Is Your Office Making You Sick?

The office environment is one area of the energy conservation movement that has been a great success.  Modern office buildings are very efficient at heating and cooling, which is achieved by tightly controlling the environment.  Natural ventilation is regulated by doing things like sealing windows and creating an impermeable air barrier between the outside environment and the “conditioned air space.”

In a sense the modern system of heating and cooling large office buildings has created an enclosed space that is very similar to the enclosed space of our gut.  The environment in our gut allows for a thriving community of beneficial probiotic bacteria.  However, unlike our beneficial gut microbiome, the office microbiome can be disastrous for our health!

For example, have ever felt a slight throat soreness that disappears over the weekend?  Or have you noticed that when a co-worker gets sick, it starts a change reaction that leaves many office cubes empty?  If we can’t avoid the office environment is there any way we can protect ourselves from health problems caused by the office microbiome?

During cold and flu season, in addition to the recommended use of hand sanitizers and regular hand washing, are there other ways to boost your immune defenses?

The easiest way is to boost your gut microbiome by taking a probiotic that includes a large dose of prebiotic fiber like SuperBio.

Our gut microbiome is a vast community of bacteria that provides gut and body-wide health. They are particularly good at helping improve our immune system’s ability to identify and remove pathogens. Our “good” gut bacteria also produce drug-like compounds called bacteriocins and thiopepetides that can fight off bacterial infections. Recent research has also shown that regularly taking a probiotic can reduce cold and cold-like symptoms by 25%.

Other than taking a brick to your office window there isn’t any way to affect your office’s HVAC system, but you can protect yourself by taking a daily probiotic.  SuperBio is a cheap and effective way to stay healthy at the office and at home.