Disease Archives

Hand holding a magnifying glass over an illustration of the digestive system.

Your Gut Health and Colon Cancer Risks

Digestive Health, Disease / By @drHoberman

Your Gut Health and Colon Cancer Risks

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. What’s really worrisome is the steep rise in younger colon cancer patients under age 50. In fact, the number of colon cancer patients under age 55 has nearly doubled to 20 percent over the past decade and more people have died from it, according to recent numbers compiled by the Yale School of Medicine. Many factors associated with colon cancer — from a diet full of processed foods to a sedentary lifestyle — can exert a lot of influence on your microbiome in ways that could make it easier for precancerous polyps to grow in your colon, according to a new study appearing in Cell Host & Microbe.

How Polyps Develop In Your Colon

Researchers at Harvard Medical School believe poor diets and sedentary lifestyles (plus tobacco and alcohol use) promote the growth of polyps via your gut in two ways:

The diversity of your microbiome changes in ways that stimulate polyp growth due to external lifestyle factors.
Lifestyle factors promote polyp growth directly which influences the microbiome by affecting the cells lining your gut.

They came to these conclusions after examining data collected on the health of 1,200 patients receiving routine colonoscopy screenings, including diet, medication use, lifestyles and stool samples. Their goal: Analyzing differences in gut bacteria signatures between those who had no evidence of polyps versus those who were diagnosed with two kinds of polyps (tubular adenomas or sessile serrated adenomas). Overall, 27 bacterial species significantly differed between patients with both sets of polyps and healthy patients. What comes next for researchers: Isolating those bacterial species to determine the functional relationships between them and polyp growth in the lab. But there’s a lot you can do to lower your colon risks long before that next study is published…

Follow This Checklist To Lower Your Colon Cancer Risks!

Clean up your diet by eating more nutrient-dense whole foods full of fiber and natural sugars.
Take antibiotics only when you absolutely need them and as prescribed by your doctor.
Get off the couch and carve out a few minutes each day for exercise.
Protect the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut — the center of your immune system — by taking a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria and a proven prebiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

Cell Host & Microbe Harvard Medical School American Cancer Society Mayo Clinic CDC Yale School of Medicine

How Antibiotic Use Harms Breast Cancer Patients

Disease, Women’s Health / By @drHoberman

How Antibiotic Use Harms Breast Cancer Patients Over the past few years, we’ve learned how an unbalanced gut creates far more health challenges, especially when breast cancer is involved. In some cases, scientists have shown how gut health imbalances can reprogram healthy mast cells (immune cells in healthy breast tissue) that allow cancer to spread to other parts of the human body. Unfortunately, the most effective disruptor of the human gut — antibiotics — exerts its own problematic effect on your body’s immune system to fight breast cancer and it may be linked to an increased risk of death, according to a recent study appearing in Nature Communications. Lower Survival Rates Scientists at Stanford University monitored the health of 772 women over at least a five-year period from 2000-14 with triple-negative breast cancer (a form of the disease that’s rare, but more aggressive and harder to treat). Patients treated with antimicrobials (a class of drugs that includes antibiotics to fight infections) were more likely to have decreased amounts of lymphocytes (immune cells in their bloodstreams). Stanford researchers believe those lower numbers of lymphocytes and the use of antimicrobials are tied to health-harming disruptions in the balance of gut bacteria that could shorten a breast cancer patient’s life. Interestingly, mortality rates differ between woman never took antimicrobials (20 percent) and those who did (23 percent). What really increased the risk of death was the total number of drugs prescribed to each patient and the amount of exposure from a wider variety of drugs (tetracycline or amoxycillin). This risk of death due to exposure to antimicrobials lasted about three years after a diagnosis and gradually decreased over the final two years. The Probiotics Effect Some very important data that’s missing from this Stanford study: Comparing individual gut microbiomes through fecal samples, something that will be addressed in a future study that addresses gut health, antibiotic use and long-term cancer survival. We hope researchers will also examine the proven and very beneficial effect that multi-strain probiotics, like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic with 30 BILLION bacterial allies, have on protecting a patient’s gut health while taking an antibiotic. References Nature Communications Stanford Medicine News Center Tech Explorist Medical NewsToday

Fighting Melanoma With Probiotics

Disease / By @drHoberman

Fighting Melanoma With Probiotics

Despite all of the attention we pay to other deadly forms of cancer — breast, colon, lung and prostate — melanoma should be near the top of that list too.

