One study found that taking one supplement would help Canadians stay healthy in the winter, by saving up to 84,000 courses of antibiotics, 500,000 sick days, $9 million in direct health care costs and $100 million in lost productivity (1).

Can you guess what the supplement is?

The answer? A probiotic!

The Gut-Immune System Connection
We are all aware that our immune system is tasked with the amazing job of keeping us healthy by keeping invading germs and viruses from making us ill. But if you were asked to point to your immune system, where would you point? Although your immune system helps to keep foreign invaders from taking hold in your body throughout your body, most of it is located in your gut. In fact, 70% of your immune system’s cells and tissues can be found there.

Probiotics are important for boosting immunity by helping to reinforce and modulate the immune system. Just like the immune system can be found throughout the body, probiotics can too! One study found that taking oral probiotics can change the microbiome all the way up to the nasal cavity (2).

And even if you end up getting sick, a probiotic can help to reduce the duration of a cold. Two large meta analyses found that a quality probiotic helped to reduce duration, frequency and antibiotic use due to a respiratory tract infection. Taking a probiotic could help Canadians shave off an average of 2.3 days of a respiratory tract infection (3).

Taking a probiotic will help to boost your immunity – but it’s also important to create the right environment for your probiotic to do its magic. That’s why Genuine Health has created a complete approach to gut health:

Prime Your Gut
Fermented supplements can “prime” the gut to receive nutrition. Fermentation amplifies the nutrition of food by increasing the nutrient profile, and bioavailability of a variety of nutrients, including B vitamins, magnesium and zinc. Try our fermented vegan proteins+ or fermented Greek yogurt proteins+, and convenient fermented bars, which provide your body with easily absorbed protein – with gut health benefits.

Seed Your Gut
The type of probiotic that you take matters – it’s important to find a probiotic that contains plenty of live microorganisms with a guaranteed delivery mechanism. Genuine Health’s advanced gut health probiotic is crafted with 15 strains of super-potent bacteria that mimic the balance found in the gut. advanced gut health probiotic is encapsulated in a delayed-release, plastic-free capsule that’s been shown to deliver up to 10x the bacteria to the gut. Look out for advanced gut health probiotic in 15 and 50 billion CFU and two new probiotics for women: advanced gut health probiotic women’s DAILY and UTI.

Feed Your Gut
Good nutrition is important to keep your body healthy in cold and flu season – and good nutrition is needed for your gut, too! Once you seed your gut with healthy, hearty bacteria from a probiotic, you need to feed them – that’s where a prebiotic comes in.

Just as it’s important to find a quality probiotic, it’s equally important to find a quality prebiotic. Based on cutting-edge research, Genuine Health created new fermented organic gut superfoods+, the ultimate prebiotic superfood, and the perfect partner to your probiotic! Using the latest research on prebiotics, fermented organic gut superfoods+ was made with 22 fully fermented organic superfoods and prebiotics to prime the gut and nourish a healthy gut ecology.

This winter, consider a three-pronged approach to staying healthy – a complete approach to gut health from Genuine Health.

References:
1. Wijnkoop, I et al. The Clinical and Economic Impact of Probiotics Consumption on Respiratory Tract Infections: Projections for Canada. PLoS One. 2016; 11(11): e0166232.
2. Cross, M.L. Immune-Signalling by Orally-Delivered Probiotic Bacteria: Effects on Common Mucosal Immunoresponses and Protection at Distal Mucosal Sites. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology. 2004.
3. Wijnkoop, I et al. 

About the Author: Genuine Health Team

Genuine Health believes that we should all have a vibrant, healthy life, and that a well-nourished body is the best way to get there. They work with renowned scientists and professionals at leading institutions and a panel of esteemed health experts, including researchers and doctors of natural and traditional medicine to back their formulas with research and clinically proven ingredients. Learn more at genuinehealth.com