by
Stepy —
February 18, 2019
- A new interesting study linking the benefits of friendly bacteria “probiotics” and warding off colds.
- Probiotics are often called “friendly bugs.”
- Probiotic comes from the Greek word pro, meaning “promoting” and biotic, meaning “life.” There is some debate about how to define probiotics. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines probiotics as “live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”
- Bacteria usually cause disease, so the idea of taking a few billion a day for our health may seem literally hard to swallow.
- New study suggests that you can treat and even prevent colds by taking probiotics.
- They may give our body the boost it needs to fight off colds and flu.
- The trial involved 198 students from Massachusetts’ Framingham State University, and was conducted by Tracey Smith, Ph.D., and colleagues from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
- The students, who were between the ages of 18 and 25 and all lived in on-campus housing, were all free of allergies or other conditions affecting the immune system, and were not taking immunosuppressive drugs.
- Each student completed surveys daily to assess the effect of the study treatment. Researchers primarily looked at health-related quality of life, but also tracked missed work and school days.
- The students were divided into two groups, each assigned to a different regimen for 12 weeks:
- Placebo strawberry candy with no probiotics.
- Probiotic cultures in a strawberry candy.
- Those who took the probiotic strains suffered less and recovered more quickly from colds and similar upper respiratory infections.
- ✒ About probiotics:
- “Good” bacteria live on our skin and in our gastrointestinal tract and these friendly organisms are essential for staying healthy. The most common type of probiotic is the Lactobacillus bacteria, particularly L. acidophilus.
- Probiotics are typically found in yogurt and kefir and come in supplement form. But a very good source of probiotics that is often ignored is fermented foods. Fermentation is a simple and natural process used by many ancient cultures to preserve food, promote good digestion, and improve health.
- While these foods contain probiotics, there is no guarantee that they have them in the amount or in the form that is necessary to get the health benefits you are looking for.
- Researchers don’t know yet exactly how much probiotics or for how long to take them for optimal health, but hopefully we will learn more information in the future about this important topic.
- If you are interested in using probiotics to help prevent infection, talk to your doctor for the dose needed.
- We recommend Natren Probiotics.
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- Note: None of the information in our website is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. The content on our website is for educational purposes only.