Melanoma makes up just 1 percent of all skin cancers, yet it is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. What’s more, just like colon cancer, the incidence of melanoma has jumped dramatically and become more common among young people.

In recent years, we’ve learned how the state of a patient’s gut health plays a critical role in a growing number of cancers, sometimes due to the harmful use of antibiotics.

Lately, we’ve also seen how the beneficial mix of bacteria and prebiotics contained in probiotics can do a lot of good, including these latest findings from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) on the use of probiotics combined with diet to boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

From Gut To Tumor

UPMC scientists knew that the gut was a critical factor in cancer immunotherapy (helping the body’s immune system find and eliminate cancer cells) for some patients, but not all. Yet some recent studies have found that melanoma patients benefitted from probiotic use during the immunotherapy phase of their treatments.

A research team led by senior author Dr. Marlies Meisel took a very important next step by figuring out how the beneficial bacteria in probiotics get the job done by stimulating immune cells directly in tumors with the help of diet in a study appearing in the medical journal Cell.

When Dr. Meisel and her team fed Lactobacillus reuteri to germ-free mice with melanoma, they were able to track to movement of that beneficial bacteria from the gut straight to the tumors.

Compared to a control group that never received beneficial bacteria, the tiny bodies of mice that were dosed with probiotics stimulated more potent T cells at the site of tumors by secreting a compound (I3A).

Also, when scientists supplemented the diets of probiotic mice with tryptophan (an amino acid common in chicken, oatmeal and nuts), that beneficial bacteria converted it to I3A, further strengthening the effect of immunotherapy on slowing down tumor growth and keeping those animals alive longer.

The benefits of probiotics weren’t limited to melanoma either. Probiotics moved beyond the gut to suppress the growth of other cancers including breast cancer in other mouse models.

“I think it’s empowering for patients that they could make these changes themselves — after careful clinical consideration — and have some control over their treatment journey,” says Dr. Meisel.

Safer Approaches For Treating Cancer

Fortunately, this isn’t the first documented case of tiny gut microbes making a difference in the treatment of melanoma.

In a similar study involving mice, prebiotics worked in very similar ways to stimulate the growth of immune cells, slow the growth of melanoma and help the gut to develop more anti-tumor immunity.

This recent report adds to the legacy of probiotics as a safe, non-drug approach to fortify the human gut, the center of one’s immune system.

Want to give your immune system a much-needed boost by taking probiotics?

Consider EndoMune Advanced Probiotics, formulated with 10 vital strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families — at least 30 billion bacterial allies and a probiotic (FOS) that feeds your gut.

Resources

Cell

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)

National Cancer Institute

Cleveland Clinic

The Probiotic Benefit For Gastric Bypass Patients

Diet, Disease / By @drHoberman

The Probiotic Benefit For Gastric Bypass Patients

With greater numbers of people struggling with a myriad of health issues surrounding obesity, the popularity of gastric bypass procedures that help patients shed extra pounds has grown exponentially over the past three decades.

Although gastric bypass isn’t for everyone who suffers from severe weight-related health problems, this procedure can be an important catalyst toward better health outcomes.

Losing the weight with the help of gastric bypass is merely the first step. It takes a great deal of work and mental determination to follow a healthier diet plan rather than a nutrient-poor Western diet which is often the reason many patients consider gastric bypass in the first place.

However, taking a probiotic formulated with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may be a very safe, gut-friendly solution that eases some of the issues gastric bypass patients face, according to a recent study.

The Gut-Brain Connection At Work

A team of Brazilian researchers conducted a clinical trial with 101 gastric bypass patients to assess the gut-brain benefits of prescribing a probiotic containing Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus, targeting symptoms of binge eating and food addictions.

(These strains of beneficial bacteria are among the 10 formulated in every bottle of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

Patients received a multi-strain probiotic or placebo for three months, starting seven days after their gastric bypass surgeries, then were evaluated at the 90-day and 1-year marks to assess outcomes.

Both patient groups experienced decreases in symptoms at three months. But, the real benefit of taking a multi-strain probiotic showed up a year later as patients still experienced significant gut-brain relief from binging and food addictions.

