The gut holds a special place in fighting off infections in the system. The gut microbiome has a lot of defensive actions, which fight out viruses, fungi, bacteria and also help active immune response. Hence, any disturbance in the gut microbiome can have consequences for your health.

When the COVID causing virus enters the body, it attacks the upper respiratory tract and goes on to actively replicate in the airways, cell linings and gastrointestinal tracts, binding to special ACE2 receptors. Replication can lead to cell damage and even disturb gut functioning, at the molecular level, making it all the more difficult to fight the viral infection. In severe infection cases, this can also cause a hyper-reaction in the body, leading to a cytokine storm and impair the gut from working well.

In mild to moderate cases, it can also lead to digestion trouble, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and other gastrointestinal issues.