Skip to content

Dysautonomia Awareness Month Win an Apple Watch or Polar H10

Food & Diet

What to eat when your gut and nervous system are dysregulated: the POTS diet, low-histamine and MCAS eating, the SIBO gut connection, the Mediterranean pattern, and simple meal ideas for hard days.

Dan Gold / Unsplash

Austin Spaeth October 10, 2026 Food

CoQ10 for Long COVID and POTS: Does It Help Fatigue and HRV?

CoQ10 (coenzyme Q10) is a real cofactor your mitochondria use to turn food into energy, and your own levels fall with age and on statins, which is why it gets tried for the deep fatigue of long COVID and POTS. The strongest trial evidence is in heart failure and migraine prevention, not post-viral fatigue: a randomized trial of high-dose ubiquinol in people with lasting COVID symptoms did not show a clear benefit, and there is no POTS-specific or direct HRV evidence. That does not make it useless, it makes it an individual experiment. Any effect builds over 8 to 12 weeks, not overnight, it is fat-soluble so it needs a meal, and ubiquinol may absorb a little better than ubiquinone especially in older adults. Two cautions matter for this group: CoQ10 can blunt warfarin, and it may nudge blood pressure down, which is worth watching if you already run low. Because the response is personal, hold your dose steady and judge it against your own tracked HRV, resting heart rate and stand test rather than a label claim.

Read the full story

Electrolyte Drinks for POTS: How to Choose One (and a DIY Recipe)

Oct 9, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Electrolyte Drinks for POTS: How to Choose One (and a DIY Recipe)

Most sports drinks are far too dilute to help POTS. The number that actually matters is sodium per serving, not the color of the bottle. Here is how to read a label, a comparison of common options, and a cheap recipe you can make at home.

Read article →

Unsplash

Oct 3, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Intermittent Fasting and POTS: What It Does to HRV, and Whether to Try It

Intermittent fasting is everywhere, but POTS and dysautonomia change the math. Here is the honest physiology: how fasting moves your HRV, why skipping breakfast can backfire on blood volume and blood sugar, and a gentler way to try it if you still want to.

Read article →

Unsplash

Oct 2, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Vitamin B12, Dysautonomia and HRV: The Deficiency Worth Ruling Out

Low vitamin B12 can damage the nerves that run your heart rate and blood pressure, which is why it can look and feel a lot like dysautonomia. Here is the honest picture: how a deficiency produces POTS-like symptoms, why the standard serum test misses the grey zone, the confirmatory labs to ask for, why B12 is far safer to correct than vitamin D, and how to track your own response.

Read article →

Unsplash

Sep 28, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Vitamin D, HRV and POTS: Does the Sunshine Vitamin Move the Needle?

Vitamin D deficiency is common in people who are chronically ill and less active, and low levels are linked with worse cardiac autonomic function. Here is the honest picture: where the evidence for HRV is real and where it is thin, why 25(OH)D is the test that matters, the POTS angle, the toxicity caution that makes vitamin D different from magnesium, and how to test your own response.

Read article →

Caroline Attwood / Unsplash

Sep 17, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Omega-3, Fish Oil and HRV: Does It Actually Raise Heart Rate Variability?

Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the few supplements with real, repeatable effects on the heart's autonomic control. The clearest change is a slightly lower resting heart rate, with modest gains in time-domain HRV in some groups. Here is the honest evidence, the EPA versus DHA question, the dose that matters, the atrial fibrillation caution at high doses, and how to test whether it helps your own trend.

Read article →

Unsplash

Sep 6, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Gastroparesis and POTS: Nausea, Bloating, and Slow Digestion in Dysautonomia

Feeling full after a few bites, nauseous, and bloated for hours is common in POTS and dysautonomia, and delayed gastric emptying is often the reason. Here is why the same nervous system that controls your heart rate also controls your stomach, how to tell gastroparesis apart from post-meal blood pooling and blood-sugar swings, and the eating patterns that help.

Read article →

Anna Pelzer / Unsplash

Sep 4, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Blood Sugar Swings and POTS: Reactive Hypoglycemia, Explained

If you feel shaky, sweaty, and your heart races a couple of hours after a carb-heavy meal, a blood-sugar swing may be feeding your POTS symptoms. Here is the physiology of reactive hypoglycemia, why it overlaps so cleanly with adrenaline surges, and how to flatten the curve.

Read article →

Brooke Lark / Unsplash

Aug 7, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Magnesium, HRV and POTS: Does It Actually Help, and How to Tell

Magnesium is one of the most recommended supplements in POTS and long COVID circles, usually for sleep, palpitations and calmer nerves. The evidence for a direct HRV boost is modest, but the indirect route through better sleep is real. Here is the honest picture, the forms that actually differ, the blood-pressure caution POTS makes important, and how to test whether it helps you.

Read article →

D koi / Unsplash

Jul 30, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Quercetin and Mast Cells: What the Evidence Actually Shows

Quercetin is the most recommended supplement in MCAS and long COVID circles, and the laboratory data on mast cells is genuinely impressive. The human data is much thinner, and there is a large gap between the concentrations that work in a dish and the ones your blood can reach. Here is the honest picture, the safety and interaction issues worth knowing, and how to run a careful trial with your clinician.

Read article →

Brooke Lark / Unsplash

Jul 25, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Why POTS Feels Worse After Eating: Postprandial Hypotension, Explained

If your heart races, your head swims, or you crash for an hour after a meal, that is not in your head. Digestion pulls a large share of your blood into the gut, and a struggling autonomic system cannot compensate. Here is the physiology and how to eat around it.

Read article →

Kevin Wang / Unsplash

Jul 6, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

Gentle Low-Histamine Meal Ideas for Bad POTS Days

A crash-day toolkit of low-effort, lower-histamine meals that also respect POTS: salt-forward, easy to digest, and cookable with minimal standing. Idea lists, not fussy recipes, with one habit that changes everything: cook fresh, freeze fast.

Read article →

Jessica Lewis thepaintedsquare / Unsplash

Jul 3, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

The Mediterranean Diet for Long COVID: What Evidence Shows

Long COVID involves persistent, low-grade inflammation, and the Mediterranean pattern is one of the most anti-inflammatory ways to eat. Here is what the 2025 evidence actually shows, and how to start without overwhelming yourself.

Read article →

engin akyurt / Unsplash

Jun 23, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

SIBO, Histamine & Why Dysautonomia Wrecks Digestion

Dysautonomia doesn't stop at your heart rate, it slows your gut, invites bacterial overgrowth, and can stir up histamine problems. Here is how POTS, SIBO and MCAS feed each other, and the dietary tools that actually help.

Read article →

Jacopo Maiarelli / Unsplash

Jun 16, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

The Low-Histamine Diet for MCAS: A Practical Food List

A low-histamine diet can calm the flares of MCAS and histamine intolerance by lowering your total histamine load. Here is a practical eat-versus-avoid list, the freshness rule that matters most, and why this is a short-term tool, not a way of life.

Read article →

Anna Pelzer / Unsplash

Jun 9, 2026 · Austin Spaeth

The POTS Diet: What to Eat, and Why Small, Salty Meals Help

There is no single POTS diet, but a few patterns reliably help: smaller and more frequent meals, generous sodium and fluids, and steady blood sugar. Here is what to eat, what tends to backfire, and why.

Read article →

Browse all 16 articles in Food & Diet →

Track your recovery with Autonomic

A private, offline journal that scores your daily HRV, BP and orthostatic readings against medical thresholds. Free to download on iPhone and Android, with $7.99/mo Pro when you want the deep-analysis tools.