Dr. Courtney Craig

22/11/2025

One of the most common patterns I see when working with people who have ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and long COVID is the belief that recovery requires dramatic dietary overhauls—cutting dozens of foods, following rigid plans, or eating large quantities of specific “therapeutic” foods.

But this isn’t how the body works. And it’s certainly not how sustainable nutrition works.

In postviral illness, where energy is limited, small, consistent nutritional changes are far more effective than extreme diets.

Check out the new blog post here for tips:
https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/small-nutrition-changes-mecfs-long-covid

Learn how small, sustainable nutrition changes can support recovery in ME/CFS and long COVID. Simple daily habits improve gut health, energy, and inflammation.

17/11/2025

New blog post alert: Post-Meal Fatigue in ME/CFS & Long-Haul COVID

Crash after eating? This isn’t a “food coma.” It’s a real physiological response involving inflammation, blood pooling, mast cell activation, and altered tryptophan metabolism. These systems are already disrupted in postviral illness, which is why eating can trigger such sudden exhaustion.

In this post, I break down the strongest, research-supported mechanisms behind post-meal fatigue and share practical steps to make meals more tolerable without extreme restriction.

Read the full article here: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/post-meal-fatigue-mecfs-long-covid-pasc

Explore why post-meal fatigue is so common in ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and long-haul COVID/PASC. Learn the science, top causes, and simple ways to reduce symptoms.

14/11/2025

Another video interview with Patrick Ussher... This one on my favorite topic: therapeutic diets for improving mitochondrial function and gut biome remodeling.

Watch it here:

For 15% off Dr Craig's nutrition courses use the code 'FALL15' here: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/online-course-catalogNB - Code is only valid until en...

10/11/2025

Working with postviral patients over the years, I’ve seen a recurring problem: many end up over-restricting their diets in the hope of feeling better. Many fear foods for the wrong reasons.

But too much restriction can backfire—harming the microbiome, increasing sensitivities, and making condition improvement and stability harder, not easier.

That’s why I wrote my latest blog post.

In it, I unpack common misconceptions I hear from patients every day—from fruit fears and dairy myths to long-term elimination diets and carb confusion—and explain what the research actually shows.

Read the full post here 👇
https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/nutrition-myths-postviral-illness

Learn which common nutrition myths may slow recovery in ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and long COVID. Evidence-based guidance for rebuilding health after viral illness.

09/11/2025

All month long, videos are coming out from a fun interview I did with Patrick Ussher. Check out the first one now about low T3 syndrome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3En99-nLpCE

For 15% off Dr Craig's nutrition courses use the code 'FALL15' here: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/online-course-catalogNB - Code is only valid until en...

03/11/2025

New Video Alert!

I sometimes get asked where my nutrition recommendations come from since there is no direct diet research in ME/CFS.

It's a good question!
Learn more in 6:30 minutes.

https://youtu.be/ZZ_7Jw5rAfc?si=pzRhHIos2R6BpYis

Have you ever wondered about nutrition recommendations for ME/CFS or long COVID? This video addresses the lack of direct research and explains how experts ma...

28/10/2025

🧬 Another “blood test for ME/CFS”?
The headlines about the new EpiSwitch study sound exciting—but there’s an important catch.

I unpack why that matters and why a true biomarker for ME/CFS is still a long way off.

👉 Read the full post: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/mecfs-biomarker-episwitch-hype

Every few years, new headlines promise a biomarker for ME/CFS. Learn why most fail, what’s behind the EpiSwitch test, and why real progress will take a cluster of biomarkers.

22/10/2025

A review paper is making the rounds with the sensational headline: “COVID-19 is Airborne AIDS.” Please read this critically—the science does not support that comparison.

🦠 COVID-19 is not like HIV/AIDS.
HIV is a lifelong virus that attacks and destroys the immune system. COVID-19 does not do this. While it can affect the immune system temporarily or cause long COVID in some, most people recover their immune function after infection.

🧬 COVID-19 doesn’t “hide” in your body like HIV or herpes.
There’s no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 becomes a chronic or latent virus. Most people clear it completely after infection. The idea that COVID creates long-term “carriers” like HIV is misleading.

⚠️ Scary headlines ≠ scientific consensus.
Even immunologists have called this “Airborne AIDS” claim scientifically inaccurate and irresponsible. Oversimplifying COVID this way can harm public understanding—especially for communities already impacted by post-viral conditions like ME/CFS.

Yes, COVID is serious. But we need accurate science, not fear-based framing. I hope this paper gets retracted.

https://www.ajpmfocus.org/article/S2773-0654(25)00146-4/fulltext

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is often compared to other pandemics for its societal and global health impact, with some commentators drawing parallels to HIV/AIDS due to the immune dysfunction caused by both viruses (1-4).

16/10/2025

Great piece today in Rolling Stone...

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-kids-school-absenteeism-1235447552/

Long Covid is affecting hundreds of thousands of kids in America, and many doctors and schools refuse to recognize their illness.

13/10/2025

There’s almost no direct nutrition research for postviral illnesses like ME/CFS or long-haul COVID (PASC).

So you might wonder how on earth I make nutrition recommendations for these conditions!

The answer: I look to aging research.

These illnesses mimic aging phenotypes—meaning the body behaves biologically older than its actual age. And while we may never have robust nutrition trials for ME/CFS or PASC, we do have decades of high-quality research on how diet supports older adults. That research becomes a powerful guide for supporting the same systems disrupted in postviral illness: muscle, mitochondria, the immune system, and the gut.

I break down what this means and how it translates into real-world nutrition strategies in my latest blog post:

👉 Read the full post here: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/nutrition-mecfs-long-covid-aging-research

Discover how decades of aging research guide nutrition for ME/CFS and long-haul COVID/PASC—from protein and micronutrients to fiber and caloric strategies.

08/10/2025

Many common pathogens—including herpesviruses like Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), SARS-CoV-2, and even some bacteria and parasites—can persist long after the initial infection. These pathogens interfere with your body’s immune defenses, energy production, and even the way your genes work.

This helps explain why conditions like ME/CFS and long COVID look and feel like accelerated aging, even in young or middle-aged people.

Watch the full video on YouTube
👉 https://youtu.be/86FsPRoSZo8?si=JHkzBHj-A2i3l2y6

02/10/2025

When I got sick with ME/CFS at 15, I felt decades older than I was.
And even now, in my 40s, that sense of being “aged beyond my years” hasn’t gone away.

It turns out, science backs this up.
Research shows that ME/CFS and long COVID (PASC) mimic accelerated aging—from shortened telomeres and “zombie cells” to mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle decline.

In a new blog, I dive into:
🔹 Why ME/CFS and PASC are considered “aging phenotypes”
🔹 How viruses like EBV and SARS-CoV-2 drive premature aging
🔹 What this means for lifespan and long-term outlook
🔹 Why it matters for nutrition and other treatment strategies

📖 Read the full post here: https://www.postviralnutrition.com/blog/mecfs-long-covid-accelerated-aging

Our bodies carrying the weight of time long before the calendar says so.

Discover how ME/CFS and long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID (PASC) resemble accelerated aging. Explore research on mitochondria, telomeres, immunity, and muscle changes.