Probiotics and prebiotics, two words that have become synonymous with gut health. But as gut health becomes a bigger consideration in the health world, more and more people are exploring the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics. But if you’re new to gut health, you may be wondering how probiotics stack up versus prebiotics.
We’re here to answer three big questions: What are they? Are they both good for us? What’s the difference between probiotics and prebiotics?
What Are Prebiotics and Probiotics?
Prebiotics are a type of non-digestible fibre that is important for our overall digestive function and encourages our gut bacteria to remain healthy and active. On the other hand, probiotics are live microorganisms that offer various health benefits, particularly in the gut, as they contain healthy bacteria needed for the gut microbiome to thrive. Despite their differences, probiotics and prebiotics are both found in food, and both play an important role in regulating our guts.
What Do They Do?
While both probiotics and prebiotics are beneficial to our gut health, they both serve very different functions. The easiest way to think of prebiotics is to picture them as food for probiotics, which enhances the impact of probiotics. Rather than being digested, prebiotics enter the colon and are fermented by the healthy bacteria. This leads to the increased production of good bacteria in our guts, subsequently improving our overall gut health.
You may have heard probiotics referred to as ‘good bacteria’, due to the important role that they play in aiding digestion, supporting the immune system and absorbing nutrients. Despite their multiple benefits, the overall role of probiotics is to maintain a healthy balance of the gut microbiome by providing healthy bacteria.
Where Are Prebiotics and Probiotics They Found?
Both probiotics and prebiotics are found in food. Fermented foods are particularly high in probiotics, which include foods such as miso, sauerkraut, kimchi and of course, Biotiful Kefir. You can learn all about kefir in our blogs.
Here is a full list of foods that are high in probiotics:
• Kefir, traditional buttermilk and fermented cheeses
• Kimchi, pickles and sauerkraut
• Miso, tempeh and natto
• Kombucha
Foods that are high in prebiotics include a range of plant-based products, such as fruit, vegetables, potatoes and oats. Below is a full list of foods that are rich in prebiotics:
• Garlic, onions and leeks
• Asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and dandelion greens
• Bananas and apples
• Chicory root
• Barley and oats
• Flaxseeds and cocoa
Given the benefits of both prebiotics and probiotics, many people opt for a healthy and balanced diet focusing on the foods above to help fuel their gut microbiome and improve their gut health.
What Are Synbiotics?
Synbiotics form when probiotics and prebiotics are combined. Some foods, like certain yoghurts, contain both probiotics and prebiotics. Often, foods that are high in probiotics are combined with foods rich in prebiotics to form synbiotic meals.
Some examples of meals that are high in probiotics and prebiotics and are great to include in your weekly meal plan are:
• Kefir with oats
• Sauerkraut and potatoes
• Kombucha with dark chocolate
• Tempeh & kimchi stir fry
Is Biotiful Kefir a Good Source of Probiotics?
Biotiful Kefir is a fantastic source of probiotics, as it includes a variety of different healthy bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus lactis and Streptococcus thermonphilus.
Something that many of our customers love is how diverse our product range is, from Biotiful Kefir drinks that you can simply sip on or our yogurts that can easily replace your current afternoon yogurt snack or morning granola bowl. Take a look at our Kefir recipes for more inspiration!
We also have original flavours that are great if you prefer something simple or for use in savoury dishes as you’d usually use yogurt. Our range also includes so many delicious flavours of both Biotiful Kefir yogurts and drinks, from our classic fruity flavours through to vanilla chai, caramelised biscuit, blossom honey and banoffee pie!
Final Thoughts
Both offer benefits to our gut, so it’s not about probiotics vs prebiotics, but more about probiotics and prebiotics. Given that probiotics feed off prebiotics, it’s important that you are consuming both, as this will allow any probiotics in your gut to flourish. Consuming adequate levels of both should lead to a more balanced gut microbiome, which should subsequently enhance digestion, improve your mood, immunity and overall wellbeing.