Probiotics seem to be all the rage right now being advertised as a cure for mental health disorders and fixing all your gut problems. When I google probiotics I find tons of supplements that you can buy and lots of words like 'gut health', 'gut biome', 'microflora' and so on but what do these words even mean? And what about prebiotics? What's the difference?? In this post I want to explain a little bit about the what and the why and get into some dietary sources to easily bring pre/probiotics into your diet!
The WHAT
First of all... what are probiotics?? Probiotics are living microorganisms that have many health benefits in our bodies when we eat them! Some of the more common sources of probiotics are things like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, and other fermented products Fermented just means that these foods have had bacterial cultures added to them... but don't worry, it's a good thing! Without fermentation we wouldn't have foods like cheese or even wine! Probiotics contain a few main bacterial cultures called Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and sometimes the yeast bacteria Saccharomyces boulardii. I know that sounds like a bunch of gibberish but each culture has it's own health benefits which is why they're so important in our diet!
So are probiotics and prebiotics the same thing? The answer is NO! Prebiotics are actually non digestible food components that encourage certain microorganisms to be active and grow! Basically, prebiotics are the food that fuels the probiotics to do their thing. They come from fibre sources that we consume in our diet, but they're insoluble fibre so we don't break them down before they get to the probiotics.
The WHY
Now that we know a little about what probiotics are, why do we want them in our diet? What is it that they actually do? So probiotics have a few different roles that they play in the body depending on the species being consumed. They key cultures I mentioned above typically are important to help your body develop a healthy and diverse community of microorganisms in the gut which helps with the body's immune response. You may have heard a lot of talk about something called the Microbiome lately, and that's exactly what this little community is!
Let's break this down a little more. So when we eat a balanced diet full of nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and all those wonderful things the food guide rages about, we develop a healthy little community of microorganisms in our microbiome which helps to fight of infections and various diseases. There has been a lot of research being done lately about the effects of our microbiome on things like mental health issues or certain illnesses, and basically what they've been finding is that there is a link between having this healthy cluster of bacteria and many many health benefits. However, when we choose food options that are maybe a little less nutrient dense and higher in things like saturated and trans fats like fast foods and processed foods, this can be really damaging to our microbiome and wipe away a lot of the important bacteria in there. I'm sure most of you have heard about the movie "Supersize Me" where the guy goes on a McDonalds only diet for some period of time. Well a documentary about this actually looked into the gut bacteria of a healthy male who ate a super healthy and nutritious diet and then went and did this McDonalds diet and found that his gut bacteria was almost completely wiped out! So after all the research being done now on the relationship between our microbiome and mental health and disease and all those things, we can see why it's so important to make sure we're getting these bacteria!!
How do I get probiotics and probiotics in my diet??
So now that I've sparked you attention you're probably thinking... "Okay I want to get more microbes in me!" But how?? As I mentioned in the first paragraph, probiotics come from fermented foods. Now when you think of fermentation you probably think of rotten foods and gross images of mouldy oranges but there are tons of fermented foods out there that you probably consume regularly without even realizing it!
Yogurt
One of the easiest ways to get both probiotics and prebiotics is yogurt. Many types of yogurt actually push their products as a source of probiotics so they're super easy to find in the grocery stores. Greek yogurt is an excellent choice because on top of the probiotic content it also is higher in protein so its really a two for one! Just be careful not to choose a brand that's too high in sugar... some of these yogurt companies are sneaky with their added sugars.
Don't eat dairy products?? There are lots of non-dairy yogurt alternatives out there now that still add probiotics to their products! Try the Daiya yogurt alternative, or my favorite is the Chobani non-dairy cultured coconut blend! There are lots of yummy flavours without too many additives we don't want!
Kefir
Another source of probiotics is Kefir, which essentially is a fermented milk product. It's very similar to yogurt, just a bit more tang with a liquid consistency. While by itself it's not the yummiest thing out there, there are also many flavoured options of Kefir available in the stores and you don't need much just a tablespoon a day to get that microbiome ravishing again.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is a great side to add to your main dish and adds tons of nutritional value to your meal. This fermented cabbage product is low in calories and packed with nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, iron, manganese, folate, and potassium! It is also a great source of fibre that helps keep things moving along in the digestive tract.
Tempeh
Tempeh is a soy based meat alternative that's pretty popular among vegans and vegetarians! It originated in Indonesia, and is made by fermenting soy beans then forming them into a cake-like shape. Tempeh is super versatile and picks up flavours of whatever you're cooking so it's a great protein source to add to any meals!
Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that originated from Asia. It is typically made by fermenting black or green tea, and has gotten super popular in the last few years! You can now buy it at the grocery stores in the natural section and it comes in tons of different flavours with different health claims. Some are recommended as an energy booster while theres also relaxing and calming teas and also ginger teas to help digestion!
Not interested in any of these sources of probiotics?? There are also tons of supplements out there that you can easily add to your daily routine to boost your microbiome and get all those health benefits! Just try not to over do it.. supplements aren't always for everyone!!
I hope this helped you learn a little something about pre and probiotics... check back next week for my next post!
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