Long term low carbers: Do you notice a difference in how often or intensely you get sick?

mlinton_mesapark

Hi folks,

Cold and flu season is well upon us, and I've been curious to see how well my immune system will respond this year, now that I'm around 6 months into the low(ish) carb, mostly grain free WOE. So far, I've had days in which I felt pretty run down and could have sworn I was about to get sick, but haven't gotten sick. As in, no fever, no debilitating weakness, no vomiting, etc. I did have an obnoxious cough that I thought would turn into a respiratory infection like I used to get at least a couple of times a year. But it didn't. Ditto with nausea that didn't turn out to be a stomach bug.

Too early to say it's been anything but chance, but I'm curious to know what others' experiences have been. I have two kids in two different schools, and they've had a couple of stomach bugs. My toddler is in gym childcare pretty often, but fortunately hasn't caught anything.

Cheers,

Mary

nicintime

Totally anecdotal, but.... It seems to me that I get sick less, and that when I do my body "fights it" better. The downside is that I really notice more that I'm sick because I'm so seldom sick.

Of course, as my wife says, "There's nothing sicker than a sick man!", so I'm probably not the best person to respond here!

I'm starting to think that I should log when I'm sick to help my memory muscle... Is there a MySicknessPal somewhere?!?

baconslave

I rarely catch the plague the kids bring home. On the rare occasion I do, it's lasts 1/4 to 1/2 as long as theirs and has about that fraction of severity.

carlsoda

Research shows sugar reduces are immune system, so in reality we should get less sick! We shall see this winter

wabmester

More anecdotes from me:

Not a single cold or flu since I started low-carb, and it's been close to a year
I used to average about 1-4 colds/year
There used to be stress triggers for those colds (intense exercise and quarterly presentations). Not anymore -- stress seems to have no effect.
I used to get the weirdest sneezing fits associated with lack of sleep. No more sneezing fits, and my sleep is very consistent.

elize7

This past month I've had 2 fairly incapacitating colds. In fairness to the keto WOE, I have been at this pretty restrictively for over a year, and am currently going through two very stressful life situations. My guess is that the stress is mostly responsible for the two illnesses as the illness has developed along with the stressful issues, and for the year prior I felt great most of the time.

lithezebra

I never get sick anyway, except, alas, autoimmune troubles.

nvmomketo

I'm not sure if it has helped or not.

I managed to come down with shingles this summer after being LCHF for a month. It was an incredibly mild case of the shingles though. i only felt sick for a few days and the rash did not get bigger than a pack of cards. It was gone within 6 weeks.

I've been fighting a cold for weeks now. One of those situations where I did not have time to be sick so I didn't get sick until I had time. I felt poorly for a few days and now it is causing pain in my sinuses, but I feel mostly okay.

Soooo, maybe? LOL

minties82

I've fallen off the wagon, but I never noticed any difference.

KetoGirl83

Definitely less sick. I've been LC to VLC since September 2014. I used to have severe throat infections that required penicillin shots and other strong antibiotics at least 2 or 3 times a year, plus assorted flu-like stuff every other month. In the past year I was mildly unwell once for a couple of days and it cleared without medication.

GaleHawkins

I stay more well but it may be in part to finally getting my Vit D level over 90 but it took a year at 20K units daily. I was on Vit K2 to prevent going to high on Vit D levels. Taking Vit D3 without Vit K2 is thought to increase heart disease.

It is old but with a lot of good info except for the low fat bit in last statement. wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/03/latest-study-on-vitamin-k-and-coronary.html

This is a newer article with K2 references on can dig into if interested in lowering risk of some diseases. authoritynutrition.com/vitamin-k2/

I know accidentally winding up eating Keto as done so much for my health. First my pain dropped from 7-8 levels to 2-3 in just 30 days. That helped take a load off my immunity system.

Since being on Keto Way of Eating I have learned about Vit D, K2 as well as well as to how to prevent heart and cancer disease as well as other good things.

Another plus now a year into keto some others are asking me questions and actually greatly reducing carbs and seeing exciting results. I did not realize it but some people have been watching me become more mobile and looking healthier and realized since I am still eating this way a year later at pot luck dinners that it must be for real.

deksgrl

Too soon to tell. I am 6 months in. But usually if I do get sick it is further into the winter time. Dec, Jan, Feb. Usually would have one episode of a cold each season. It seems the older I get, the more sinus problems I have, it comes with the change of season, colder weather, furnace running. Don't know if it is allergen related or what.

