Common Stomach Bug Can Weaken Your Immune System, Surgeon Says
Living with my “refrigerate everything, even mustard” partner has taught me there are two types of people in this world; those who have experienced food poisoning, like him, and the arrogant, never-afflicted people like me who quietly wonder if the phenomenon is a myth.
Of course, it is not. In 2022, the Food Standards Agency released a five-year-long scientific review which suggested foodborne illnesses affect 2.4 million people in the UK a year.
And according to NHS surgeon Dr Karan Rajan, the effects of a normal-seeming stomach bug may last longer than we realise.
“If you’ve ever had food poisoning, this can cause a few software glitches in your intestines,” he said in an Instagram Reel.
How can food poisoning affect your immune system?
Common bacteria like e. coli or salmonella simply override “good bacteria”, like bifidobacteria, when we’ve got a bad stomach, he says.
They can get “wiped out alongside a Biblical chocolate flood” (oh, good).
That’s a problem, he says, because these “good bacteria” are supposed to “keep the bad bugs from overpopulation [your gut], and keeps your immune system in check.”
Some bugs, like ruminococcus, can take advantage of your body’s lack of defences when you’re sick and “thrive, releasing inflammatory molecules.”
That inflammation can make your system “go into overdrive,” which ironically disrupts the microbiome even more.
This vicious cycle leads to more infection, more inflammation, and more of a reaction – and on and on, he says.
What does chronic illness following food poisoning look like?
“In some cases, a bout of food poisoning can cause such severe imbalances to your microbiome that it can actually rewire your immune system, to the point where your own immune system attacks healthy gut cells and nerves,” Dr Rajan explained.
That can mean chronic diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, cramps, and more, he adds.
Fine, fine... I guess we can put the mustard in the fridge.