What If Gastric Bypass Isn’t An Option?

For many people, gastric bypass may not be the best option to lose weight. You may not be keen on weight-loss surgery, especially if the amount of weight you need to lose is a much more manageable number that can be aided by eating nutrient-dense foods and increasing your exercise.

If you want to lose weight safely and more slowly but need some extra help, you may want to consider EndoMune Metabolic Rescue, a probiotic that can help you maintain the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut and jumpstart your weight loss plan.

EndoMune Metabolic Rescue contains a proven blend of Bifidobacterium lactis and the prebiotic XOS (Xylooligosaccharides) that stimulates the release of hormones in your gut that reduce your appetite naturally by promoting a greater sense of fullness.

If gastric bypass isn’t in your future, it’s good to know you have gut-healthy options in the EndoMune family of probiotics that can make your weight-loss journey a good experience.

References

ABCD (Arquivos Brasileiros de Cirurgia Digestiva)

Nutra Ingredients

Mayo Clinic

Porto Biomedical Journal

Medline Plus

Illustration of breast exam that includes an illustration of the human gut. Text reads: "Breast Cancer and Your Unbalanced Gut

Breast Cancer and Your Unbalanced Gut Health

Disease, Women’s Health / By @drHoberman

Breast Cancer and Your Unbalanced Gut Health

The list of serious health problems associated with an unbalanced gut is growing as researchers discover more links between gut dysbiosis and various forms of cancer.

Some of the more interesting and disturbing findings have come recently from a research team at the University of Virginia’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology unit studying the connections between the gut microbiome and breast cancer.

So, why does breast cancer spread in some patients but not all of them?

A new study from Virginia researchers has answered that simple question, concluding alterations in a patient’s gut health influence changes in healthy breast tissue that makes it easier for breast cancer to spread to other parts of the body.

Scientists led by Dr. Melanie Rutkowski found an unhealthy gut reprograms mast cells (immune cells in healthy breast tissue) accumulating in the breast that eventually allows cancer to spread to other organs, according to a study appearing in Cancer Immunology Research.

Based on work with human patients and mice, an unbalanced gut alters breast tissue even before the presence of a tumor, setting the table for a tumor to have the resources it needs to spread cancer cells throughout the body, says Dr. Rutkowski.

Additionally, researchers could calculate the risk for a recurrence in breast cancer merely based on the number of mast cells and collagen, opening the door to develop treatment strategies targeted at prevention.

The need for life-saving alternatives is real. Just 29 percent of women and 22 percent of men survive five years after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis.

Until those alternatives come, the best cancer-fighting steps you can take to protect your gut and your health are easy ones.

Eat a diet rich in nutrient-dense whole foods and dietary fiber and ditch your Western diet ways.
Incorporate more movement in your life with some consistent exercise. Even walking helps!
Stay on a consistent sleep schedule.
Avoid antibiotics except when you really need them.
Take a daily probiotic with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Need some help figuring out how to get the most out of a probiotic? Check out our updated guide on the basics of taking a multi-strain probiotic, and learn why the prebiotics contained in probiotics matter, especially when fighting cancer.

References

Cancer Immunology Research

UVA Health Newsroom

National Cancer Institute

Click On Detroit

Fruits and vegetables spread out on a table

Can Dietary Fiber Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?

Diet, Disease / By @drHoberman

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease: Dietary Fiber on Your Brain

How much dietary fiber you eat each day reveals a lot about how healthy your body and your gut really are…

Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of all American adults eat the amount of dietary fiber their bodies need to maintain their good health, according to recent findings from the American Society For Nutrition (ASN).

This dietary fiber deficit has led to serious health problems related to the heart (inflammation and circulatory issues), not to mention diabetes, that often start in the human gut.

Add an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease to the growing list of health problems related to a lack of dietary fiber, according to researchers at LSU Health New Orleans.

The Inflammatory Path to Alzheimer’s

LSU scientists recently discovered the pathway that a potent neurotoxin — lipopolysaccharide (LPS) — takes from its creation in the gut to the brain in a study appearing in Frontiers in Neurology.

Considered the most inflammatory class of neurotoxic chemicals in the human body, many laboratories have detected different forms of LPS in the neurons of brains harmed by Alzheimer’s disease, says Dr. Walter Lukiw, co-lead researcher on this study and a professor at the LSU Health School of Medicine.

