DR. WALKER

PROBIOTICS VS PREBIOTICS AND WHAT THEY COULD DO FOR YOUR BODY?

Your gut microbiome is home to trillions of microorganisms, living symbiotically, to create a better you. When good bacteria are living well and abundantly, then you are living well and abundantly, it’s that simple. To clarify, probiotics are living organism, that are incorporated into some foods, while still alive and active, to go and add to our intestinal microbiota, and do some wonderful work for our bodies. Prebiotics on the other hand are the super-food or the growth plate for probiotics, so that they can flourish and not get outnumbered. Probiotics are bacteria, while prebiotics are “certain kinds” of dietary fiber.

All dietary bacteria are non-digestible carbohydrates, prebiotics inclusive, and they play a good role in our gut especially with bowel movement, water retention and prolonged satiety. However, not all can be classified as prebiotics. By classic definition, prebiotics are those that have the extra duty of being fermented by the gut microbiota, and selectively stimulating their growth and activity, without having the same effect on bacteria outside this circle.¹ Manufacturers like to push other dietary fiber into the “prebiotic” classification due to the associated value they seek to obtain. The two main classification, that have been identified with potent prebiotic activity are galacto-oligosaccharides, and fructo-oligosaccharides.²

As strange as they sound, they are not some secret-society foods, they are found in many of the foods people manage to avoid; onion, banana (unripe has more), garlic, dandelion, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, green leafy vegetables, and some lentils. Just to put in perspective, imagine consuming the above listed, together with probiotic foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha or pickled vegetables. That is equivalent to giving a superhero, their full blast of super potentials. If any of these foods still do not appeal to you, then there are prebiotic supplements you may take. But clearly, the more natural the better.

Both probiotics and prebiotics deserve every hype they get, because despite their small nature, they are always involved in some mighty deed. The main byproducts when prebiotics are fermented are short chain fatty acids (SCFA), mainly lactic acid, butyric acid and propionic acid. These SCFAs are the main fatty acids that line the walls of the colon. They are also small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream, hence, being useful in other areas of the body.2 These SCFAs are acidic, and have the ability to reduce intestinal pH to about 5.5. At this pH, only the good bacteria survive, while most of the bad ones die off.⁴

Prebiotic derivatives, especially butyric, is a well-known nemesis of colorectal cancer, both in its incidence and proliferation. Studies have shown these SCFAs to increase the rate at which potentially cancerous cells in the gut are destroyed. At the same time, they increase the integrity and resilience of the cells in the epithelial barrier against cancerous activity.² By virtue of their increasing the number of good microbiota (such as Bifidobacteria), prebiotics are deemed to help reduces necrosis, cell death, and generally improve feeding tolerance of the gastrointestinal cells.

Prebiotics and their influence on gut microbiota also reduce chance of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). One study reports that a 5g/day consumption of prebiotics by participants increased the number of Bifidobacteria optimally to reduce the incidence of IBS.

Prebiotics surprisingly affects our mood. Apparently, there is a brain-gut interaction that is associated with the vagus nerve, the hormones and the immune system. Studies have shown that byproducts of prebiotic fermentation through these pathways can improve memory, mood and cognitive function in adults. They also affect the skin, reducing the incidence and severity of skin allergies, and improving cell adhesion.

Probiotics are also champions in their own respect, and though, they do not travel in the bloodstream as well, their effects are equally far-reaching. In the gut, their proliferation makes them simply out-compete harmful microbes that may be present, subduing their activity. They are also well known to deactivate potentially harmful toxins that may be present in food.

Probiotics link up with mucosal immune system to increase the production of antibodies and enhance the activity of phagocytosis. This and many other mechanisms lead to a substantial reduction of inflammatory response.⁴

Some studies indicate that probiotics may have positive effects on obesity and weight loss. However, there is concrete evidence that probiotics significantly reduce body cholesterol, as well as synthesize vitamins A and K.⁶

Bottomline, probiotics and prebiotics work in concert to potentiate the other. Key to remember, is that without prebiotic your good gut bacteria could suffer.