Diet Archives

Does your gut health affect obesity? Yes!

Diet, Digestive Health / By Staff Writer

You may have heard your doctor describe a health problem as multifactorial, meaning there’s more than a single issue that contributes to a condition.

For example, poor diet habits and low physical activity are two issues strongly linked to obesity. Now, you can add gut health to the list, according to a trio of recent studies.

Too many antibiotics harm your gut inside and outside

If you follow this space regularly, you’re well aware of the problems antibiotics present, especially when you rely on them too often. Exposing your body to multiple rounds of antibiotics may create an imbalance that eliminates the bad and good bacteria in your gut and leaves you susceptible to more health problems.

A Spanish study published in the journal Gut Microbes concluded the composition of gut bacteria, altered by the long-term use of antibiotics, may spur weight gains.

The continued use of antibiotics modifies the gut microbiota by increasing the activity of enzymes that lead to the faster and more imbalanced absorption of carbohydrates that may contribute to a host of food-related disorders including obesity and diabetes, according to the study.

These findings could lead to more research that targets solutions, including specialized diets and probiotic and prebiotic treatments taken along with antibiotics that protect the composition and diversity of a patient’s gut bacteria, according to Gut Microbiota Worldwatch.

Diverse bacteria in your gut may prevent obesity

As shown in previous studies, multi-species probiotics like EndoMune provide patients a more diverse variety of good gut bacteria in higher amounts that are highly effective in treating a host of health problems. That extra richness in gut bacteria may also provide protection from obesity, according to the findings in a recent Nature study.

After comparing the gut health of 169 obese Danish patients to 123 lean patients over nine years, French researchers concluded thinner folks had improved microbial diversity in their guts than did the obese participants. Leaner patients had 40 percent more gut bacteria, too.

The news wasn’t so good for patients with less microbial diversity, however. Those patients, no matter what how much they weighed, displayed more risk factors for serious diseases (cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease).

More to the point, a smaller study also appearing in Nature found the gut health of obese or overweight patients became richer after following a diet for just six weeks.

The good news about these studies: Improving your health inside and outside can be as simple as following a better diet regimen.

Probiotics may help women lose weight

Considering the effect an improved diet can have on gut health by itself, you’d assume taking a probiotic would be even more beneficial. But, you’d be partially correct, depending on your gender.

A Canadian research team monitoring the health of 125 overweight men and women were assigned to a 12-week diet, and half of the patients were prescribed a probiotic containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus (also contained in EndoMune), during that time.

At the end of the three-month study period, women in the probiotic group enjoyed the most success, losing nearly 10 pounds, compared to the placebo group who lost almost 6 pounds. Also, after a 12-week maintenance period, women who took a probiotic continued to lose weight while the non-probiotic women leveled off. What’s more, women in the probiotic group experienced a noticeable drop in the appetite hormone leptin.

Surprisingly, neither group of males lost much weight. “We don’t know why the probiotics didn’t have any effect on men,” says Professor Angelo Tremblay, who headed the study. “It may have been a question of dosage, or the study period may have been too short.”

One difference that may explain partly why overweight Canadian men didn’t lose much weight: The probiotic contained a single strain of beneficial bacteria versus a proven, multi-species product like EndoMune.

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Going or Not Going: Relieve Constipation Safely

Diet, Digestive Health, Healthy Aging / By Staff Writer

Constipation is an uncomfortable health problem that can make for painfully awkward conversations. This is why Americans often turn to family physicians or gastroenterologists when constipation becomes a concern.

Constipation is responsible for some 2.5 million visits to a doctor or specialist annually in America, according to the American College of Gastroenterology.

There is no hard-and-fast definition for constipation, but it’s often described as the inability to have more than three bowel movements per week. However, some people who experience only three bowel movements weekly are still healthy, depending on their age, diet and daily physical activity.

Telltale signals you may want to see your doctor about a constipation problem include straining, hard stools and incomplete evacuation occurring in more than 25 percent of bowel movements, according to WebMD.

