass of wine won’t be a problem if it helps you relax. But more than one drink a day for women, two drinks a day for men or five or more drinks in one session for anyone can be risky.
Heavy drinking can disrupt the immune system by reducing the body’s white blood cells, which help fight infections. It can also wreak havoc on your digestive system, depleting healthy bacteria in your gut and damaging immune cells in the gut, further weakening your body’s natural defense against infections.
Supplements cannot cure or prevent COVID-19, but vitamin D can help
No matter how much you spend on them, there is no evidence that vitamins, superfoods and supplements of all shades make a big difference in fighting COVID-19.
Vitamin C, for example, has been shown to have the potential to accelerate the healing process and is good for a strong immune system in general. But recent research has found that it has no effect for patients with coronavirus.
The only exception appears to be vitamin D. There is a growing body of evidence that a lack of vitamin D is associated with worse results from COVID-19, such as more severe infections and a higher risk of complications.
You do not need to buy a sophisticated version, however. Although a supplement can be useful in the coldest and darkest months, the human body also produces vitamin D naturally in response to sunlight.