Prebiotics and Probiotics: Vital for a Healthy Gut
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
Prebiotics and Probiotics. You may hear these terms thrown around a lot, especially at health food stores. I have had a lot of people ask which one is best? Well, you actually need both. They need one another for them to be as beneficial as possible. We will discuss this further below:
What Are Prebiotics?
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that are connected to increasing the growth of good bacteria in your gut. Prebiotics may improve gut health, increasing fecal transit time, and could potentially improve calcium absorption.
Sources of Prebiotics
Prebiotics are found in bananas, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, soybeans and whole-wheat foods. You don’t need powders, pills and potions!
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are the actual “good” bacteria, also known as live cultures, similar to those found in the gut. These active cultures help to balance gut flora (bacteria). Probiotics have been used for treatment of constipation, irregularity or irritable bowel syndrome. Some strains of these live cultures may reduce symptoms of lactose intolerance, however, each person is different and not everyone experiences the same benefits of probiotics as others.
Sources of Probiotics
Fermented dairy foods including yogurt, kefir products and aged cheeses are excellent sources of probiotics due to the high live culture content found within them. Kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and tempeh are also great non-dairy sources. Again no powders, pills or potions needed!
So Why Do We Need Both?
Prebiotics (“good” bacteria promoters) and probiotics (“good” bacteria) are synergistic (known as synbiotics) and work together. Think of prebiotics as the breakfast, lunch and dinner for probiotics. We need to feed our probiotics with prebiotics. Just like complimentary proteins, we can combine food sources to get both in at the same time. For example, try bananas over nonfat, plain Greek yogurt.
At the very least (as the FDA has no claims about prebiotic and probiotic use as nutrition boosters, only structure-function claims), prebiotics and probiotics are helpful for good gut health. You can incorporate these ingredients into your diet without even trying since the sources are Dolce-Approved anyway!
Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