Common, less serious causes of constipation:

Living a sedentary lifestyle.
Forgetting to drink enough water.
Not eating enough fiber-rich foods.
Postponing a necessary trip to the bathroom.
Failing to deal with life’s stressors.

A more serious problem

Constipation can be a more costly and serious health problem than you assume, according to a 2009 report published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Some 63 million people living in America suffer from constipation every year, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, and spend $235 million annually to treat it. Researchers also found links between constipation and a number of painful health problems:

Hemorrhoids: Straining during a bowel movement may cause veins in lower rectum to swell or become inflamed.

Anal fissure: These small tears in thin, moist tissue may happen when you pass large or hard stools during a bowel movement.

Fecal incontinence: Constipation, along with diarrhea and muscle or nerve damage, may cause an inability to control bowel movements.

Colon cancer risks increase with chronic constipation

The health outcomes become even more serious if you experience chronic constipation, according to a 2012 study that compared the health of nearly 29,000 patients suffering from persistent constipation to some 87,000 healthy patients. The risk of colon cancer nearly doubled among patients with chronic constipation while the incidence of benign tumors (neoplasms) increased nearly threefold.

Colon cancer is nothing to ignore, as it’s the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of death among all cancer types in the U.S.

“Although chronic constipation is considered a relatively benign disease, practitioners should be aware of this potential association to monitor and treat accordingly,” said Dr. Nicholas Talley of the University of Newcastle and co-investigator of this study. “We encourage anyone with questions related to their condition to talk to their health care professional so that the specific health needs of each patient can be balanced with the risks and benefits of medications.”

Relieve constipation

One of the popular medications people use to treat constipation — sodium phosphate laxatives — was the subject of a recent FDA warning, based on patients exceeding the recommended daily dosage of this over-the-counter remedy.

The FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System showed a single dose of sodium phosphate per day was associated with rare, but serious damage to a person’s lungs and heart.

Children under age 5, baby boomers over age 55 and people diagnosed with or taking medications for kidney disease are among the patient groups who are at the greatest risk of serious complications when laxative dosage is exceeded. (Children under age 2 should not be given the rectal form of sodium phosphate.)

Taking a probiotic with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, like EndoMune, is a safer treatment for constipation that has the added advantage of boosting your immune system, reducing your risks of colon cancer and maintaining normal intestinal motility.

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Eating a healthy diet promotes gut health and a longer life

Diet, Healthy Aging / By Staff Writer

There are so many reasons why maintaining the balance of your gut bacteria is important for your health, ranging from boosting your body’s natural immunities to sidestepping traveler’s diarrhea.

You may not be very shocked to know that good gut health can change quickly for the good — and bad — based on eating a healthy diet. You may be surprised to learn eating a healthier, calorie-restricted diet can help you live a longer life too, based on findings from Nature.

Where You Live Makes a Difference, Too

First, a study conducted by Irish researchers at University College Cork on more than 170 people over age 78 concluded the health of their gut was determined by two factors: What they ate and where they lived.

Older people who lived independently in their communities were healthier and had a more diverse (and healthier) gut microbiome than those who resided in a nursing home or hospital.

Interestingly, although the diets of the elderly changed quickly when moving from independent living to a nursing home or a hospital, researchers discovered alterations in their collective gut health to a less diverse, weaker state took a year to occur.

Cut Calories, Live Longer

In a study on mice, a team of Chinese researchers discovered reducing their caloric intake by 30 percent — below what these animals would typically need to maintain the same body weight for a lifetime — promoted a more diverse environment for improved gut health by radically changing its composition.

Scientists discovered the act of calorie restriction promoted the presence of some beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus, and decreased the amount of harmful bacteria, including some opportunistic pathogens.

One more benefit from a calorie-restricted diet for possible pain management: Researchers observed a drop in inflammation scores among mice.

There’s at least one caveat about calorie restriction: Cutting calories alone may not work alone in lengthening your life. Based on research on fruit flies, increasing physical activity may provide the jump-start your metabolism needs too.

