{"id":1191,"date":"2018-01-17T14:31:21","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T14:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uni-vite.com\/microbiotic\/?p=1191"},"modified":"2019-08-21T15:11:25","modified_gmt":"2019-08-21T15:11:25","slug":"probiotics-can-boost-flu-shots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uni-vite.com\/microbiotic\/probiotics-can-boost-flu-shots\/","title":{"rendered":"Probiotics can boost effectiveness of flu shots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Probiotics can boost effectiveness of flu shots<\/span><\/h3>\n

Preventing flu not only saves misery \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it saves lives, especially in the most vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.<\/p>\n

However, even vaccination is not guaranteed to prevent you from catching the flu.<\/p>\n

Making a vaccine takes time and vaccine makers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know until the flu season hits exactly what strain they are trying to combat. Moreover, viruses mutate quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0As in the previous 2016-17 season, the effectiveness of the flu shot in the 2017-18 winter seems quite poor.<\/p>\n

Aussie flu \u00e2\u20ac\u201c H3N2<\/h3>\n

The predominant 2018 flu virus (up to January 2018) is Influenza A (H3N2)<\/strong> or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcAussie flu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a more serious strain than usual. The last time we encountered that strain there were more flu-related deaths than average.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153H3N2 is a bad virus,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the verdict of Daniel Jernigan, the director of the US Centers of Disease Control influenza division.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Effectiveness also depends on individual immune response<\/span><\/h3>\n

But there is another reason why the vaccine may not work well \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the individual\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s immune response isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t strong enough. So, as medics say, the flu vaccine doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

However, there is good evidence \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from a 2017 meta-analysis of over 12 other studies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that a probiotic supplement can make flu vaccines \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or become more effective. It does so by increasing the level of flu antibodies.<\/p>\n

Probiotics with prebiotics can help the vaccine “stick”<\/span><\/h3>\n

As the study states:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Participants who took probiotics or prebiotics showed significant improvements in … sero-protection rate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSero-protection\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 was defined as a patient having at least a 4-fold increase in flu virus antibody count.<\/p>\n

The study didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recommend which strains of probiotics were the most effective \u00e2\u20ac\u201c although the strains in the research included Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium.<\/p>\n

But the indications were that probiotics that also included pre<\/strong>biotics were likely to be more effective. Prebiotics are the complex carbohydrate foods that the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfriendly bacteria\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 live on in the intestine.<\/p>\n

How probiotics boost immune cells<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"Previous research has found that supplementation with Bifidobacterium enhances the effectiveness of two types of immune cells.<\/p>\n

The first type are macrophages<\/strong> (meaning “big eaters”) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which literally engulf a virus and consume it.<\/p>\n

The second are Natural Killer Cells<\/strong> which, as the name implies, kill cells infected by the flu virus and thus prevent them hijacking the machinery of your body\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own cells to create more flu viruses.<\/p>\n

In addition, lactobacillus strains are known to enhance a secretion in the saliva called immunoglobulin A<\/strong>, which helps prevent the flu virus from getting inside the body in the first place.<\/p>\n

70% of your immune system is in the gut<\/span><\/h3>\n

The preventative effect of probiotics is not surprising because some 70% of your immune system is controlled in the gut. A multi-strain probiotic supplement containing several billion \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfriendly bacteria\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 will help boost immune response generally. So studies have found that such probiotics can help prevent upper respiratory tract infections and reduce infection after surgery by 35%<\/p>\n

To read more about the role of probiotics in helping prevent flu and in boosting immunity generally see the free report\u00c2\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

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Free monthly e-newsletter<\/strong><\/span> on the latest in nutrition and health research.
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References<\/strong><\/p>\n