A Simple Guide to Prebiotics and Probiotics: The Heroes of our Microbiome ⭐️

I’m often asked about prebiotics and probiotics… usually what they are and why they’re helpful. Here’s my simple explanation.

Think of your microbiome as a garden, full of trillions of bacteria that are super important for your health and wellness. 

Some plants flourish, bring colour, fragrance and beauty to your garden. These are the healthy bacteria in your gut. 🤩 But weeds can grow, crowding out plants and taking the shine off the beauty of the garden. These are like the unhealthy, sometimes harmful bacteria in your gut 👎🏼 and a result of antibiotics, illness, stress, ageing and exposure to toxins. A poor diet with processed, refined foods, low fibre, high sugar can be a significant contributing factor. 

Prebiotics are the fertiliser you put on the soil to help existing plants grow and multiply. In the body, they’re specialist plant fibre acting as food for the good bacteria.  ✅

Probiotics are new plants you add into your garden to give you instant colour and vibrancy. Living strains of bacteria that add to the population of good bacteria in your digestive system. ✅

Why do we need abundance and diversity of gut bacteria?

A lack of abundance and diversity of gut bacteria causes symptoms such as: stomach cramps, diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, indigestion, reflux, food intolerances, fatigue, chronic fatigue, low/mood, depression, sugar cravings, joint pain, fungal infections, skin conditions, poor concentration and anxiety 😔

An unhealthy gut microbiome is a risk cause for:

IBS

IBD

Obesity 

Type 2 Diabetes 

SIBO 

Cardiovascular disease

Allergies 

Cancer

So, let’s find out more about our health saviours, prebiotics and probiotics…

Prebiotics and probiotics: the low down

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are a form of soluble fibre that resists digestion in the human small intestine, reaching the colon where they are fermented by the gut microbiota. Insulin and resistant starch are examples of probiotics, leading to the production of short-chain fatty acids which provides significant health benefits including boosting immunity, improving gut heath, acting as an anti-inflammatory; aiding good weight management by promoting satiety and improving insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

You can use probiotic supplements but I’m all for food first so…

What are prebiotic food sources?

✅Onions

✅Garlic 

✅Leeks 

✅Asparagus 

✅Jerusalem artichoke 

✅Oats

✅Soya bean

✅Chicory

Probiotics 

Probiotics are living bacteria and yeasts that promote health. Again, like prebiotics, they promote the production of short-chain fatty acids with all the health benefits mentioned above. 

The most common are: 

Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, both groups of bacteria and Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast.

Again, you can use supplements but there are good food sources too. So…

What are probiotic food sources?

✅Kefir (fermented milk drink)  

✅Kimchi (fermented vegetable mix) 

✅Kombucha (fermented sweet tea)

✅Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)  

✅Yogurt  

✅Miso

✅Cheese (aged cheddar, Swiss cheese, some cottage cheese, parmesan) Look for ‘live cultures’ or ‘added cultures’ on the label. 

✨Add some prebiotic and probiotic foods into your life today and help your microbiotic garden flourish!✨

Janie x