Prioritizing gut health may prevent long term COVID effects
A recent study from Gut showed that gut bacteria can influence the risk of developing long COVID.
About 50 percent of surviving COVID-19 patients experience lingering symptoms for six months or more following their initial recovery. The condition “long COVID” refers to the long-term side effects including physical fatigue, difficulty breathing and forgetfulness that persist after the acute COVID-19 infection.
In July 2021, Congress officially categorized long COVID as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Long COVID has impaired patients and prevented them from partaking in everyday activities such as going to work or shopping at the grocery store.
The increased concerns for patients developing long COVID following acute infection have prompted researchers to investigate the biological basis of why some patients experience lingering symptoms while others are able to fully recover.
Many scientists have researched gut health, which is responsible for regulating the immune system, as an explanation for long COVID.
“Seventy percent of the immune system is located in the gut,” said Dr. David Heber, professor of medicine and public health at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Nutrition is a key modulator of immune function.”
According to an app-based study conducted by London King’s College, people who regularly used probiotic supplements had a lower risk of contracting COVID-19.
Probiotics are living microorganisms, such as yeast and bacteria, that provide the body with many health benefits and can be acquired through fermented foods and yogurt. Probiotics can help the body fight off infections by regulating and strengthening the immune system.
Until now, there has not been extensive research done on whether probiotics consumption after infection with SARS-CoV-2 could help alleviate its longer lasting effects.
Dr. Sabine Hazan, the creator of ProgenaBiome, found that patients that tested positive for COVID-19 had less gut bacterial diversity overall with less Faecalibacterium and Bifidobacterium abundance.
Low bacterial diversity within the gut in combination with low levels of Faecalibacterium and Bifidobacterium caused patients to become more immunocompromised before and after the infection.
“If low relative abundance of Bifidobacterium preceded infection, boosting levels might reduce susceptibility or minimize symptom severity,” Hazan said. “Alternatively, if the reduction follows infection, then refloralization of the gut microbiome may reduce long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2.”
Hazan and her colleagues theorized that increasing gut bacterial diversity will help lower the chances of contracting COVID-19 and minimize symptom severity post-infection.
Consuming diets rich in fiber and natural sources of probiotics, including foods such as fruit and yogurt, may minimize one’s chances of contracting COVID-19.
Studies have shown that maintaining good gut health can promote an increase in microbe diversity and help manage inflammation caused by COVID-19.
For individuals who have already contracted COVID-19 and are experiencing long COVID symptoms, researchers are partnering with pharmaceutical companies to develop a more direct medium to deliver and remedy the effects of long COVID.
Dr. Robert Thomas, a consultant oncologist at Bedford and Addenbrooke's Hospitals, is evaluating if taking two nutrient rich capsules a day supplemented by probiotics could further improve long COVID recovery.
“It is more important now than ever to think about setting resolutions that will help us stay healthy and strong enough to see us through the coming year,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical respondent at CNN. “That means we have to be proactive rather than reactive.”
