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Experts Recommend Culturelle to Boost Immune System During Flu Season

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 December 2004, 11:43 CST

The recently announced vaccine shortage has prompted many Americans to explore alternatives to boost their immune systems during flu season. According to Sherwood L. Gorbach, M.D., a professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Tufts University School of Medicine, one alternative is Culturelle(R), a dietary supplement that helps strengthen the body's natural resistance to disease.

"With flu season upon us, it's more important than ever to take steps that help us stay healthy. Taking Culturelle daily is a good way to maintain the well-being of the body and create a barrier in the intestine and respiratory tract against harmful bacteria and viruses," Gorbach said. "Culturelle contains a patented probiotic, Lactobacillus GG (LGG), which is clinically proven to adhere to the intestinal walls, boost the local immune response of the intestine as well as block invasion by foreign bacteria and viruses."

LGG also promotes the growth of other beneficial bacteria in the intestines, Gorbach explained, which are essential to good health. "Without good bacteria as a barrier, the body is at risk for disease and is less capable of normal, healthy functioning," Gorbach said.

LGG is a patented probiotic proven at major universities around the world to help maintain a barrier to disease. This unique bacterial strain takes its name from the two doctors who discovered it in 1985, Dr. Sherwood Gorbach and his Tufts University colleague, Dr. Barry Goldin.

"LGG makes Culturelle unique," Gorbach explained. "Many other Lactobacillus strains do not adhere to the intestinal lining. Additionally, LGG has been proven to better withstand stomach acid and form a stronger barrier than other Lactobacillus varieties(1). Just as important," Gorbach continued, "no other probiotic has been more thoroughly tested in clinical trials. Culturelle offers consumers an exclusive level of confidence."

Rosemary J. Young, R.N., M.S., gastroenterology clinical nurse specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and an expert in probiotic research, has overseen many of the U.S. clinical trials conducted with the probiotic LGG found in Culturelle.

"No other probiotic has been so well studied in such diverse clinical populations and conditions. LGG has been demonstrated to be effective with a wide range of diseases including traveler's diarrhea, diarrhea resulting from antibiotic usage in children, and in some cases of eczema associated with food allergies," Young said. She added, "Studies with LGG in children have been conducted in both day care centers and in the home environment and have demonstrated excellent protective benefits from acquiring gastrointestinal infections and respiratory tract viruses"(2). A recent Cochran Review evaluated 23 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with a total of 1,917 participants who were presumed to have diarrhea caused by an infectious agent. The overall conclusion was that probiotic use decreased the risk of getting the diarrheal illness and if contracted, decreased the overall duration of the illness(3). Other studies have shown a reduction in respiratory tract infections in children who were given LGG(4).

During the current flu vaccine shortage, patients who don't fall within the CDC's guidelines for receiving the vaccine (people in good health who are older than 23 months and younger than 65 years) have few alternatives apart from regular hand washing. Probiotics, including LGG found in Culturelle, may be one preventative measure available this flu season that will enhance the body's natural defenses.

Culturelle is available in retail locations nationwide. For retail locations and more information about Culturelle, visit www.culturelle.com or call 1-888-828-4242.

About Culturelle and ConAgra Functional Foods

Culturelle probiotic dietary supplement containing Lactobacillus GG is manufactured by ConAgra Functional Foods, a division of ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG), one of North America's largest packaged-food companies with dozens of popular consumer brands including Healthy Choice(R).

1. Gorbach, S.L., Probiotics and gastrointestinal health. Am J Gastroenterol, 2000. 95(1 Suppl): p. S2-4.

2. Szajewska, H. and J.Z. Mrukowicz, Probiotics in the treatment and prevention of acute infectious diarrhea in infants and children: a systematic review of published randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 2001. 33 Suppl 2: p. S17-25.

3. Allen, S.J., et al., Probiotics for treating infectious diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2004(2): p. CD003048.

4. Hatakka, K., et al., Effect of long term consumption of probiotic milk on infections in children attending day care centres: double blind, randomised trial. Bmj, 2001. 322(7298): p. 1327.

Source: Business Wire

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