Eating cheese helps curb hay fever, study suggests

Tokyo (dpa) – A type of lactic acid bacteria found in dairy has been shown to ease hay fever symptoms, even during the peak of pollen season. A bacterium called Lacticaseibacillus paracasei KW3110 appears to reduce the impact of the condition when taken as part of a regular diet, according to scientists at Kirin Holdings, a Japanese company best known for its beer of the same name. The results show a "relief of nasal symptoms," with those given the bacterium finding "a significant improvement in the degree of daily life impairment" and able to return to the outdoor activities they typically can enjoy at other times of the year, according to Kirin. The researchers ran a 12-week trial in which 120 male and female hay fever sufferers were given either a placebo or food containing the bacterium. "Compared to the placebo, consumption of food containing L. paracasei KW3110 significantly improved subjective symptom scores," Kirin said, with changes kicking in by week four. The participants were described as people who "experienced nasal and ocular discomfort in early spring and did not regularly use medications for allergic rhinitis symptom relief." Ingesting the bacterium "mitigates the decline in quality of life  associated with difficulties in outdoor activities," Kirin said of the trial findings, published in October. According to Yoshitaka Okamoto, a Chiba Rosai Hospital doctor and emeritus professor at Chiba University, the bacterium is "readily taken up by immune cells, where it elicits a unique response that may help suppress allergic reactions." The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr coh

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