With the cold, dark and wet months approaching, we have selected these three notions.
Respiratory infection
Probiotics may reduce the incidence and duration of respiratory infections in children, according to this systematic review of 23 trials involving 6269 children (PMID: 27495104: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4979858/ ).
Urinary Tract Infection
Lactobacillus-containing products may be able to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections in women. The widespread use of antibiotics has led to an increase in E. coli-resistant isolates in urinary tract infections worldwide. A promising non-antibiotic approach is the use of probiotic lactobacilli (PMID: 29602464; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29602464 ).
Depression
Probiotics appear to reduce susceptibility to depression. Impaired gut barrier function and inflammation are correlated with depressive symptoms. This is discussed in several publications, such as a clinical study on the effect of consumption of probiotic supplements on depressive symptoms in a sample of participants with mild to severe depression (PMID: 31078831; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /pubmed/31078831 ).