The microbes in your gut, also known as microbiome, are essential if you desire optimal health. Prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics can boost the good bacteria in your gut which in turn provides you with a better quality of life. Check out the details below to find out what they are, how they can help and what food contains them.
Prebiotics
What are Prebiotics?
Prebiotics are group of nutrients in food that we can’t digest ourselves, such as fibre. Instead, they provide food for the bacteria in your gut and promote the growth of the good bacteria.
How do they help?
Prebiotics can change the composition of your gut microbiome, for example consuming food which contain prebiotics nutrients, feeds the good bacteria and increases the number of protective microorganisms in your gut, therefore supporting and strengthening your immune system.
Types of Prebiotics
There are various types of prebiotics, but most of them are a subset of carbohydrates. The most common prebiotics include:
- Fructans such as Inulin and Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) can stimulate lactic acid bacteria and other bacterial species.
- Glacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) can stimulate two key types of good bacteria, these are Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.
- Starch and Glucose-Derived oligosaccharides, which is a resistant starch that produces a high rate of butyrate (a short-chain fatty acid).
Benefits of Prebiotics
- Improved digestion and metabolism
- Helps regulate bowel movements
- Improves calcium absorption and increases bone density
- Helps balance and maintain hormone levels
- Regulates mood and reduce stress hormone levels
- Stimulates the production of hormones that aid in appetite suppression
Prebiotic Food
- FOS – Asparagus, onion, leeks, garlic, bananas
- GOS – Chickpeas and lentils
- Beta glucan – Barley, oats, rye, and other whole grains
Probiotics
What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are a combination of live good bacteria and/or yeasts that naturally live in your body. Bacteria is commonly viewed as a negative thing that makes you ill. However, you have two kinds of bacteria constantly in and on your body, good bacteria and bad bacteria. Probiotics are made up of good bacteria that helps keep your body healthy and functioning.
How do they help?
Probiotics are part of a larger picture concerning bacteria and your microbiome. Think of a microbiome as a diverse community of organism, such as a forest that works together to keep your body heathy. This community is made up of things called microbes. You have trillion of microbes on and in your body. These microbes are a combination of bacteria, fungi (including yeasts), viruses and protozoa.
Everyone’s microbiome is unique as no two people will have the same microbial cells, even if they are twins. Also, for a microbe to be called a probiotic, it must have certain characteristics, these include:
- Be isolated from a human
- Survive in your intestine after ingestion (being eaten)
- Have a proven benefit to you
- Be safely consumed
Types of Probiotics
There are various types of bacteria that can be considered probiotics, but the two most common types that are found in stores include:
- Lactobacillus
- Bifidobacterium
Benefits of Probiotics
- Helps your body maintain a healthy community of microorganisms
- Helps balance the friendly bacteria in your digestive system
- Helps prevent and treat diarrhea
- Probiotic supplements can help improve mental health conditions
- Reduce symptoms of specific digestive disorders such as IBS
Probiotic Food
- Yoghurt
- Buttermilk
- Sourdough Bread
- Cottage Cheese
- Kombucha
- Tempeh
- Fermented Pickles
- Miso Soup
Postbiotics
What are Postbiotics?
Postbiotics are the waste molecules, also known as metabolites, left behind after body digests both prebiotics and probiotics. Postbiotics include nutrients that helps keep your microbiome healthy and slow down the growth of harmful bacteria.
Benefits of Postbiotics
Postbiotics nutrients consist of:
- Vitamin B and K – help maintain cell health and helps reduce blood clotting.
- Short – Chain Fatty Acid – help maintain your gut lining, act as signals to your body and brain, influence your metabolism and have anti-inflammatory properties.
- Antimicrobial molecules – kill harmful microbes.
- Bacterial Fragments and cells – boost and strengthen your immune system to fight off infections
Food that produces Postbiotics
- Yoghurt
- Tempeh
- Sourdough Bread
- Kefir
- Pickles
- Cheese