In addition to getting the right amount of exercise and lowering the amount of calories you consume every day, especially cutting out nutrient-poor foods stuffed with empty calories, taking a probiotic with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, like EndoMune, is a safe, easy way to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria for good gut health.

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5 GMO facts you need to know

Diet, Digestive Health / By Staff Writer

With all the serious attention being paid to America’s food supply, many of us have become concerned, if not skeptical, about where and how your foods are grown, made and processed.

Because of this, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have attracted interests all over the world, including agriculture and medicine, and much of it centers on the labeling of products to better inform and protect the health of consumers.

The Center for Food Safety reports 50 countries have some kind of labeling in place, ranging from outright bans of all GMO products to vague mandatory labeling of some products.

Although America has no GMO laws in place nationwide, lawmakers in Maine and Connecticut have passed legislation requiring such labeling and at least 20 additional state legislatures are considering it.

Here are the answers to five basic GMO questions you need to know.

1. What are GMO foods?

According to the Non-GMO Project, genetically modified organisms are animals or plants created via the gene-splitting techniques of biotechnology.

Crops considered by the organization to be in the high-risk category—those in which the vast majority is derived from biotechnology—include corn (88 percent of U.S. crops), canola (90 percent), cotton (90 percent), soy (94 percent) and sugar beets (95 percent).

2. Why do GMO-derived ingredients matter?

This subject generates the most debate among scientists and the public. Those who support GMOs argue costs of labeling foods could be prohibitive and see no significant differences between crops grown conventionally or via genetic modification.

Conversely, the subject of GMOs has provoked a growing curiosity among consumers about where their foods come from—farms or laboratories—and why they aren’t clearly identified via labeling.

Not to mention, many very common additives used in processed foods are derived from GMO crops. Among them:

Vitamin C
Citric Acid
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
Molasses
High Fructose Corn Syrup

3. What are some of the negative effects of GMOs?

GMOs were created, in part, to avoid saturating crops with herbicides and insecticides. However, a 2012 Washington State University study estimated a jump in herbicide use (more than 500 million pounds) offset by a fractional, temporary drop in insecticide use during the 16-year span GMO crops have been planted in America.

The rampant use of herbicides presents all sorts of complications for human health, expanding risks to several diseases, from infant leukemia to allergic reactions to some cancers. Those risks don’t include the harm extra pesticides floating around the atmosphere do to the honey bee population that might trigger an agricultural crisis one day, according to health experts.

4. How can I avoid GMO products?

Avoiding GMO products will require some effort on your end, since they are now so pervasive. Fortunately, the most important things you can do to avoid GMO products are among the simplest:

Seek out natural whole foods as often as you can.
Read the food labels of every processed food product before purchasing them to identify any chemicals in your foods. A simple rule of thumb: If you can’t pronounce a chemical or additive, you probably shouldn’t be eating it.
Look for foods that have the Non-GMO Project seal, North America’s only third-party standard for avoiding GMO foods.

5. Are probiotics GMO-free?

For the most part, no. Although the microorganisms contained in probiotics are genetically modified, the substrates (a surface or material upon which these microorganisms live) in the probiotic are largely made of corn. Changing substrates can create research and development problems related to product quality.

The good news: If you’ve been looking for a completely safe and healthy probiotic, both EndoMune Advanced and EndoMune Kids are completely GMO-free. In addition, EndoMune products contain no dairy products, preservatives, artificial coloring, sugar or gluten, and the Junior version has been certified with the parent tested parent approved (PTPA) seal of approval.

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10 ways to treat acne naturally

Diet, Healthy Aging / By Staff Writer

Are you fighting acne without success? A survey of websites about acne lists countless ways to beat it. Unfortunately, many treatments involve taking drugs like the controversial Accutane or antibiotics that have been so overprescribed they often disrupt the healthy balance of gut bacteria that can lead to diarrhea.

The good news, however, is that there are many effective ways to treat and prevent the spread of acne. What follows are 10 completely safe natural acne treatments.