Based on their work with human and animal brain cells, scientists learned LPS generates a “messenger molecule” that travels from the gut through the bloodstream and to the brain, where it shrinks cells, increases inflammation and robs neurons of their signaling abilities, Lukiw says.

Although this new information has the potential to offer new treatments for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, the better news here is that we can lessen the production of LPS in our bodies very simply by increasing the daily amount of fiber we eat in our daily diets.

More Fiber and Healthier Brain

So, if eating more fiber is good for your gut and your brain, how much do you really need and where do you get it?

Generally, men need a bit more dietary fiber (30-38 grams) than women (21-25 grams) depending on their ages (people over age 50 require a little less fiber).

Eating about 30 grams of fiber may sound challenging, but it really amounts to 1 powerful ounce of protection for your health. And, it’s very doable if you enjoy nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits (raspberries and mangoes), vegetables (green beans, cauliflower), legumes (chickpeas and lentils), oats and mushrooms.

But that’s not all you can do, especially if you want to give your gut and your health some extra protection…

Taking a probiotic with proven strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families and a prebiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic does a lot of good behind the scenes by enhancing the natural fermentation of fiber that feeds your gut and protects your brain!

References

Frontiers in Neurology

NOLA.com

LSU Health New Orleans

American Society For Nutrition

Illustration of two people illustrating their digestive systems and thyroids

The Gut-Thyroid Axis

Digestive Health, Disease / By @drHoberman

The Gut-Thyroid Axis

The thyroid is a gland in our bodies about which we don’t pay much attention, except when it’s not working.

This butterfly-shaped organ laying along the base of your neck regulates many vital bodily functions including your weight, heart rate, breathing, menstrual cycles, cholesterol levels and a whole lot more.

As a critical part of the endocrine system, the thyroid produces and releases hormones (triiodothyronine or T3 and thyroxine or T4) that travel through your bloodstream and touch nearly every cell of your body.

You’ll notice health problems when the thyroid doesn’t release enough of these hormones (hypothyroidism) with signs of fatigue, concentration issues and frequent, heavy periods or too much (hyperthyroidism) leading to anxiety, sensitivity to high temperatures and trembling hands.

Did you know your gut bacteria may influence how your thyroid works or doesn’t?

Let’s take a look…

Gut health imbalances and thyroid problems

Although medical science has recognized the coexistence of thyroid and gut-related issues such as celiac disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis for more than 70 years, a more recent and growing body of evidence has found a connection between poor gut health and thyroid disease.

That link may begin with a very simple imbalance/dysbiosis in your gut microbiome. Recognizing the connections between thyroid issues and the gut, Chinese researchers compared the balance of bacteria in 40 healthy patients to 52 patients with hypothyroidism. according to a recent study appearing in Clinical Science.

Through blood tests and fecal samples, scientists identified four gut bacteria strains (Veillonella, Paraprevotella, Neisseria and Rheinheimera) that could very accurately predict (higher than 80 percent) whether someone suffered from untreated primary hypothyroidism or not.

Among hypothyroid patients, levels of Veillonella and Paraprevotella were significantly reduced, while Neisseria and Rheinheimera were greatly elevated. The ability of hypothyroid patients to produce beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SFCAs) that provide nourishment for the gut decreased too.

Similar problems with primary hypothyroidism persisted even after fecal samples taken from hypothyroid patients were transplanted into mice.

Fortunately, a healthy solution for both problems is also a very familiar one…

To the rescue!

A pair of studies appearing in Nutrients and Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism point to the advantages of probiotics as a safe option that treat symptoms behind the scenes.

Not only do probiotics support the healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, these beneficial microbes have been beneficial in the treatment of some thyroid diseases.

How? Probiotics have a positive influence on trace minerals (selenium, copper, iodine, iron and zinc) in the human body. What’s more, the health of your gut also influences how efficiently those minerals that affect how your thyroid works are absorbed.

While the framework for the gut-thyroid axis appears very solid, there’s still lots of work to be done in laboratories all over the world before there’s real consensus on a protocol.

