Between the upcoming flu season, seasonal allergies, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are lots of reasons to give your immune system a boost. For that big job, more people are turning to a tiny resource. Probiotics are living microorganisms, and you already have some of them in your body. Others come from food, specifically fermented foods such as yogurt, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).
Do Probiotics Strengthen Your Immune System?
Probiotic immune health products support the resident bacteria that are an important part of the portion of the immune system that resides in the gut, mostly in the colon. In the colon, beneficial bacteria interact with antigens, foreign substances, usually proteins, that cause an immune response in the body. They often enter the body via the mouth, harmlessly through the diet, or detrimentally on the surface of pathogens. As a result, the gut encounters more antigens than any other part of the body, and the resident gut bacteria must function effectively alongside other parts of the gut-mediated immune system, or GALT (gut-associated lymphoid tissue).
These important bacteria in the gut produce compounds through their metabolism that directly interact with the GALT response. When functioning optimally, the GALT system and microbiota together ensure the initiation of protective responses to pathogens and the tolerance to innocuous antigens.1 Supplementation with a well-formulated probiotic product can help guarantee that the gut microbiota remains intact and functioning well, which is especially critical after taking antibiotics that destroy many of the resident bacteria along with their targeted pathogens.
Immune support probiotics are often derived from species, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, L casei, L salivarius, L lactis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and B lactis, known to naturally inhabit the intestines of healthy individuals.
Which Probiotics Is Best For Your Immune System?
Probiotics are sometimes called good bacteria. They can help your body digest food and even fight cells that cause disease. Probiotics have shown promise in helping ease diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, and periodontal disease. Research about other benefits of these beneficial bacteria is ongoing and one area of particular interest is how they impact immunity.
You might already be getting probiotics without realizing it. Most of the research on the benefits of probiotics has focused on these common strains of bacteria:
- Acidophilus. This is found in yogurt, milk, miso, and tempeh and might support the immune system, according to a meta-analysis published in 2020.
- Bifidobacterium. This is in yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, miso, tempeh, pickles, kimchi, cured meats, some wines and vinegar, sauerkraut, and sourdough bread. It may reduce inflammation, according to one meta-analysis in 2017. In addition, it may also support immune health in older adults.
- All yogurt with live and active probiotics contains Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (or L. bulgaricus) and S. thermophilus, according to the FDA, have both been associated with supporting the immune system.
Probiotics come in lots of different shapes and sizes such as yogurts, fermented drinks, and most recently, supplements. With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to find the one to best suit your needs. Perhaps the most important thing to remember here is that different probiotic supplements do different things, depending on the strains of probiotic bacteria used in them. Scientists are particularly keen to understand which strains help to support our immune system best, and so there is more and more evidence growing in this area. However, each member of your family may need a supplement that is suited to their individual needs.
How Long Does It Take For Probiotics To Work?
To experience the potential benefits of probiotics, you usually need to take them regularly, in the right amounts, and over at least 4 weeks. Stomach acid makes it hard for probiotics to survive, so taking them regularly over a long period makes it more likely they’ll survive and have a positive effect.
