Prebiotic And Probiotic: A Wonderful Gut Health Solution.

Prebiotic And probiotic are the two most important food components that can give us very positive health feedback. They are historically and scientifically known as health-enhancing foods. Probiotics are live microorganisms present in foods. Prebiotics are undigested food parts that help to grow beneficial microorganisms on them. These two are tools proven for improving gut health.

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When we face different diseases, we take medicines to minimize the symptoms. But it rather relieves the symptoms with the side effects of drugs. It does not the uproots the disease creating reasons. Several clinical studies are saying that probiotics and prebiotics can prevent and treat various diseases.

Like the outer skin layer of our body, we have an inner skin layer inside a healthy digestive tract. This inner layer is covered with lots of microorganisms in a healthy human being. Their healthy balance helps us to have a healthy gut. Our daily food habits and lifestyle can affect these microorganism’s balance. It is evident that prebiotic and probiotic can help us to maintain these balances. So, it also allows us to have a healthy life.

What is the difference between prebiotic and probiotic?

We can have prebiotic and probiotic both from a healthy balanced diet. A conscious choice of food can give us both prebiotic and probiotic. Both of them can help us to have strong immunity and healthily reduce weight.

Probiotics

Prebiotic and probiotic are two very important food components for our health benefits. Probiotics are live and beneficial microorganisms. They are mostly from bacteria and some from yeasts. We usually know microorganisms only cause disease to our health. But it is not always true. Some beneficial bacteria are also useful to our health. They can improve our immune system. They are millions in number more than our own cell numbers inside our gut environment. Probiotics have beneficial live microorganisms which directly deliver them into our gut. When we eat probiotic rich foods, they provide us with live microorganisms.

Some foods are rich in probiotics. They are:

Yogurt.
Overnight soaked (at least 12 hours) cooked rice. (South Asian Food)
Sauerkraut (Germen pickle)
Kimchi (Korean food)
Miso (Japanese fermented spice)
Cheese
Kombucha
Pickles.
Buttermilk.
Jiangshui, (Traditional Chinese fermented vegetable food)
Probiotic medicines.

Some medicines contain probiotics in them. They also can positively modulate our gut health. There are various genera of bacteria and yeasts found as probiotics. The most common genera are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Probiotics improve our health in a lot of ways. Different probiotic foods contain different strains of microorganisms. The health effects of probiotics mostly depend on the strains of bacteria and yeasts. Their benefits are given below.

Reduce pathogenic bacteria:

In several studies, it has been found that yogurt delivers good bacteria into the gut. They can reduce the pathogenic bacteria. These bad bacteria release toxic elements into our blood.

When probiotic food is incorporated into the diet it reduces the bad bacteria. They also reduce the release of toxic substances from bad bacteria. Thus, they help to have a healthy gut ecosystem.

Reduce Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS):

Probiotics with different species of bacteria are involved with different outcomes. It has been proved in so many studies that some specific strains improve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms.

They can improve the stool consistency and the severity of abdominal pain. The epithelial cells inside the gut become inflamed during IBS. Studies have shown probiotics can reduce this inflammation level.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a disturbing situation in the abdomen. Pathogenic bacteria growth is very high in SIBO patients. Abdominal bloating and pain are very common among them.

Most IBS patients suffer from SIBO. It is observed that probiotic consumption can reduce the SIBO.

Restore antibiotic induced microbiome imbalance:

Studies have shown that probiotic can restore and modify the imbalance of microbial ecosystems after antibiotic introduction. Antibiotics reduce the good microbial balance in the gut. Probiotics can make a favorable balance to this change.

Reduce medicine side effects:

Diarrhea is a common side effect of several drugs. Metformin, proton pump inhibitors, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and laxative use can influence gut microbiome structure. Non-antibiotics can also influence gut microbiome balance.

33 studies were conducted to understand the relationships between antibiotic-induced diarrhea and probiotic intake. It is found that probiotics can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). They can maintain the gut barrier and restore the gut microflora.

Prevention and treatment of gut diseases:

Several kinds of diseases can be prevented by probiotics. Enteral feed-associated diarrhea, H. pylori infection, and traveler’s diarrhea are some diseases proven to be prevented by probiotics. Appropriate probiotic strain is helpful in these cases. Mostly Saccharomyces boulardii, a three-strain mixture (Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. rhamnosus) are effective in antibiotic-associated diarrhea prevention.

