Dec '25 • General discussion
General Guide to Recovering from Illness
It's peak flu/cold/Covid season and a lot of my friends/family/clients are getting hit with it. I came down with Covid on November 18th and am still feeling the lung effects from it- pretty disappointing since I had planned to cycle 100miles straight for the first time on December 13th, but that goal has been put on pause!
I thought for one of the first posts we would tackle this topic in hopes to get some of you back in action or you can pass along the information as necessary! The things I want to discuss in will be ways to reduce that inflammatory state via nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle intervention (aka sleep here).
When we are sick, we are in an inflamed state. Dr. Lisa Goehler (neuroscientist) speaks on "sickness syndrome: just not feeling well (i.e. fatigue, low mood or depression, cognitive fuzziness, anhedonia, sleep issues, etc.). While inflammation is the body's first line of defense, we also need to support its fight to fend off the infection and heal. Not to get too deep into it, but this can apply to many conditions we have.
- How nutrition drives recovery from illness
Food has a direct influence on inflammation. The last thing we typically want to do when sick is cook or even eat something that isn't super tasty. But, if we want to get better SOONER, we need to give our bodies whole, nutrient-dense foods which provides the micronutrients necessary to achieve this. Some of the main culprits that drive this inflammation, simply put, are: high sugar foods and other refined carbs and foods containing oxidized fats (oxidized fats/lipids are linked to a cascade of events leading to inflammation, that's a big topic though) aka fried foods or foods that have also been stored for a long time (think it's been in a box/package). Someday I'll put the figures and mechanisms to explain this in detail for you.
So, ways to make sure we aren't fueling the inflammation fire are going to be: eating all the good foods that actually combat that. All the vegetables, fruits, lean meats/meats with the good omegas etc. Cooking with quality olive oil primarily as well (damn I should probably cover this too?!). The more PLANTS you can get, the better. This is one of the pinnacles to combating inflammation. Generally, if you are tracking food, aim for 300g-500g of fruit AND vegetables per day. The range is there because we are all different and have different calorie goals. That should take care of base micronutrient needs. Oh, and drink water I stg.
2.Supplements (*please ask PCP before adding these in)
Guys, focus on this when your nutrition is actually solid. Nutrition is the base on which we build the health pyramid. If you've got that taken care of and you still feel a low grade of inflammation these puppies may* help:
a. Ashwagandha: anxiety, stress, fatigue reduction
b. L-Theanine: Reduced perception of stress and improved attention
c. Vitamin D: Mitigate Depression, (vitamin d receptors) VDR in skeletal muscle
d. Omega 3 (EPA and DHA) Reduction in inflammation
e. Zinc: Low levels associated with depression, increased illness, low testosterone and low insulin sensitivity
f. Creatine monohydrate: reduce glutamate induced neurotoxicity, antioxidant, antidepressive effect
g. 5 HTP: for Serotonin for sleep, wellbeing, appetite (SSRI warning)
h. Magnesium Citrate: modulates NMDA receptors
i. NAC: increase brain glutathione levels
j. Melatonin: pre bed protects neuronal cells from Abeta-mediated toxicity via antioxidant and anti-amyloid properties
k. Ubiquinol 200mg: mitochondrial dysfunction support
l. Curcumin (BCM-95 or piperine) Overall systemic anti-inflammatory, reduction in beta amyloid aggregation
m. TUDCA: protective effects in presence of beta amyloid and inflammation
n. Ginger & tumeric Turmeric Tea Recipe
o. Saffron: may be able to reduce the accumulation and toxicity of amyloid beta and reduced oxidative stress. Improved neuroplasticity via Brain derived neurotrophic factor
Ok, take what you want from that and leave it.
3.Lifestyle Intervention
Recoveryyyyy. Let's talk sleep hygiene because if you are ill, I don't recommend training through that:
- Routine Bedtime: cortisol likes predicability. High cortisol = inflammation = bad when we need to recovery from illness.
- Dimly light and cool environment: orange lights or glasses to block blue light!
- White noise or ear plugs
- Decrease technology use at night-time
- Hot bath prior to bedtime
- Remove distractions from bedroom and clutter- stop playing on your phone lol
- Relaxing activities prior to bedtime
- Journal down thoughts and worries: Mindfulness training is linked with increased emotional nonreactivity, decreased worry, and reduction in reported sleep disturbances.
Rest is key guys. I could go way more in detail but this is long enough to begin with anyway. My physical therapist has a blog with a protocol I adhere to whenever we are speaking on return to play/activily post-covid. I'll link that here: Activity Guidelines for COVID-19 Infection — CoachAmyPT
Please post any questions/comments below!
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General Guide to Recovering from Illness
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