Keep your hair cut and off your face. Because your hair contains oils that contribute to acne breakouts, keep your hair off your face. Washing your hair every day and after workouts is also recommended.
Apply honey on acne for a quick fix. Honey is a natural antibacterial that’s used in many facial products. But, if you want to eliminate a pimple in a hurry, there’s nothing like applying a dab of real honey on it then putting on a Band-Aid before going to bed. By the following morning, the pimple should be a lot smaller, if it isn’t gone.
Don’t touch your face. You probably aren’t aware how often you touch your face, scratch your nose or lick your fingertips with your lips before turning the page of a book. This doesn’t account for the all the unclean surfaces you touch, including germs on your cell phone, either. Since touching your face at some point during the day is unavoidable, washing your hands often with soap (a non-antimicrobial product is better for your health), and hot water is a safe and easy solution.
Wash your pillowcases regularly. You spend a good portion of your day in a resting position with your face planted on a pillowcase that absorbs the oils and dirt your face has accumulated. Give your face a rest by changing the pillowcases on your bed at least every other day.
Ice it down. When you first notice a pimple, put an ice cube in a plastic bag and place it on the infected area at least twice each day for no more than five minutes at a time. The icy cold reduces inflammation and eases the redness.
Don’t squeeze! Probably the worst thing you can do – picking at or squeezing your pimples – breaks membranes below the skin, thus increasing sebum production and spreading it underneath your skin.
Do you need all that makeup? Using makeup is one more way to clog your pores. If wearing makeup is important to you, be sure to use water-based products, and wash them off your face when your day is done.
Reduce the extra rubbing of your skin with plastic or synthetic fibers. Although we assume acne as being just a problem on your face, it can creep up anywhere. One form, acne mechanica, is caused by friction, pressure or heat applied to the skin or when skin isn’t exposed to air (playing an musical instrument, carrying a backpack or wearing athletic equipment are good examples). What we assume is a rash due to constantly rubbed skin is really acne.
Sweating cleans the pores of your face. Have you incorporated exercise into your daily routine? Working up a good sweat improves your emotional health, and beats the stress that can disturb the healthy balance of intestinal bacteria. This imbalance over-stimulates the immune system that can contribute to skin inflammation and trigger acne.
Take a multi-species probiotic every day. When people experience acne due to the aforementioned imbalance that over-stimulates the immune system, many doctors prescribe a topical or oral antibiotic. However, the overprescribing of antibiotics have led to undesirable side effects, including a disruption in the body’s healthy balance of good and bad bacteria causing unwelcome side effects like diarrhea. Not only can taking a multi-species probiotic replenish the healthy balance of bacteria in your body, it can lessen gastrointestinal problems and reduce the inflammation that triggers acne safely and naturally.

We hope these 10 tips help you cure acne naturally!

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Feel Relief From IBS With Probiotics

Diet, Digestive Health / By Staff Writer

Constipation as a result of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, can be uncomfortable and disconcerting. Although prescription drugs can provide some relief, it can cause unwelcomed side effects. In fact, in nearly 29 percent of clinical studies, medicines prescribed to treat IBS caused considerable side effects, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and headache.

An EndoMune Advanced customer, who had previously been diagnosed with IBS, was prescribed a medication for chronic constipation. The medication caused her to experience side effects resulting in her feeling discomfort rather than relief. Because of this, she began taking EndoMune Advanced daily and noticed that she no longer relied on her prescription medication to treat her IBS.

Medications prescribed to treat IBS improve constipation by stimulating the intestines to secrete chloride, which, as a result, leads to more fluid in the intestines. These medications treat the symptoms of IBS rather than the underlying problem and disrupt the healthy balance of intestinal bacteria. Probiotics, on the other hand, re-establish the health balance that had been disrupted and corrects the underlying problem that causes the constipation.

Before turning to prescription medication to treat your IBS, try a probiotic supplement, like EndoMune Advanced, and you just might find the relief you seek.

