For about a year now, there has been no topic that has preoccupied people as much as the corona virus. Since then, people everywhere have been thinking about how best to protect themselves from infection. One fundamental component is undoubtedly a strong immune system. If this is healthy and efficient, the risk of infection with viruses and infections is demonstrably reduced. In this blog article, we will tell you about an important point that is crucial for the immune system's defense function - intestinal health, or more precisely, your intestinal microbiome.
Did you know that over 70% of all immune cells are in your intestines? This means, conversely, that the intestines play a key role in your general well-being and immune system. Covid 19 is a disease that primarily attacks the respiratory tract and causes symptoms such as fever, coughing and difficulty breathing. But Covid is not, as initially assumed, exclusively a lung disease, because many sick people also suffer from diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, for example. This means that the intestines are also affected by Corona.
Studies are showing more and more clearly how strongly the intestine really is linked to a strong immune response - that is, the body's reaction to pathogens. There are two important factors here: firstly, the intestinal mucosa, on which a large proportion of the immune cells that produce B cells and antibodies are located. Secondly, the intestinal flora, which is ideally populated with a large number of different bacterial strains, which in turn are responsible for the utilization of food components. They prevent pathogens from spreading in the intestine and the body and thus support the normal function of the immune system. A healthy intestinal flora also reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. These are precisely the factors that have been proven to negatively influence the course of a Covid-19 disease. A recent study published in the BMJ Journal Gut explains that the corona risk group in particular mostly suffers from a weakened intestinal flora and suggests that people are able to influence the course of the virus both negatively and positively through diet and lifestyle. Your diet is therefore directly related to intestinal health and thus also to the immune system's ability to defend itself. It is therefore advisable to support the body with foods rich in fiber, because these are precisely the ones that are utilized by the "good" bacteria in the intestine.
Another study underlines this assumption - an analysis of blood samples from the patients examined showed that an unbalanced gut microbiome was associated with increased concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers of tissue damage. This result suggests that the microbiome can influence the immune response, i.e. the body's ability to defend itself against infection with SARS-CoV-2, and can influence the severity of the course of the disease. However, these assumptions have not yet been fully scientifically proven.
Microbiologist Dr. Heenam Stanley Kim from the University of Korea in Seoul also addressed this topic in a review in the journal “ mBIO ”. Here, the scientist explains that a disturbed microbiome - i.e. a microbiome in which the number of “good” and “bad” intestinal bacteria is out of balance - leads to a disruption of the intestinal barrier. If the intestinal barrier is not intact, it is easier for toxins to penetrate the organism. Studies also show that the diversity of bacteria in people who have been infected with Covid-19 is significantly lower than in healthy people. Your intestinal flora and thus also the diversity of bacteria in your intestines can be very effectively supported by probiotics.
One example of this is our Dailybacs® . This is a high-dose probiotic consisting of 60 billion “good” intestinal bacteria, prebiotics, minerals and plant substances, which contributes to the microbial diversity in your intestine, the normal functioning of the immune system and your general well-being.
How is the virus connected to the intestine?
It turns out that an infection with SARS-CoV-2 usually also affects the intestines and the sick people often suffer from diarrhea. This finding is supported by a study published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine . Here, people who were infected with the coronavirus were divided into two groups. Both groups were treated with medication, but one group of the subjects also received a probiotic that contained various bacterial strains. In this group, intestinal complaints were reduced in almost all of the sick people, and the risk of lung complications was also reduced by eight times - and all within 72 hours.
However, the number of studies on this research is still very limited, so it is not yet possible to draw any definitive conclusions. We are very excited to see what the future holds and what exciting discoveries science will reveal to us regarding the treatment of Covid-19 and the use of probiotics.