Until that happens, the best thing you could do to maintain the healthy balance of microbes in your gut and give your thyroid some extra support is taking a probiotic, ideally with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

Clinical Science and Research Gate

Nutrients

Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism

Endocrine Web

British Thyroid Association

the gut stuff

Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology

graphic of a digestive system with a virus next to it. Text reads "Long Covid: Gut Bacteria (im)balances May Affect Your Risks

Stop Long COVID

Disease / By @drHoberman

Multi-Strain Probiotics: A Long COVID Solution

The balance of bacteria in the human gut goes a long way toward dictating the state of your health and the ability of your immune system to defend you from health challenges as they come.

So, it wasn’t surprising to learn that gut bacteria imbalances have emerged as a new marker for Long COVID.

As many as 7 percent of all COVID-19 patients experienced at least one symptom of Long COVID up to six months later, according to a report in Nature Communications issued late last year.

Although hard numbers are difficult to come by, some experts believe as many as 23 million Americans have been affected by Long COVID symptoms, and at least 1 million have lost their jobs as a result.

Fortunately, a very simple non-drug solution — a multi-strain probiotic — may be a huge help in treating acute and Long COVID symptoms.

Probiotics To The Rescue!

Interest in testing the benefits of probiotics kicked into high gear after an informal app-based study by Kings College in the UK involving more than 400,000 patients found that those who were taking probiotics regularly lowered their COVID risks.

British researchers took the next step by measuring the benefits of probiotics formulated with five strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Lactococcus families and a prebiotic taken by 126 COVID patients for 30 days.

(Four of the five strains tested in this study are key ingredients contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

Among patients taking probiotics, a majority (86) had been dealing with Long COVID symptoms for an average of 120 days while the remainder had presented COVID symptoms for about 10 days.

Not surprisingly, three key COVID symptoms — coughing, fatigue and overall wellbeing — improved significantly after a month-long trial of probiotics, along with reports from patients about improvements in their gut health-related symptoms.

One interesting finding: Patients who were treated in a hospital setting for COVID with probiotics and were older and more sedentary enjoyed greater health improvements.

What’s more, scientists attributed those probiotic benefits to relief from gut health issues related to taking antibiotics and other medications.

Taking Preventative Measures

Another important reason why the results of this UK-based study are so important: COVID will be around for the foreseeable future.

Even if you’ve already had COVID, there’s a chance one of the growing number of variants circulating could infect you a second time, depending on your precautions, existing health risk factors and vaccine status.

Having a strong immune system is more important than ever, especially if you want to protect your health from COVID or, worse, the lingering symptoms of Long COVID.

Given what we already know about Long COVID symptoms linked to a less diverse microbiome, taking a multi-species probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic makes good gut sense!

Resources

NHS/Cambridge University Hospitals

Infectious Diseases Diagnosis & Treatment

U.S. Government Accountability Office

BMJ

Nature Communications

Cleveland Clinic

The Aging Gut 101

Diet, Disease, Healthy Aging / By @drHoberman

The Aging Gut 101: Healthy Aging, Healthy Gut

“Does my gut age just like the rest of me?”

We get this question a lot, especially from older folks who are starting to understand the connection between the gut and their health in ways that matter directly to them, like maintaining their bones and preserving their cognitive skills.

The simple answer: The composition of bacteria in your gut evolves with time just like your body. Your microbiome develops rapidly from infancy to age 3, stabilizes through middle age, then changes rapidly later in life, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Those changes can be a good thing. In fact, the more your gut bacteria evolves as you age, the better your overall health may be, based on recent research appearing in Nature Metabolism.

Your Evolving Gut

This study compared a wealth of data on human health along with gut microbiome genetic sequencing data on more than 9,000 patients ranging from ages 18-101.

However, the real focus of the research team (led by scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology) was a subset of more than 900 older patients (ages 78-98) to better understand the makeup of their microbiomes and how they matched up with their overall health.

To the good, older adults whose microbiomes kept evolving enjoyed better overall health, as evidenced by lower levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, higher vitamin D levels and more beneficial blood metabolites produced by the gut (including one that reduced inflammation and extended lives in previous animal studies).

Not only did those with more unique microbiomes feel better, they experienced greater overall mobility and could walk faster than their peers whose gut health didn’t change as much with age.

To the bad, patients with less diverse microbiomes took more medications and were nearly twice as likely to die during the course of the study.

