Prebiotics and Probiotics: The Gut Health Guide for Beginners

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Gut health is one of the most important aspects of our overall well-being, and prebiotics and probiotics play a significant role in promoting it. This guide is for beginners who want to learn about prebiotics and probiotics, their benefits, and how to incorporate them into their daily diet.

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Interesting fact: over half of our cells’ genetic material is derived from organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. It turns out as no surprise that a healthy microbiota plays a crucial role in safeguarding our bodies’ defences and making sure our functions run as smoothly as possible. In western countries, though, our daily habits and poor diets are creating a range of deficiencies that challenge our microbiome, and consequently, threaten our overall health.

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Why Does it Happen?

It’s already been widely observed that people living in rural regions of South America and Africa who traditionally have a wholesome diet and diverse gut flora, experience a nosedive in their levels of healthy bacteria after just a few months of a western-style diet.

The food and drink we consume as well as medical treatments and recent illnesses are the main factors that influence abnormal bacterial growth, especially in the gut. However, sudden changes to our habits and diet as when travelling abroad may also interfere.

It’s also known that the ageing process deteriorates the biodiversity of the gut and skin microbiota, causing anti-inflammatory bacteria to drop and pro-inflammatory bacteria to grow. 

What Are Probiotic Bacteria

Probiotic bacteria are live microorganisms that occur naturally in both fermented foods and many fruits and vegetables. They have a range of health benefits and great sources include:

• Kefir and live yoghurt
• Aged or blue cheese
• Miso, kimchi and tempeh
• Pickled vegetables and Sauerkraut

Eating one or more of these probiotic-rich foods every day will boost your gut health in no time. People with high cholesterol must consume matured cheeses in moderation as they also have a high cholesterol content, even with their excellent source of healthy bacteria and fungi.

And How About Prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a variety of fibres that feed friendly gut bacteria and stimulate the formation of healthy colonies in the lower bowel gut. Some prebiotics can stop pro-inflammatory bacteria from attaching to the gut wall making more room for the anti-inflammatory type to grow. 

Other prebiotics act by feeding the anti-inflammatory bacteria and starving the pro-inflammatory ones. They protect healthy anti-inflammatory bacteria from enzymes in the saliva and stomach, and some even have natural antibiotics that selectively kill exclusively the pro-inflammatory ones. 

Prebiotics are available in two main sources: phytochemicals and soluble fibres.

Phytochemical Prebiotics

Phytochemicals are prebiotics that feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Paired with probiotic bacteria that will break down the original phytochemical structures, they will be absorbed more efficiently. These active phenols are used as energy by the intestinal bacteria supporting gut growth, repair and wall integrity. 

This process also feeds the anti-inflammatory bacteria, but not the pro-inflammatory, which tend to use sugar as energy instead. Prebiotic phytochemicals are known to contain natural antibiotics, which improve the ratio of healthy to unhealthy bacteria as they affect the anti-inflammatory type rather than the pro-inflammatory ones. 

Examples of Prebiotics

Mushrooms are a particularly good source of prebiotics. The red pigment found in grapes and pomegranate called Resveratrol is also a good prebiotic, which explains why studies about gut microbiome show that red wine, in moderation, may improve gut health. 

Despite being poorly absorbed in the small gut, Turmeric enters and takes action in the large bowel and it has long been used in traditional medicine to treat conditions ranging from arthritis to indigestion and depression.

Cocoa and green tea (both without sugar) are rich in flavonoid polyphenols, which inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria while maintaining the growth of healthy butyrate-producing bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

Soluble Fibres as Prebiotics

Soluble fibres work with phytochemicals to encourage healthy bacterial growth. 

Soluble fibres can be non-fermentable, which include gums, psyllium, ispaghula husk and pectins, or fermentable such as the resistant starch inulin and carbohydrate chains such as oligosaccharides. 

These soluble fibres supply nutrients for the microbiota within the large gut, as well as increasing faecal bulk which facilitates it to pass. The fermentation of soluble fibre by healthy bacteria produces butyrate, which enhances gut immunity, digestive function, and gut health in general. 

You can find beta-glucans naturally in the cell walls of fungi and cereal plants, which is a fermentable soluble fibre that is especially helpful for gut health.

Other complementary food sources of soluble fibres include peanuts, flaxseed, sesame seeds and grains. 

Bananas are also rich in soluble fibres and have been shown to boost gut health by stopping potentially harmful pathogens such as Salmonella and Clostridium sticking to its wall, preventing infections.

How do Prebiotics and Probiotics Work Together

In simplistic terms, probiotics will build a healthy colony of bacteria and other microorganisms in the gut, whilst prebiotics will help to maintain it. They both support the gut and aid digestion by providing food and creating an environment where these microorganisms can flourish. To improve your gut health, the best strategy is to enhance your prebiotic intake as much as the probiotic intake.

Good-Quality Prebiotics and Probiotics Supplements

When it comes to prebiotic and probiotic supplements, it’s important to choose the ones that contain bacteria that are already present in a normal digestive system, such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Even in large quantities, prebiotics and probiotic supplements don’t normally result in health issues of any sort, nor have side effects, as long as they don’t come from a contaminated supply.

The use of prebiotic and probiotic supplements can increase gut diversity not only in individuals with suboptimal microfloral profiles such as the elderly and the overweight but also have demonstrated benefits for severely ill patients on chemotherapy or in intensive care, improving their symptoms and reducing diarrhoea.

If you choose supplements over wholesome food, make sure that the ingredients are clearly stated on the label and are produced by a long-established manufacturer with a high-quality-assurance track record compliant with US, UK and EU standards.

Final Thoughts

Understanding the microbiome is gaining importance, especially with the growing use of immunotherapies in medical treatments. The inclusion of prebiotics and probiotics in the daily diet is an important step to take when it comes to restoring deficiencies in an individual’s microbiome and achieving optimal health. 

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