One of the tenets of functional medicine is that everything in the body is interconnected. Another is that it is important to get to the root cause, not just to treat symptoms.
A study was just published in the journal Gut showing the correlation of those with severe complications from Covid-19 and having dysbiosis, an imbalanced microbiome. The study, done in Hong Kong of 100 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 and 78 controls, showed a big difference between the health of their microbiomes.
This correlation was also the same with those who have what is called long Covid, meaning that their symptoms persist long after recovery from the virus. These people, now being called long haulers, still showed significant dysbiosis. What is not known is the state of people’s microbiome before contracting the disease.
What we do know is that people with underlying conditions tend to have a more severe response to Covid-19, people with underlying conditions often have dysbiosis, including those with Type2 Diabetes.
What is the gut microbiome? This is the community of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and sometimes parasites that live in the digestive tract. (We also have a skin microbiome, but that is a subject for another day.) These all need to live together in a state of balance. Dysbiosis occurs when they get out of balance.
There are many reasons why this could happen, and it is very common.
It is important to understand that the microbiome can be brought back into balance.
Managing stress, eating a whole food based diet, avoiding junk and processed foods, appropriate exercise, adequate rest, incorporating pre- and probiotics when our bodies can handle them, drinking bone broth, and targeted supplementation are all ways that we can start the rebalancing process. (Scroll down to the February Immune Boost below.)
As of this writing, the number of deaths from Covid-19 in this country has topped 400,000. My heart goes out to their families and loved ones, all of whom have lost someone near and dear to their hearts. There is an unknown but large number of long haulers and their continued suffering is real. To learn more about this, click here.
Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your digestive health