People who have Covid-19 and are either in the early stage of infection or who have ‘long Covid’, improve Covid symptoms by taking a Lactobacillus probiotic along with prebiotic food.
People with poor gut microbiome health have much weaker immune systems and higher levels of inflammation in their bodies. Because of the gut-lung axis they also have higher levels of inflammation in their lungs too, and are thus more prone to infections.
This research (1), a part of the ongoing UK National Randomised Phyto-v Study, took 126 Covid patients with an average illness duration of 108 days. All were then given a mix of Probiotic (5 strains of Lactobacillus) and Prebiotic (inulin from chicory) for 30 days. Measurements of symptoms were made using the validated Cough Symptom Score, the Subjective Well-Being questionnaire and the Chandler fatigue questionnaire.
The patients were analysed as a whole and then subdivided into 40 (32%) in an early stage of infection (average symptoms 10 days before baseline) and the 86 (68%) in a chronic stage (average symptoms 120 days before trial baseline).
Cough, fatigue and subjective well-being scores significantly improved over the 30 days in both the early and chronic stage groups. Such a rapid improvement in the majority who had been experiencing symptoms for over 6 months, was clinically relevant and welcomed, especially among those more likely to have pre-existing gut dysbiosis.
31 patients who were sedentary, hospitalised, and/or older males with GI symptoms and were more likely to have GI problems at the outset had a statistically significantly better response to the probiotics with 25 (82%) reporting gut improvements.
Go to: Heal Your Gut
Reference
- The Influence of a blend of Probiotic Lactobacillus and Prebiotic Inulin on the Duration and Severity of Symptoms among Individuals with Covid-19; Nov 11, 2021; Robert Thomas et al; https://www.gavinpublishers.com/article/view/the-influence-of-a-blend-of-probiotic-lactobacillus-and-prebiotic-inulin-on-the-duration-and-severity-of-symptoms-among-individuals-with-covid-19