GaleHawkins

After working to rebuild my immune system as well my sinus issues are like 97% better so there is less need to carry pockets full for paper towels and the like. For the past six months all has been well at the other end as well which is SUPER awesome.

iammantistobbogan

I usually catch everything but whilst a killer cold has been doing the rounds at work I'm the only one who hasn't caught it! Maybe ur on to something lol x

GaleHawkins

Where it is true or not I read the other day a can of regular Coke or Pepsi has 10 teaspoons of sugar and that one can of coke can suppress our immune system by 90% for up to four hours. If that is true and a person drank a can every four hours 4x daily then one would really be at risk. It did not happen overnight but going very low carb as improved my immune system but I was really low last year when I started the WOE last year.

Dragonwolf

carlsoda wrote: »

Research shows sugar reduces are immune system, so in reality we should get less sick! We shall see this winter

The same goes for grains, especially if you have a low-level sensitivity (since the immune system is fighting two wars in that kind of case).

I'm not sure how much it's been studied in more controlled environments, but it is a very common observation among the low carb groups that the people tend to get sick less often, and when they do manage to catch something, it tends to be less severe and/or shorter lived (I have seen a couple of cases where the symptoms were more severe, but the duration was considerably shorter; so it's like 2 days of hell and done, versus 10 days of just misery; so there's that one, too).

cynlyn2010

I can tell you that I don't get sick as often anymore. I used to get a sinus infection at least 3-4 times a year. Nothing this year. I've also struggled with repeated Strep Throat infections my entire life. No problems since being on Keto!

mlinton_mesapark

Thanks for all the anecdotes and info, and here's to a misery-free cold season, or close to it. :-)

glossbones

I started eating Keto in March, and the only time I started to feel sick (knock on wood!) was when my husband came home from a visit with his family with Strep, a sinus infection, and a fever. I started to feel sick but instead of it turning into my annual sinus infection, it cleared up in a few days.

I will be getting a flu shot this weekend, though. No interest in risking it when we travel to Disney later this year.

FIT_Goat

I definitely get sick less often. Of course, I am writing this while taking a day off of work and sitting on my couch because I caught a bad case of the crud. Working in a school, it goes around a lot. I miss most of the stuff but this one hit me.

My allergies also cleared up. That alone feels like a reprieve from being sick all the time. Also don't get migraines anymore. Those aren't really "germ-based" sickness, but they're quality of life ones.

Dragonwolf

FIT_Goat wrote: »

I definitely get sick less often. Of course, I am writing this while taking a day off of work and sitting on my couch because I caught a bad case of the crud. Working in a school, it goes around a lot. I miss most of the stuff but this one hit me.

My allergies also cleared up. That alone feels like a reprieve from being sick all the time. Also don't get migraines anymore. Those aren't really "germ-based" sickness, but they're quality of life ones.

Same here. I'm a lot less allergy prone anymore. I noticed it the most at my mom's house, which is a minefield of triggers for me (nothing like spending my entire high school career alternating between stuffed up to all hell and hopped up on Benadryl). I don't get triggered by nearly as many things as I used to.

And migraines and cluster headaches have vanished, as well, thanks to the reduced inflammation in my body (which is what was causing mine).

kirkor

I might get a sore throat for a day, or have the sniffles for a couple days, but I travel around a lot so it could be regional allergens.
Haven't had the flu since college I don't think.

Fvaisey

After over 10 months of LCHF I don't think I've had any illness in the last 8 months until I caught my first cold this past week. It seems to have disappeared after a couple days. That is unusual, colds usually take a week to go away. Overall, feeling great!

inspirationstation

I am sick with a respiratory virus right now. Overall, I find that I don't get sick very often, but two of my three kids were sick last week with Strep throat and Croup, so yeah...sometimes, it just happens.

KarlaYP

I've been LCHF since mid March. I made it through the spring bloom with allergy meds. I have since been able to discontinue the use of my allergy meds!! The fall bloom got me. Sniffles for a few days, then it was gone, with no medications required! Before LCHF, it would have turned into a full blown sinus infection!

I'm supper happy!! Keep on keepin on friend!

baconslave

inspirationstation wrote: »

I am sick with a respiratory virus right now. Overall, I find that I don't get sick very often, but two of my three kids were sick last week with Strep throat and Croup, so yeah...sometimes, it just happens.

It does. I finally caught something. But I missed about 3 other things the kids brought home recently. So, I count that a win.