What I've Learned About Long COVID: A Gut-First Framework — 9. Intestinal Permeability Opens the Door to Systemic Inflammation

With a leaky gut, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) translocates into your bloodstream. Your TLR4 receptors detect it. Chronic LPS-driven TLR4 activation becomes the engine of systemic inflammation in long COVID&#8212;affecting your vascular endothelium, your neurons, your immune regulation. What started as a local gut infection becomes a full-body inflammatory condition.