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Not-So-Sweet News For Your Gut

Diet, Digestive Health / By Staff Writer

Multiple studies have been performed on the impact that fructose and artificial sweetners have upon the body. Now new research supports that these items, with the addition of sugary alcohols may contribute to metabolic disorders and obesity by triggering a “Western” gut microbiome. The microbiome occurs as a result of decreased diversity in the intestinal tract.

The impact of this microbiome can range from short-term to long-term, depending on your rate of consumption. To combat its negative impacts and promote a healthily diverse digestive bacteria environment, try a product like EndoMune which delivers both potency and variety.

Check out the full article and learn more about how the impact the “Western” gut microbiome is having upon recent community health.

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How To Avoid Traveler’s Diarrhea

Diet, Digestive Health, Disease / By Staff Writer

Dear EndoMune subscribers,

It is summertime and that often means going on a vacation. This newsletter will give you some tips on how to avoid a common gastrointestinal illness while traveling.

During the peak travel seasons, we are bombarded by the Internet and television with all kinds of travel offers. Some trips are just a state or two away, but some journeys extend out of the United States to less developed countries.

This month’s newsletter is on traveler’s diarrhea (TD), a common problem encountered by vacationers visiting Latin America, the Middle East, India and South Asia.

I want to begin with a case report.

Case report

Recently back from her honeymoon at a Playa del Carmen resort in Mexico, Lisa visited her physician complaining of crampy abdominal pain, low-grade fever and diarrhea.

The first 4 days of the trip were terrific. The beaches and activities were wonderful and so was the food. In addition to the fresh fruits and seafood, Lisa particularly enjoyed the salad bar.

Unfortunately, on the fifth day she woke experiencing abdominal cramps and then diarrhea. What a way to end the honeymoon!!

Was there anything that Lisa could have done to prevent developing TD? (See answer at end of this month’s newsletter).

Overview

Diarrhea is the most common medical complaint for Americans visiting developing countries. It is estimated that for Americans traveling internationally, 9.5 to 15.9 million will experience TD. Most episodes last 3-4 days without therapy, but some infections can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration requiring hospitalization, IV fluids and antibiotics.

TD is due to consuming food or water that has been contaminated with fecal matter resulting from poor personal sanitary and public health conditions.

The organisms that cause the diarrhea are bacteria, viruses and parasites. Bacteria like E. coli, Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter account for 80% of the episodes of TD. The type of bacterial pathogen depends on the region travelled.

In the medical journal, Current Gastroenterology Report, an article entitled Advances in the Treatment of Traveler’s Diarrhea¹ discusses recent recommendations on how to prevent and treat TD.

Prevention

Diet: Food and water are the most common sources of infection. Reduce your risk of TD by ordering all of your foods well-cooked. Avoid raw vegetables and the skin of unpeeled fruits. Tap water and ice also present a high risk. That includes ice in sodas. The general recommendation to avoid TD is to “boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it”. Even if it smells and looks great…don’t eat food from street vendors!!

Medications

Antibiotics can prevent TD, but it is not generally recommended to prescribe antibiotics as a prophylaxis due to the potential for adverse drug reactions and the development of drug resistant organisms.
Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto Bismol) provides a protection rate of 60% against TD when two tablets are taken four times daily. It does cause the tongue and stool to turn black and can induce ringing in the ears.
Probiotic clinical trials using a probiotic or a placebo to prevent TD found that 85% of episodes were prevented by probiotics. The dosage of probiotic bacteria given and the type of organisms varied. The analysis found that probiotics containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria strains were effective and so was the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii. However, at this point it is still difficult to generalize that all probiotics are effective since the amount and strains of probiotic bacteria utilized varied in the different trials.

Treatment

Fluids: Fluids and electrolytes are major concerns during an episode of TD. Drinking fluids like water and rehydration packets are very important, as is eating salty soups and saltine crackers.

Antimotility Agents: Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto Bismol) and loperimide (Imodium) taken at the onset of diarrhea can lessen the severity and duration of the episode. They do not cure the infection, and they often are taken in combination with an antibiotic.

