Covid-19 Update: Prepare for the 2nd Wave with Probiotics
Hello Friends:
As it turns out, probiotics also have an important role in maintaining immune health. When you have adequate Vitamin D and Zinc, and add some probiotics, you are building a defense that is science backed. The authors provide evidence of how probiotics, along with adequate Vitamin D and Zinc, control viral infections:
The authors state:
“Currently, there is no vaccine or specific drug for COVID-19. Further, the development of new antiviral presents several challenges and requires a considerable length of time and effort for drug design and validation. Therefore, exploring the repurposing, the use of natural compounds can provide alternatives and can support therapy against COVID-19.”
They also state:
“Currently, no research supports the use of any supplement as adjuvant therapy for the management of COVID-19 subjects.”
However, that is inaccurate as more recent studies show that Vitamin D has a substantial benefit, and references can be found here:
The rest of the article is full of great information, here are some important points:
“The mechanism of how probiotics work on the host organism and immune system is complicated and still not fully elucidated. However, the remedies and effectiveness of vaccines for viral diseases are limited by the high mutation rates of viruses, especially RNA viruses. In this review, we discuss the efficiency of probiotics and their significance in prevention of viral infections. In addition, we provide the significance of microbes in different parts of the body upon viral infections.”
“Probiotics play a role in balancing the host defensive immune response, thereby stimulating mucosal barrier function and modulating the immune system (El Hage et al. 2017 ). Interestingly, intestinal bacteria have been shown to exert the beneficial effects through modulation of vitamin D axis. Through vitamin D axis, probiotics can protect mucosal barrier integrity and suppress gut mucosal inflammation (Li et al. 2015 ). Further, via vitamin D axis, probiotics can regulate both innate and adaptive immune systems.”
“Zinc has significant effects on intestinal bacterial populations and the immune system by boosting the Th1 immune pathway. The primary mechanism of zinc homeostasis in the body is the gastrointestinal absorption of ingested zinc balanced by the secretion of endogenous zinc into the gut and excretion in the feces (Cummings and Kovacic 2009 ). The perturbations in zinc homeostasis in human are a critical factor to influence antiviral immunity. The deficiency of zinc leads to the risk of acquiring viral infections as there is an imbalance of the Th1 and Th2 immunity functions, leading to a defect in the Th1 pathway.”
“The probiotics exert their beneficial effects through modulation of host immune responses, maintain gut homeostasis and produce interferon thereby suppressing the virus induced cytokine storm. Although a few randomized controlled trials showed that administration of probiotics could thwart ventilator-associated pneumonia in COVID-19 patients, the efficacy in reduction of mortality remains uncertain. Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have shown a promising beneficial effect and administration of them can overcome the gut dysbiosis induced by the SARS-CoV2 infection. Hence, it is reasonable to change the microflora with administration of probiotics and thus potentially improve the host immune status.”
Bottom Line: Add some probiotics to your prevention strategies, and according to the above paper, the strains that seem to have the most benefit vs. corona virus in general are:
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Lactobacillus lactis
- Lactobacillus plantarum CRL1506 strain
- Bacillus subtilis OKB105 strain
You may not be able to find them all in any single product, so choose one that has the most of them and we like Klaire brand product called Therbiotic Complete that has 2 of the strains. Remember, these are supportive or adjunctive care recommendations, and not primary care. However, with the current science available, this addition seems reasonable and prudent, so dig into the information for yourself and see what you think.
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