From Arthritis to Zoster

As we enter the height of cold and flu season, lots of folks are casting about for alternative treatments for the aches, fevers, coughs, and sniffles that accompany these viral illnesses. Probably just as many people are looking for ways to prevent those bugs from ever getting a foothold in the first place.

Purveyors of herbal remedies and other supplements, being keenly aware of the opportunity for profit, will market almost anything as a cold “preventive” or “treatment” (even though neither of these words can be legally used in the promotion of non-FDA-approved products).

A lot of studies attest to the immune-boosting or immunoprotective properties of various herbs, vitamins, minerals, and foods…just as there are studies showing no benefit whatsoever from these same preparations. Therefore, consumers must be willing to do a bit of their own research before deciding what works best for them.

Probiotics May Help to Prevent Colds and Reduce Their Severity

Probiotics are bacteria that normally inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract and the GI tracts of many other animals. These microorganisms constitute a large, heterogeneous group that has been extensively investigated as potential treatments for any number of problems, including diarrhea, constipation, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and allergic dermatitis.

More recently, probiotics have garnered attention for their potential utility in treating or preventing viral upper respiratory infections in children and adults. While the results of well-controlled trials have been mixed, the data to support the use of probiotics during seasons of peak viral activity are compelling.

The reason that probiotics improve our response to viral illness is, on the surface, fairly straightforward: these organisms stimulate immune cells (T lymphocytes, B cells, etc.) and evoke the production of protective antibodies, cytokines, and other factors in the very mucous membranes where viruses gain entrance to the human body. Over the millennia, we have developed a symbiotic relationship with those bacteria that have proven the most useful to us as individuals and as a species.

Modern diets, the widespread use of antibiotics, and exposure to all sorts of environmental toxins have, over the years, created an imbalance between our gastrointestinal tracts and the outside world. This may be one reason for the increasing incidence of celiac disease and other autoimmune conditions.

Notably, many of the studies suggesting a beneficial effect from probiotics have been conducted in the United States. Hence, detractors of foreign medical research (I’m not one of them, by the way; in fact, I believe that American-conducted research is suspect on the basis of its funding sources) won’t have much room to criticize emerging data on the basis of “inferior study design.”

Rather than enumerate the individual trials and discuss their results in detail, I’ll summarize what seems to be the consensus among researchers who found probiotics useful for reducing the incidence, symptom severity, and duration of colds and influenza-like illnesses:

• Probiotics should contain a combination of several species, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, L. casei, L. plantarum, L. reuteri, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. longum, B. lactis, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, Bacillus coagulens, etc.
• Several million to several billion live organisms are needed on a daily basis for at least three to six months to confer the best protection.
• Probiotics that are consumed along with prebiotics, such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or galactooligosaccharides (GOS) confer better protection than probiotics that are consumed without prebiotics (prebiotics provide a quick source of nutrition for probiotic bacteria).