Antibiotics: Based on established guidelines, antibiotics are generally recommended if there are 3 or more loose stools in eight hours. Fever and blood in stools are other symptoms indicating the need for antibiotics. Most physicians are comfortable prescribing an antibiotic for their patients to have in case they do develop TD.

The most commonly prescribed antibiotic is a quinolone like Cipro. However, there are regions like Thailand where the bacteria are resistant to Cipro, and azithromycin (Zithromax) is recommended.

Probiotics: Probiotic organisms may help in preventing and treating TD in a number of ways.

They produce antibacterial substances that kill invading pathogens.
They adhere to the intestinal lining cells and act as a shield against invading harmful bacteria.
They stimulate the immune system to produce a response against the pathogens.
Recommendations To Prevent TD:

1) Start taking a good probiotic like EndoMune on a daily basis. Begin at least 2-3 days before starting the trip. When traveling, EndoMune will do fine at room temperature. It is best not to store probiotics at temperatures greater than 85 degrees for prolonged periods.

2) Buy a bottle of Pepto Bismol and a box of Imodium to bring with you just in case you develop TD.

3) Check with your physician about getting a prescription for the appropriate antibiotic for TD.

Final Comments

I hope your travels are safe, joyful and healthy. I think Lisa would have been able to enjoy her entire honeymoon if she had avoided the salad bar and the skin of unpeeled fruits, and if she had taken a daily dose of EndoMune.

Eat healthy, exercise and live well!!!
Best Wishes,
Dr. Hoberman

1) Advances in the treatment of travelers’ diarrhea. Paredes-Paredes M, Flores-Figueroa J, Dupont HL. Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2011 Oct;13(5):402-7. Review.

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The Gut-Brain-Skin Connection and the Benefits of Probiotics

Diet, Disease, Healthy Aging / By Staff Writer

Greetings EndoMune Subscribers!

March is the month we shake off the winter blues and start thinking about spring flowers and beautiful days. On the flip side, it is also the time we must complete taxes; or for students, prepare for midterm exams. Basically, March is a happy month mixed with some stress.

This month I want to discuss two common chronic skin conditions affected by stress: Acne vulgarus and Acne Roseaca.

Emotional Stress Leads To Bodily Stress

A well-respected medical journal, Gut Pathogens, published an interesting article last year that outlined how emotional stress has an impact upon common skin conditions like acne and rosacea.

Consider these four cases:

1.) Emotional stress can disturb the healthy balance of intestinal bacteria.
2.) Overgrowth of harmful bacteria break down the intestinal barrier and stimulates the immune system
3.) The immune system can contribute to the skin inflammation that causes acne and rosacea.
4.) Re-establishing the healthy balance of intestinal bacteria helps to improve these skin conditions.

Where There’s A Probiotic, There’s A Cure

Acne or pimples occur when hair follicles become infected. The exact cause is still unknown, but the hair follicles become blocked which allows the bacteria, Probionibacterium acnes, to proliferate and cause inflammation resulting in pimples. A very common form of therapy is to prescribe antibiotics either topically or orally to clear the infection and control flares of acne. Unfortunately, this form of therapy is also associated with intestinal side effects and doesn’t always work. Scientific studies have shown that adding probiotics to standard acne treatment therapy can improve the inflammation and also lessen GI symptoms.

Acne Rosacea or rosacea is a common chronic skin condition that occurs in adults. It causes redness of the face and nose and pimples. In advanced cases, the nose becomes bulbous. President Bill Clinton and Prince Charles are among the millions of people who suffer from this condition.

Stress is a factor that can aggravate rosacea. Excess build up of bacteria in the intestines also plays a role. Taking antibiotics can help to control the skin inflammation. There are several scientific reports that also adding probiotics can help.

Over the years, a number of readers have written in, letting us know how much EndoMune has helped them manage teenage acne and adult rosacea…especially during stressful times!

Take Home Message

Bottom line: If you or your loved ones have these skin conditions, consider taking EndoMune to lessen skin flares – especially if March brings you stress.

