CHENGDU, China—Consuming probiotic-rich foods such as yogurt, soy yogurt and kefir may boost immune health and reduce the risk of the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), according to a new study published in The Cochrane Library. The findings also suggest probiotics reduce the amount of prescription antibiotics.
Researchers at Sichuan University conducted systematic review to compare probiotics intervention to placebo to prevent acute URTIs.. They reviewed data from 14 randomized controlled trials that included 3,451 participants, including infants, children and adults aged around 40.
They found probiotics intervention was better than placebo in reducing the number of participants experiencing episodes of acute upper respiratory tract infections. They found no difference in how long a respiratory infection lasted in the probiotics group compared to the group consuming placebos. Side effects of probiotics were minor and gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common.
