Impact of evening carbohydrate intake on the resolution of persistent night sweats in patients with long COVID: a case series

Abstract

Up to 25% of patients with long COVID experience persistent night sweats. However, in most cases they remain untreated until they disappear on their own. Since SARS-CoV-2 is known to disrupt glucose homeostasis, we hypothesized that impaired mitochondria would result in faster glycogen depletion at night due to reduced ATP production yield, inducing adrenaline production ultimately leading to the onset of persistent night sweats. To test our hypothesis we investigated whether incorporating carbohydrates into the diet of three non-diabetic patients with long COVID before bedtime would have any effect decreasing their night sweats. Remarkably, after one week with the dietary intervention, the patients reported that their night sweats had completely disappeared. Therefore, we propose carbohydrate supplementation as an affordable solution for night sweats in long COVID patients.