Eat healthy, exercise, take EndoMune and live well!

Best Wishes,
Lawrence Hoberman MD

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9 Tips for Staying Healthy this Holiday Season

Diet, Drug interactions, Healthy Aging / By Staff Writer

What a terrific time of the year! We just finished sharing a relaxing turkey meal with family and friends, and now it’s time to focus on preparing for the upcoming holidays. This includes shopping in the malls, enjoying holiday treats and parties, and traveling to visit family and friends or going on a vacation.

Unfortunately, the exposure to others and consuming sweets and alcohol is challenging our immune system. This newsletter is about the top nine ways to boost our immune system and avoid developing cold and flu symptoms during this season.

Some Facts about Cold and Flu

Colds and flu (influenza) are virus infections. Cold and flu viruses attack the lining of the upper respiratory tract, which includes the nose, throat and sinuses. The main symptoms of a cold are sore throat, runny nose, cough and congestion of the nasal passages. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the common cold. Additionally, there is no vaccine against the cold viruses since there are too many, and they tend to mutate or change.

Influenza (or flu) is due to two main viruses – type A and B. The symptoms of influenza are similar to the common cold, but are usually more intense and include chills, fever, and body aches. If someone develops the flu, they are generally home ill for at least 2-3 days. Sometimes, especially in children, the illness can be more severe. Flu viruses are constantly changing. Each year the CDC identifies the most common forms of the influenza viruses and develops a vaccine.

The viruses for cold and flu are very contagious and transmission occurs mainly by inhalation of virally infected droplets from coughs and sneezes from infected individuals. Additionally, touching objects infected by droplets and then putting your fingers to your mouth or nose is another source of exposure.

New Study: Probiotic Benefits for Preventing Cold and Flu

Before listing the nine top tips on having a healthy holiday season, I want to report on a recent medical article. There have actually been a number of published clinical studies on the positive benefits of probiotics for the prevention of cold and flu symptoms.

The most recent article by Hao and his associates⁽¹⁾ reviewed 14 randomized clinical trials studying the prevention of upper respiratory tract infections. This study compared probiotics with a placebo. The studies involved 3451 children and adults. They found that the group taking probiotics had less cold and flu episodes and required fewer antibiotic prescriptions than the group taking a placebo. Probiotics reduced the number of individuals who had at least one acute upper respiratory tract infection by 42 percent.

It’s also important to note that side effects of probiotics were minor.

Now…9 Tips for Staying Healthy During the Holiday Season

Get the flu vaccine
Eat at least 6-8 daily servings of fruits and vegetables to boost the immune system⁽²⁾
Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep⁽³⁾
Maintain hydration
Exercise 30 minutes at least 5 days a week⁽⁴⁾
Avoid crowds if possible
Wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizers after touching potentially infected surfaces
Take a high quality probiotic…like EndoMune Advanced and EndoMune Kids
If you think you have the flu or have been exposed to someone with the flu, contact your physician as you may benefit from taking one of anti-viral flu medications

Thank You!

On a personal note, this is the fifth year that I have written a December newsletter. I want to say that developing EndoMune has turned out to be one of the most gratifying professional activities in my medical career. Researching the latest medical studies on the benefits of probiotics has been challenging, but stimulating. So many people have shared with me how EndoMune has had such a positive effect on their health.

Thank you for your continued support of EndoMune Advanced and EndoMune Kids. We are continuing to work on maintaining the highest quality probiotics and developing new ones.

My very best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year!

REFERENCES

(1) Probiotics for preventing acute upper respiratory tract infections.Hao Q, Lu Z, Dong BR, Huang CQ, Wu T.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Sep 7;9

(2) Am J Lifestyle Med. 2009 Jul;3(1 Suppl):39S-43S. Functional Foods as Modifiers of Cardiovascular Disease. Johnston C.

(3)Sleep and immune function.Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J.Pflugers Arch. 2011 Nov 10.

(4) Current perspective on exercise immunology. Nieman DC.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2003 Oct;2⁽⁵⁾:239-42. Review.

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