Probiotic Foods For Colds and Flus

Over the last decade, more and more research has shown that having more good bacteria in your gut does, in fact, appear to improve the body's immune response. This, in turn, helps the body be better prepared to fight off certain infections including the common cold and even COVID-19. (check out the link) Consuming prebiotics and probiotic foods regularly can lower your chances of getting a cold. If you do catch a cold, they may help reduce the severity of your symptoms and shorten how long they last.

Seventy percent of your body’s immune cells live in your gut

About seventy to eighty percent of your body’s immune cells live in your gut or intestine. This is roughly 100 trillion immune cells that make up your gut microbiome and play a big role in the strength of your immune system. The local immune system of the gut has two main functions: to protect against infections and to protect against the uptake of and/or harmful immune response to food antigens.

Having a healthy, diverse gut microbiome makes it difficult for illness-causing bacteria and viruses to take hold. A weak, sparsely populated microbiome with a shortage of “good” bacteria can leave you open to illnesses like colds and the flu.

The intestinal immune system contains more antibody-producing cells than the rest of the body put together. ^[1] The fluids that come from the digestive system (such as mucus and saliva) are as rich as breast milk in both health-supporting and disease-preventing factors. ^[2]Our immune systems make antibodies that fight bacteria, viruses, and toxins. One of the most common antibodies called secretory IgA (immunoglobulin A), is found in mucous membranes lining the nose, windpipe, and lungs.  Immunoglobulin A (IgA) acts as the body’s warning and security system. When IgA levels are adequate, these antibodies can prevent cold and flu viruses from entering the body through the nasal mucus and respiratory tract. Having enough IgA is extremely important because these special antibodies go after both viral and bacterial invaders in your upper respiratory tract, deactivating them and allowing the immune system to destroy them. Having enough IgA can prevent a cold or flu from getting a foothold in your respiratory tract because once a virus infects cells, it can replicate and wreak havoc.

Researchers found that the bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum - abundant in cultured vegetables and kefir), Lactobacillus acidophilus (also in kefir), along with L. rhamnosus and Bifidobacteria  (Check out how to build help Bifidobacteria) reduced the risk of respiratory infections by enhancing secretory immunity. They also added the prebiotic inulin (the main ingredient in Prebio Plus) to make these probiotics grow and multiply. These probiotic strains increase IgA and can stop the virus from replicating, thus helping to prevent colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections. Taking probiotics and prebiotics in several other studies resulted in the same prevention and reduction of the symptoms and duration of colds in those who did get sick. ^[3,4,5]One study showed 16 cases of flu in the placebo group, compared to just 3 in the probiotic group, along with a 35% reduction in the number of colds, 39% reduction in cough duration (4.5 days vs. 7.3 days), and 25% reduction in the number of days of acute upper respiratory infections (4.6 days vs. 6.1 days).