A Healthy Gut is Your Friend
Experts aren’t sure yet whether the gut microbiome is related to the severity of COVID-19, but there’s evidence that points to a negative correlation between the two. The diversity and amount of bacteria in the gut may affect the severity of COVID-19 as well as the magnitude of the immune system response to the infection. The Journal of Gut reported that poor gut health may lead to lasting COVID-19 symptoms, stating that “imbalances in the makeup of the microbiome could also contribute to persisting inflammatory symptoms, dubbed ‘long COVID.’” Another study on the association between gut health and COVID-19 found that severe COVID-19 symptoms were more common among patients with poor gut health scores. Additionally, participants who reported unhealthy food intake were more likely to experience severe symptoms.
