Do Actimel and probiotics work to avoid colds?

November. In the supermarket, the aisle with the little bottles: defenses, flora, immunity.

Every winter, I get the same question: are probiotics useful for avoiding colds?

The short answer is that they do something, but less than what the packaging promises.

The Cochrane review published in 2022 analyzed 23 trials with nearly 7,000 people, including children, adults, and the elderly, who took probiotics or a placebo, generally for more than three months.

Result: those who took probiotics had a slightly lower probability of experiencing at least one cold, and the episodes lasted on average just over a day less.

The authors themselves classify this certainty as low: the effect probably exists, but its actual size is uncertain.

Here is the nuance that almost no one mentions: probiotic is not a category, it is a generic name for hundreds of different strains.

Saying that probiotics work is like saying that drugs work. It depends on which one, how much, and in whom.

That is why you cannot translate the result of a review to a specific bottle in the supermarket.

My practical reading: if you catch a cold three or four times every winter, trying a specific strain for a few months is reasonable and low-risk.

If you catch a cold once a year, the room for improvement is small.

And before spending money on the little bottle, look at what you already know influences how you get through the winter: how much you sleep, how much you train, what you eat.

A probiotic can help you a little bit. It does not replace the basics.

Your 1% improvement for today.

Write down on your phone how many colds you have had in the last twelve months. Without that number, you will never know if what you are taking serves any purpose.

This is what I cover in the Longevity Workshop and Private Longevity WhatsApp Group: In the private WhatsApp group, we analyze specific strains and I tell you which ones have real evidence before you spend money on the little bottle.

Remember that I now sell only ONE access to the Longevity Workshop and Private Longevity WhatsApp Group per day.

The price is set by a Dutch auction.

It goes down throughout the day.

→ See the current price of the Longevity Workshop and Private Longevity WhatsApp Group