Your Intestines Are Full of Viruses 🦠

Your intestines are full of viruses. And if they weren't, you'd be less healthy.

That may sound shocking, because when we hear the word virus, we automatically think of getting sick. But the fact is your digestive tract is home to trillions of viruses that are supposed to be there. In fact, they may be just as important as the bacteria in your microbiome.

So let’s talk more about this fascinating new topic.

Introduction 👨‍⚕️

Hi. I'm Dr. Stephen Wangen, the founder and medical director of the IBS Treatment Center. I've been treating IBS and other digestive disorders for over 25 years, and my team has helped more than 10,000 patients recover from IBS during that time.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the gut microbiome. And maybe you’ve been told to eat yogurt, take probiotics, or improve your gut bacteria. But those trillions of bacteria are only part of the story, because your gut is also home to an enormous collection of viruses called the gut virome.

Meet the Gut Virome 🧬

Don’t worry. These are not viruses that infect you. These are viruses that infect bacteria.

And I’ll bet you never thought of that possibility before, huh?

Because I’ll admit that when I first learned about this, I was surprised too. The thought had never crossed my mind. But the more I understand it, the more sense it makes.

These viruses are called bacteriophages, or simply phages.

What Are Bacteriophages? 🔬

Have you seen the movie Hail Mary? If not, I highly recommend it or the book.

And what does this have to do with what we’re talking about? Well, only a little, but in the book Hail Mary, the author Andy Wier came up with something he termed an astrophage, which is destroying our sun.

Similar to that, a "bacteriophage" is literally a virus that destroys a bacteria. That may sound like a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective, but it's actually one of the really important ways that nature helps keep the bacterial community in your gut in check.

Pretty amazing, right? 🤯

Why the Virome Matters 🌿

Bacteriophages make up our virome. And our virome influences which bacteria thrive, which ones decline, and how the entire ecosystem, or microbiome, in our digestive tract functions.

Researchers are discovering that people with IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, and other digestive disorders often have different viromes than healthy people.

That's exciting research.

But association is not the same thing as causation. The virome could be contributing to disease. Or it could simply be changing because something else has already disrupted the gut, which is often the case. Or both could be true.

Can You Test Your Gut Virome? 🧪

Probably the first question that you’ll ask is whether you should test your gut virome.

That would be really cool, and you can count on me to be the first to offer that when it’s available and clinically useful.

So although researchers can study it to some extent, we don't yet have clinically useful tests to measure the virome.

However, we do already have access to a some bacteriophage products that can be used to help treat a couple of antibiotic resistant bacteria. And that is pretty cool.

What Should You Take Away From All of This? 💡

1. The gut is incredibly complex.

2. It’s not just full of 100 trillion bacteria. It’s also full of viruses, and they are a normal and important part of the digestive ecosystem.

And this is the kind of information and paradigm shift that you want your digestive disease specialist to be on top of.

Final Thoughts ❤️

And although I’m looking forward to learning more about the virome in the coming years, I’m already confident that we can help you get better if you have IBS or chronic digestive symptoms. In fact, if you follow our program, we guarantee it.

And we can work with you regardless of where you live via telemedicine. So if you need help, give us a call now at 206-264-1111.

If you found this educational or interesting, feel free to share it with someone else who could benefit.

And remember to take good care of your body—it's the only place that you have to live. 🌱

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