Probiotics can directly pass through the GIT. It is proven beneficial in young children’s rotavirus-induced diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease can be treated with probiotics. They counteract the pathogenic bacterial effects. They promote the balance between pathogenic microbiomes and beneficial microbiomes. It is very important for the normal functioning of the gut.

Improving Mental Health:

There are several studies have conducted to understand the impact of probiotics in mental health were done. Around 15 studies have proven the improvement of the central nervous system functioning of human beings. They have been given probiotics with strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus for 4 weeks. Several psychiatric disorders have shown improvement with probiotic intake. They include anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and memory abilities, including spatial and non-spatial memory. Probiotic use is a very hopeful option for the improvement of behavioral issues and problems with the central nervous system.

Studies also found that 8 weeks of administration of probiotics significantly reduces major depressive disorders (MDD). It is also found that probiotic intake can reduce the insulin resistance level. It can also reduce serum inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

Probiotics For Heart Health:

People having heart failure, thrombosis, atherogenesis, and arterial hypertension are seen with gut dysbiosis. Probiotics have the potential benefit of altering the gut microbiota. They can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These are protective over cardiovascular diseases.

Studies have shown administration of probiotics reduces the inflammatory markers and toxicity of gut dysbiosis in potential cardiovascular patients. Thus they reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, and stroke.

Improving Immunity By Probiotics:

Probiotics are live microbes that can be found in different foods and supplements and they can survive inside our intestine. They can positively modulate the immune cells inside the intestine. They are very potent in preventing various kinds of diseases. They can activate the innate immune system which plays a protective role on the host’s body. This can reduce persistent insult and inflammation in the body. Numerous studies prove probiotics are promising for preventing and treating allergy response.

“Jiangshui” is a Chinese traditional food. This is a fermented food. The strains of bacteria found in this food are proven to reduce the high uric acid level in blood. It also improves the kidney functions in study subjects. High blood uric acid levels can lead to the development of gout and kidney stones.

Prebiotics

There are several carbohydrate foods in the form of resistance starch we intake. Those act friendly to our good microbiome in the gut. They can not be digestible. They are dietary fibers from inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and lactulose in structure.

They pass through the gut and directly go to the colon. There they become food for gut microbiome. Thus,prebiotic and probiotic in combination provide health benefits to our health and prevent so many diseases.

Prebiotics go into the colon intact and there they become food sources for beneficial microbiome. They ferment the undigested parts of the food. Finally, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) from prebiotics. These SCFA include acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Specially butyrate is essential for our optimal health.

They are the foods for the colon lining cells. They also reduce the pathogenic bacterial abundance in the gut. This system helps to enhance the immune system and protect our gut membrane from being invaded by toxic materials. It also influences our brain functions by improving the gut-brain axis.

When there is enough prebiotic and probiotic is provided in sufficient amount, they in combination exert a positive health effect.

The common prebiotic fibers include:

Rice
Oats
Banana
Berries
Legumes and beans
Jerusalem artichoke
Asparagus
Onion
Garlic
Leeks.

Without sufficient intake of prebiotic and probiotic, SCFA’s cannot be produced. Several metabolic diseases can have a high chance to attack.

Final Thoughts

Jiangshui, Sauerkraut, and Kimchi provide both prebiotic and probiotic. Overnight-soaked cooked rice (Panta vat) is usually eaten with onion, vegetables, etc. Hence, they also give prebiotic and probiotic simultaneously. When we eat different kinds of food both from these two sources, they provide beneficial metabolic end products. Oats-banana, rice and vegetables with onion garlic, whole grain bread with vegetables are very good food. All of them provide very good amounts of prebiotics. In combination with any probiotic source like yoghurt, cheese these prebiotics give us the best health benefits. Prebiotic and probiotic combine and create symbiotic effects on our gut. Preventing diarrhea, constipation, cancer prevention, providing energy for colon cells, and balancing gut microflora are some benefits. Prevention or reduction of common colds, influenza, urinary tract infections, etc. all are the benefits that come from both prebiotic and probiotic food sources.