Scientists also learned that microbiome uniqueness was more prevalent among women, which may go a long way toward explaining why women often outlive men…

Your Diet Matters

So, what drives microbial evolution and longevity among seniors? The healthiest patients with the most dramatic shifts in their microbiomes experienced steep drops in Bacteroides, a species commonly found in people who eat more processed foods and far less fiber.

When patients eat less fiber, the Bacteroides in their guts have little to eat which can trigger an immune response leading to chronic inflammation and an array of age-related conditions from arthritis to heart disease.

These results certainly mirror previous articles we’ve shared about the many health benefits of dietary fiber, especially if you want to maintain a resilient, healthy gut microbiome that evolves as you age.

How much fiber your body needs every day to maintain optimal health depends on your gender — men need a bit more (31-38 grams) than women (21-25 grams) — and the quality of your diet.

Are You Taking A Probiotic?

If you’re having challenges getting enough fiber, taking a daily probiotic formulated with proven strains of beneficial bacteria and a prebiotic can do a lot of good.

Taking a probiotic with a prebiotic may also reduce low-grade inflammation. This was the key finding in a recent review of studies appearing in Nutrients.

One of the real benefits of taking a probiotic comes from the production of butyrate (short-chain fatty acids created when your gut digests soluble fiber) that reduces chronic low-grade inflammation in your gut.

If you’ve been looking for a good probiotic, find one with multiple strains of beneficial and proven bacteria from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families plus a prebiotic that feeds the good guys in your gut, like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

National Institute on Aging

Nature Metabolism

New York Times

Gut Microbiota For Health

Nutrients

Nutraingredients Asia

Vector graphic of a large intestine next to a magnifying glass hovering a vector image of the coronavirus molecular structure. Text reads "Long Covid: Gut bacteria (Im)balances May Affect Your Risk

The Connection Between Gut Health and Long Covid

Disease, Healthy Aging / By @drHoberman

Long COVID: Gut Bacteria (Im)Balances May Affect Your Risks

Although most patients who contract the coronavirus recover within weeks, some COVID symptoms persist for some people long after an initial bout with the disease.

A study appearing late last year in Nature Communications estimates about 7 percent of patients infected with COVID-19 experienced at least one Long COVID symptom six months later.

Common symptoms of Long COVID include:

Shortness of breath
Joint and chest pain
Cognitive challenges
Fatigue and brain fog
Insomnia

As time goes on, the more modern medical science is learning how the gut plays an increasingly important role in protecting or harming your health.

So far, we’re seen how some key variables come into play with COVID-19 in relation to your microbiome, like how you manage your diet and stress levels which help you maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria.

Failing to protect a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut may also increase your risks of developing Long COVID many months after your initial run-in with the coronavirus, according to a recent report in the medical journal, Gut.

Gut Dysbiosis And Long COVID

A group of Chinese researchers examined the gut health of 106 COVID patients hospitalized over a six-month period in 2020 to 68 healthy patients by using stool samples to monitor any links to Long COVID.

More than three-quarters of patients participating in the study reported symptoms of Long COVID, with fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, anxiety and sleep problems among the most common challenges at the six-month mark.

Yet, despite no significant differences in common risk factors (age, pre-existing conditions or the use of antibiotics), a majority who suffered from Long COVID symptoms a half-year later experienced gut dysbiosis, meaning they had a less diverse mix of gut bacteria.

In fact, the overall makeup of gut bacteria among patients with Long COVID included 81 harmful species. For example, some harmful species from the Streptococcus and Clostridium families were linked to persistent respiratory problems.

Overall, the gut microbiomes of sick patients who didn’t develop Long COVID were similar to those who never contracted COVID at all.

What You Can Do

For the foreseeable future, Long COVID is here to stay and scientists are searching for answers. However, there are steps you can take to protect and strengthen your immune health and make that run-in with COVID a shorter, more uneventful one if it happens.

We already know that the lack of balance in the gut microbiome for COVID patients is a real problem and how these imbalances can show up in your blood. What’s more, just like the previous study, the depletion of key bacterial species associated with boosting immunity really matters.

For starters, cleaning up your diet (cutting out the sugar), starting some form of daily movement and working on a better sleep schedule can do a lot of good.

One more important thing you can do to give your immune system a direct boost: Take a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, uniquely fortified with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families.

Resources

Nature Communications