Did you know that COVID-19 affects not only your lungs but also your gut health? In this article, we’ll explore the surprising connection between COVID-19 and your gut microbiome. Most importantly, we’ll also look at what you can do to protect yourself from the damage it confers!

The Connection Between COVID-19 Survival and the Microbiome

Scientists began to learn about the connection between the gut microbiome and the respiratory system from patients with severe COVID-19 infections. 

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine found that the composition of gut microbiota and their metabolites can predict the trajectory of respiratory function and death in severe COVID-19 patients (Source). 

Their study analyzed fecal samples from 71 patients with COVID-19 as they were admitted to the medical ICU at UChicago Medicine. They found that patients who suffered progressive lung failure and died had more Proteobacteria than patients who recovered. The researchers suggest that this finding presents an opportunity to prevent severe COVID-19 infection by using probiotic treatments that contain strains of bacteria that produce protective metabolites.

This finding demonstrated how integrally linked the gut microbiome and the immune and respiratory systems are. 

COVID-19 and Gut Microbiome Changes

Another study examined less severe infections and how they changed the gut microbiome. The researchers found that COVID-19 changed gut microbiome composition and gut barrier integrity.  

As you may have guessed, COVID-19 worsened both. It weakened the gut lining, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and cause additional infections. The study involved analyzing mouse feces and stool samples from nearly 100 COVID-19 patients, which showed that the virus reduced the diversity of bacteria in the gut microbiome and allowed opportunistic or antibiotic-resistant bacteria to overgrow. 

The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can damage the gut microbiome and increase the risk of secondary infections, particularly in patients with a high risk of blood infection. 

So if you get COVID-19 – even if it’s a minor case – it’s a good idea to work on keeping your microbiome in check. 

How to Keep Your Gut Microbiome Healthy During COVID-19

The studies above show that COVID-19 damages both your gut lining and the composition of your gut microbiome. Check out our blogs on intestinal permeability to learn more about managing your gut lining. Below, we’ll talk about maintaining a healthy gut microbiome.

To strengthen your gut microbiome, you’ll want to:

  • Eliminate the harmful pathogens living in your gut microbiome
  • Keep the helpful microbes already living in your gut microbiome
  • Increase populations of helpful microbes living in your gut microbiome

You might already be familiar with strategies for keeping and increasing populations of helpful microbes in your gut microbiome, like:

  • Consuming probiotics
  • Eating fiber
  • Eating fermented food
  • Exercising
  • Avoiding hefty doses of antibiotics

We’ve heard that all before. But what about the first piece of the equation? How do we eliminate harmful pathogens living in our gut microbiome?

Getting Rid of the Bad Guys: Antibiotics?

Traditional treatment for dysbiosis typically involves antibiotics to clear the “bad” bacteria. The goal is to get rid of the badharmfulcteria that cause symptoms. 

Antibiotics are the first-line treatment for dysbiosis, but they are often ineffective. Studies have shown that antibiotics only work in about 50% of SIBO-related dysbiosis cases (Source). 

That may be because antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, leading to an imbalance in gut flora. As a result, other treatment options, such as probiotics or herbals, may be more effective in treating dysbiosis.

Getting Rid of the Bad Guys: Herbal Therapies?

Probiotics and other natural therapies, such as herbs, may be as or more effective in restoring the balance of gut bacteria and treating dysbiosis, but there are a few caveats (1). 

They may be less risky, but some studies show they are less effective than antibiotics. They are also prohibitively expensive for many patients. More research is needed to evaluate their level of efficacy. 

Many scientists argue that one of the main reasons dysbiosis is so challenging to treat is that a variety of different bacteria can cause it. Perhaps herbal treatments work well for one strain but not another.  

It seems that there aren’t many great options – or are there?

Getting Rid of the Bad Guys: IgY Antibodies?

IgY antibodies have been proven to neutralize and remove several pathogens from consumers’ guts. 

Scientists at IgY Nutrition realized that IgY antibodies could address dysbiosis by neutralizing well-known bad actors in gut microbiomes. So, they created IgY Max. 

IgY Max is a specifically immunized egg-based supplement containing antigen-specific antibodies that target and neutralize 29 dysbiotic pathogens commonly found in the human gut microbiome, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella, various strains of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, and other strains associated with SIBO.

In non-science speak: IgY Max is a supplement (made of only egg yolk) containing antibodies that neutralize pathogens living in the gut. These pathogens could contribute to your digestive symptoms if you have them. 

Upon consumption, IgY Max antibodies exert their anti-pathogenic activity throughout the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract. They have a high pathogen-antibody affinity, inhibiting bacterial adhesion, suppressing colonization, and neutralizing each targeted pathogen thoroughly. Neutralized pathogens are expelled from the gut through the stool (your poop!).

The product’s elimination of pathogens allows beneficial microbes to flourish, which may help to restore microbial diversity to the microbiome and rebalance it. This positive shift in microbiome composition reduces dysbiotic pathogens’ initiation of gastrointestinal damage and amplifies healthy flora’s conferral of gastrointestinal benefits.

University-led studies of IgY Max confirm this, showing that IgY Max consumers’ beneficial flora, gut barrier integrity, and inflammation levels improved significantly over eight weeks of use. 

Participants’ levels of inflammatory cytokines, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, helpful bacteria counts in the stool, zonulin, histamine, and diamine oxidase improved substantially. Perhaps most importantly, participants’ symptoms improved upon use. 

Consumers report decreased symptoms of dysbiosis following consistent consumption, including improved stool regularity and composition, reduced bloating and gas, and higher energy levels. Though unofficial, the abundance of positive Amazon reviews describing users’ alleviation of symptoms is a telling indicator of IgY Max®’s power to benefit consumers.

The Takeaway: Protect Your Gut from COVID-19

In conclusion, COVID-19 has been found to have a surprising connection to gut health, with research showing that the composition of the gut microbiome can predict the trajectory of respiratory function and death in severe cases. COVID-19 has also been found to weaken the gut lining, leading to reduced diversity of bacteria in the gut microbiome and the overgrowth of opportunistic or antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

By taking care of our gut microbiome, we can not only protect our digestive health but also potentially reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections.

Have you tried IgY Max for your digestive symptoms? Let us know in the comments on Instagram @igynutrition. See you next time!