Probiotics: Your Lifelong Defense Against Cold and Flu

We may live in an increasingly sanitized world, but the natural workings of the human body are quite a different story. From the moment we’re born, the body begins collecting bacteria to populate entire communities called microbiomes. As the largest of these, the gut microbiome is where hundreds of bacterial species can be found, working in harmony to strengthen the immune system and intestinal barrier so the “bad stuff” (like viral pathogens) have a lower chance of wreaking havoc on our health.

Building up a diverse, balanced gut microbiome early in life is key to long-term immunity, even in our fight against everyday illnesses like cold and flu; as we age, maintaining and restoring that balance becomes just as important to maintain good health. Unfortunately, the standard North American diet often falls short in providing for this crucial balance. That’s why when cold and flu season arrives, the whole family can look to natural probiotic supplements for some much-needed support.

Battle Cold & Flu Season with Help from the Gut

When our households are battling an endless barrage of fevers, coughs, and stuffy noses, the need for strong health-heroes on our side couldn’t be clearer. Let’s take a look at a few ways a healthy gut can help support our immunity this time of year:

A balanced immune response: A well-regulated gut microbiome helps our body defend itself against viruses with minimal fuss. While an overactive immune response puts our body under “friendly fire” and an underactive immune response is slow to react, a balanced immune response will work in harmony with the body to identify and diminish the threat of cold and flu.

Antiviral defense: A flourishing gut microbiome includes bacteria that perform all kinds of essential tasks. Some gut bacteria even produce molecules that can directly inhibit the growth of viruses.

Reduced symptoms: While we can’t prevent all instances of the cold or flu, that doesn’t mean we have to suffer through the worst they have to offer. When the gut-immunity connection is working optimally, both the severity and duration of illnesses like these can be significantly reduced.

Gut Health Starts from the Cradle

From infancy, our exposure to a variety of microorganisms is essential to train the immune system as we build up a diverse microbiome. As our first source of nutrition outside the womb, breast milk plays a major role here, offering rich prebiotics and probiotics that support the growth of good bacteria in the gut, digestion, and protection against infections. 

The many microorganisms we encounter in the earliest years of our lives hold a lot more importance than was once realized; it’s now known that these help form the foundation of our future gut and immune health too. Researchers have even found links between the health of our early-life gut microbiome and health outcomes well into adulthood.

Build a Healthy Foundation with The Friendly Trio 

Offer your little ones a stronger head start with a daily dose of good-for-your-gut supplements. To stave off the worst of cold and flu season, you can rest assured with a formula made with some of the most optimal probiotic strains for gut health, The Friendly Trio:

• L. gasseri supports gastrointestinal function and immune health.
• B. bifidum regulates healthy gut flora and enhances immunity by reducing inflammation.
• B. longum helps normalize bowel movements.

When consumed together, these probiotics have also shown promise in reducing the severity and duration of the common cold. One study even concluded that they could reduce cold episodes by almost two days after only three months of supplementation.  

Backed by this very same powerhouse of ingredients, Kyo-Dophilus Kids Probiotic feeds the microbiome’s most beneficial bacteria to support your child’s digestive and immune health. Kids Probiotic is chewable (featuring a kid-approved vanilla flavor), non-GMO, and free from gluten, dairy, and soy.

Maintain & Restore Gut Health In Adulthood

Once we’ve built up that early foundation of health, it’s our job to protect (and in some cases, replenish) the gut microbiome’s diversity going forward. In addition to making healthy lifestyle choices, eating a supportive diet is one of the easiest ways we can help keep those good-to-bad bacterial ratios in balance. 

Although the gut is often at its most stable in young adulthood, how we treat our bodies at this time should never be underestimated. During our college-aged years and as we settle into careers and become parents, the reliance many of us develop on convenient, heavily processed foods to get through each day is rarely what’s ideal for the gut (sorry, pizza). When our body isn’t supplied with enough prebiotic or probiotic-rich foods to nourish itself well, essential gut diversity can be lost, and our immunity can suffer too.

To support the gut during this busy life stage, rely on a daily dose of Kyo-Dophilus Multi 9 Probiotic. Formulated specially for adults, this supplement packs the power of The Friendly Trio along with six other probiotic strains (including B. infantis, B. breve, and L. rhamnosus) into a single capsule. Look no further than this non-GMO, gluten-, and dairy-free supplement for gut balance and diversity support, even when you need to take your nutrition to-go.

As we blow out more birthday candles through middle age and the “golden years,” the need for strategic nutrition planning becomes more pronounced due to changes in activity levels, diet, medication use, and increased inflammation. For instance, research shows that the levels of friendly bacteria in the intestines of the average 60-year-old are about one-thousandth of what is found in younger adults. While it’s natural to see a drop in gut diversity with age, a connection has further been made between diminished bacterial diversity and conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diarrhea, among others. Ageing is also correlated with a decline in cellular immunity, compromising the white blood cells we need most when viruses like cold and flu come knocking.

But it’s far from all doom and gloom from here! If we take another look at The Friendly Trio, we can see how probiotics continue to provide strong gut support at this life stage. Together,  L. gasseri, B. longum, and B. bifidum work to promote digestive function and normalize bowel movements, reduce inflammation, and replenish healthy gut flora populations so we can be armed with a good immune defense, whatever comes our way.

Formulated with The Friendly Trio to address the increased inflammation that depletes microbiome diversity with age, Kyo-Dophilus Fifty+ Probiotic is just what the doctor ordered to help restore digestive and immune health. This supplement offers 6 billion CFU, so you can get your daily dose needs met with just one vegetarian capsule (minus the pill fatigue). Perfect for anyone in the 50-plus crowd, It’s also non-GMO, gluten-, and dairy-free.

Supplement Support You Can Count On

Using natural formulations backed by sustainable practices and years of scientific research, Kyo-Dophilus probiotics are uniquely formulated to meet our gut’s needs at any age—so the whole family can enjoy better immunity support throughout life’s many seasons.

Since its establishment in 1972, Wakunaga of America Co., LTD has played a unique role in promoting consumer health worldwide through the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of high quality medicinal herbs and dietary supplements. The corporate philosophy of Wakunaga centers on a commitment to research and a mission to serve public health. This mission is accomplished by providing products of the highest quality, which are supported by science. Brands include Kyolic AGE, Kyo-Dophilus Probiotics and Kyo-Green Superfoods.