What is the difference between pro- and prebiotics?
Both probiotics and prebiotics are widely mentioned as a possible method to improve your intestinal health and thus also strengthen your immune system as well as reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases. It can just be a bit of a jungle to plunge into when looking at the shelves of your local health store or pharmacy. Here you get an insight into what pro- and prebiotics are in general as well as a quick overview of the crucial difference between the products and how you can use them in everyday life.
What are probiotics?
The word probioticscomes from Latin andmeans"for life"and manuses the term fora number of microorganisms (primarily bacteria). Shortly saidare probiotics thenlive bacteria,many of them existsnaturallyin large quantitiesin your gut. What bacteria you have and in what quantitiesthey exist,affected i.a. of the food you eat. Probiotics can be ingested via food,in the form of supplementsor freeze drytheas a remedy for diarrhea. An exampleon probioticsare lactic acid bacteria likelactobacillus acidophilus, which you probably know from your A-38, where the A in the namerefers toexactlyAcidoplilus,which is in the fermented milk product (1). Besidesfermented dairy products are fermented foods such askimchi, sauerkraut andkombuchaalso good sources of probiotics.
Why probiotics are important?
The number and diversity of your intestinal bacteria can say a lot about your current state of health, but also give an impression of your risk of developing e.g.dementia, depression and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. ThereforeThere is a lot of research into how your gut bacteria can be affectedto create optimal conditions forhealth - both physically andmentally. Simplifiedone wants to achieve a good balance between the bacteria,one knows is prevalent infastpersonsand make sure that the bacteria thereis characteristictiske by someilldomme, does not become dominant.
One could imagine a study showing that a zebravillecould contributepositiveinthe Danish forests,because it ate a certain kindweeds,that could potentially damage the forest.Therefore, one would like to put the zebra that here represents onewantedlactic acid bacterium, into a Danish forest (which in turn is a picture of your gut).
Why not give all supplements of probiotics?
Today you have good tools to map your bacteriaand also good studies on how the intestinal flora in sick, healthy, overweight, underweight, young and oldcan look like. However, the big challenge still lies in how to create lasting change, when one wants to manipulate the number of bacteria and the amount of the various intestinal bacteria.A thought up exampleto explain udforurgemay be as follows.One could imagine a study showing that a zebravillecould contributepositiveinthe Danish forests,because it ate a certain kindweeds,that could potentially damage the forest.Therefore, one would like to put the zebra that here represents onewantedlactic acid bacterium, into a Danish forest (which in turn is a picture of your gut). A zebra just has really bad living conditions in a Danish forest. Themust first be transported to Denmark, which can be a stressful andgrueling trip. Hereafterwithstandtheperhaps not the climate and can poorly seek shelter from enemies with its characteristic black and white stripes in a Danish forest. So even though a zebra might potentially be able tobe a good contribution to the forestecosystem, it will probably die quickly because it does not naturally “fit in”.This is exactly the dilemma of a lactic acid bacterium that could be beneficial in your intestinal system. Whether it can survive the journey from your oral cavity at alldown through your intestinal system and whether it would eventually thrive among the other bacteria that could potentially be enemies rather than friends.Hence the effect of eatingprobiotics or take them as supplements still a lotdebated.
The potential isto use probiotics islarge because intake of probiotics is virtually side-effect-freeand a relatively inexpensive solution compared to taking medication or developing a disease that requires expensive treatment.One of the places that probiotics have an effect is in severe diarrhea caused bythe bacteriumclostridiumdifficult and also for the treatment ofasthma eczema (2).
What is peræbiotics?
If one mustunderstandthe word prebioticsit also comes from Latin and cana little clumsy translates to ”before the living ”. So unlike the living probiotics, prebiotics are notbacteria.Prebioticsisplant-basedcomponentsin your food such as dietary fiber.Prebiotics workAmong other things,as nourishment for the bacteria in your intestinal system. Soso it is simplifieddeliciousfood foryour gut bacteria so they can thrive and increase in number.Prebiotics are not as prone to go to during the journey through your intestinal systemas probiotics,because dietary fiberare indigestible to the human intestine. Therefore, your body is not trying to fight prebiotics, as it perceives it asrelativelyharmless compared to taking probiotics that your body may see as potentially harmful guests inthe ecosystem.
Why are prebiotics important?
The purpose of eatingprebioticsis to increase the amount ofhealth-promotingbacteria in the intestinal system and at the same time create poor growth conditionsfor the less good bacterial strains.Bacteria, like humans, are very differentand therefore they do not eat the same. The prebiotics you eat daily will therefore be an important onee when you need to maintain or improve your gut flora.As just mentioned, you will find prebiotics in high-fiber foods, thentherefore, whole grain products such as oatmeal, whole grain rice and rye bread can form a good base along with lots of coarse vegetables anddelicious fruits. You will also find prebiotics in wonderful flavors such as ginger, garlic and sage, so a well-seasoned diet is also guf for yoursintestinal bacteria.However, you should still keep in mind that your gut is a battleground for the bacteria. There is not room for everyone and therefore isthere fierce competitionaboutyour food and the space in your gut. Think back to the example of the zebra in the forest. It takes a little more than a bowl of delicious zebra food to make it survive, thoughIt is possible,if you keep sending help packets. Then you eatconsistently varied and high in fiber it will sendgood prebiotics down to the bacteria and maybe it will be enough for your "zebra" to survive and settle in your forest and breed lots of new cute zebras,there are even more resilient.
Both probiotics and prebiotics can be easily introduced as part of your daily diet.
This is how you get both pro- and prebiotics into your everyday life
Although at the beginning of this blog it might sound like there is not that much to pick up from probioticsin healthy people, sothere is still a chance that good bacteria can affect your gut bacteria.An element of the diet of many of the longest living population groups in the worldis namely fermented foods. Sowhether it is in the form ofyogurt from the Caucasus or Greek yogurtin the Mediterranean dietorfermented greens in Japanese cuisine, then probiotics are included in their daily diet.It is never a single factor that is essential for a long and healthy life, buteating fermented foods can beat least add new flavors and variety to your diet.When it comes to prebiotics, there are probably already some sourcesin your current diet, but the quantities or types can be safely adjusted.
Both probiotikaand prebiotics can easilyintroduced as part of your daily diets. It is clearly easiest to get probiotics from dairy products, butif you prefer to livemore plant-basedor do not eat dairy products in general, then you can throw yourself outⅠwateryfir,Kimchi, sauerkraut, misoOrTempeh. This may sound a little far from the Danish food culture, butfermented greenAsKimchiand sauerkraut is not only topping for heavy German sausages or fatty stews, but can be delicious in a salador as an alternative to the vinegar-pickled beetroot or cucumber salad. You can also throw yourself into fermenting vegetables like carrots,cabbage or green beans and there are courses in learning fermentation from scratch, as it takes a little practice to make the right brine andensure good and healthy fermentation.
Prebiotics you will find mainly in coarse vegetables and the content is especially high in e.g. onions, leeks, Jerusalem artichokesGarlicbut also in fruits such asbananas and apples.In addition, you can add prebiotics to your morning porridge in the form of oatmealFlaxseedand cocoa powderOrgenerally by choosing wholegrain products such as rye breadOrwholegrain riceand also try quinoa, which also contains lots of good fibers.
Whether you eat live bacteria in the form of probiotics or feed your existing bacteria with prebiotics,then you do itBasicfor the same purposein mind, namelyto maintain or improve your intestinal flora.Therefore, both can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
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