Study shows Probiotic Multivitamins reduces duration of common cold

Breakthrough clinical evidence at the 2nd European Influenza Conference launched on September 13, 2005, demonstrated that the intake of Probiotic Multivitamins significantly shortens common cold episodes by two days and dramatically reduced the severity of symptoms.

The new evidence was good news for UK employers who carried the burden of cold and flu-related work absenteeism, which stood at 150 million days each year and costs the UK economy a staggering £6.75 billion. By shortening the amount of days people suffer from the common cold, the UK could recoup 60 million working days lost through cold related illnesses each year.{{more}}

The trial was conducted amongst 479 healthy adults using Seven Seas Multibionta Probiotic Multivitamins and went on to show that Probiotic Multivitamins are significantly more effective than “ordinary” multivitamins, which were taken by eight million people in the UK as a way of bolstering their immune system against the common cold. The unique formula combining probiotics and multivitamins works together to unlock the bodies defence system and fight the common cold anti-bodies.

Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology, Queen Mary’s College of Medicine and Dentistry, London says of the findings, “An average adult suffers from three to four colds a year. This figure amounts to the occurrence of about 200 million colds a year in the UK. The reduction in the severity of symptoms and the number of days of suffering presents a considerable potential benefit to millions of people who fight the problem all round the year, particularly in the winter and spring periods. In this context, the study is extremely significant.”

Common cold infections are so widespread that there can be very few humans who escape infection each year and most will suffer multiple infections. Despite great advances in medicine, common virus infections such as the common cold or influenza continue to cause a considerable economical burden, due to loss in productivity and high medical costs.

Dr. Bug, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Merck Consumer Healthcare says, “This new breakthrough clinical trial demonstrates that the intake of Seven Seas Multibionta Probiotic Multivitamin significantly shortens common cold episodes and reduces the severity of symptoms.”

The study has been published in Clinical Nutrition and was being presented at the Second European Influenza Conference of the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) (September 13th 2005) showing how the consumption of Probiotic Multivitamins affects the severity of symptoms, the frequency and duration of the common cold.