What alcohol can do to your gut health after serious burn injury

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Here’s an interesting take on gut health: a recent study from Loyola University Chicago shows how heavy drinking and serious burns mess up the good bacteria in your gut, causing big health problems. The research, done in 2025, found that just one day after a burn injury, the helpful bacteria in your gut drop fast, and bad bacteria take over.

Here’s an interesting take on gut health: a recent study from Loyola University Chicago shows how heavy drinking and serious burns mess up the good bacteria in your gut, causing big health problems. The research, done in 2025, found that just one day after a burn injury, the helpful bacteria in your gut drop fast, and bad bacteria take over. This lowers a substance called butyrate, which keeps inflammation in check. When your gut gets out of whack, it can leak harmful stuff into your blood, making inflammation worse and raising risks of infections or even death. Lab tests showed that fecal samples from injured people caused a lot of inflammation in gut cells. But adding butyrate before the injury helped calm things down, hinting it could be a treatment. The study says your gut bacteria are super important for staying healthy, and quick fixes like butyrate or probiotics might help burn victims who drink heavily recover better.