Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live in our digestive tracts. Probiotic supplements have been popular for decades, and probiotic-containing foods, such as yogurt, kefir and probiotic milk, have been around for centuries. But, in the last 5 to 10 years, research on these products has increased significantly. With that increase in research, we have gained a better understand of the importance these beneficial bacteria play in our bodies.

Early on, people thought of probiotics as benefiting just the digestive tract, helping to maintain bowel regularity, reducing the incidence of travelers' diarrhea, and reducing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Recent research has found that probiotics may do much, much more for our bodies: possibly reducing the incidence of yeast infections, improving the complexion, aiding in healing skin cuts and burns, improving liver health and perhaps even benefiting cholesterol levels.

However, perhaps the most interesting and unexpected benefit from probiotics is respiratory health and the "common cold". Interest in the possible impact of probiotics for respiratory health dates back to 2001 when a study published in the British Medical Journal found that probiotics may reduce the occurrence and severity of respiratory infection among children in day care.¹

More recently, a study published in the journal Pediatrics at the end of August reported even stronger findings: probiotics may reduce the incident and length of illness with common cold and flu-like symptoms.² The double-blind, placebo-controlled study randomly assigned 326 children (3-5 years of age) to receive either a placebo, Lactobacillus acidophilus, or L. acidophilus in combination with Bifidobacterium animalis lactis twice daily for six months.

Compared to the children in the placebo group, the children who received either the single or the combination of probiotics experienced a reduced incidence of fever by as much as 72.7%, reduced incidence of coughing by as much as 62.1%, and reduced incidence of runny nose by 58.8%. Duration of fever, coughing, and runny nose was also significantly shortened in the two probiotic groups by as much as 48%. Further, the use of antibiotics was reduced by as much as 84.2%, and the number of missed days of day care was reduced by as much as 31.8%. In conclusion, the researchers stated that "daily dietary probiotic supplementation for 6 months was a safe effective way to reduce fever, rhinorrhea [runny nose], and cough incidence and duration and antibiotic prescription incidence, as well as the number of missed school days attributable to illness, for children 3 to 5 years of age."

It's not just children who seem to benefit from probiotics. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in September found that the children's grandparents may also benefit.³ The study involved 1072 volunteers with a median age of 76.0 years, who where randomly assigned either a daily fermented dairy product containing Lactobacillus casei or an unfermented dairy product that did not contain probiotics, for three months. When the researchers looked at all "common infectious diseases", the average duration of these illnesses was reduced by one and a half days. The researchers also reported that both the incidence and the cumulative durations of all upper respiratory tract infections and rhinopharyngitis (runny nose & sore throat) was significantly reduced in the probiotic group.

Active parents need not feel left out: a 2007 study found that probiotics may reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in athletes.

The timing of these new studies could not have been better, with the "cold & flu season" rapidly approaching for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!

Whole Health's Super Lactobacillus Probiotics contains four different probiotics including Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei. Learn more about probiotics here.

1. Hatakka, K., E. Savilahti, et al. (2001). "Effect of long term consumption of probiotic milk on infections in children attending day care centres: double blind, randomised trial." Bmj 322(7298): 1327.

2. Leyer, G. J., S. Li, et al. (2009). "Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children." Pediatrics 124(2): e172-9.

3. Guillemard, E., F. Tondu, et al. (2009). "Consumption of a fermented dairy product containing the probiotic Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 reduces the duration of respiratory infections in the elderly in a randomised controlled trial." Br J Nutr: 1-11.