Probiotics Vs Prebiotics – The Official Guide & Review

When it comes to taking care of your health, you may often find yourself hearing more about the benefits of using probiotics and prebiotics. And like any dietary addition, each comes with their benefits and drawbacks. For most people, eating well is usually enough, but for others, they can still fall short on getting enough vitamins and minerals. Probiotics and prebiotics are necessary for a healthy diet for this reason.

But can everyone benefit from using probiotics? Do you need to use both prebiotics and probiotics? Is one better than the other? Figuring out which is better can be tough. And with this in mind, let’s delve into what each of these healthy food components can do for you.

What are Probiotics?

Probiotics are types of live yeast and bacteria that support the body’s ability to build and maintain healthy gut microbiota. These probiotic microorganisms are otherwise known as good bacteria. A healthy gut is a part of what gives our bodies the strength to fight off bacteria, viruses, and even parasites.

Common types of probiotic supplements are Lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Saccharomyces boulardii.

What are the Health Benefits of Probiotics?

Taking probiotic supplements from ProbioticsReview.com or eating probiotic foods can do wonders for your gut health, but that is not all probiotics can do for you. Among the many health benefits, probiotics can provide the following:

• Improves certain mental health conditions

• Can help prevent and treat diarrhea

• Balance bacteria in your digestive system

• May reduce the severity of certain allergies and eczema

• May help reduce symptoms of certain types of digestive disorders

• Can help boost your immune system

• Some probiotic strains good for keeping your heart healthy

• Can help with maintaining a healthy weight and reduce belly fat

And while these benefits are great, nothing is ever perfect. Even probiotics have their side effects.

The Drawbacks of Including Probiotics in Your Diet

While probiotics are a decent addition to most people’s diets, some shouldn’t use probiotics. Probiotics, like any other supplementation, do have some drawbacks when it comes to using them. Children and adults that are either have a compromised immune system or severe illnesses should avoid using probiotics.

For some individuals, probiotics can cause fungal and bacterial infections.

Common Probiotic Foods You Can Add to Your Diet

When adding any type of new food into your diet, you might wonder which ones are probiotics?

You can find probiotics in the following foods:

• Sauerkraut

• Kefir

• Yogurt

• Tempeh

• Miso

• Kimchi

• Kombucha

• Traditional buttermilk

• Pickles

• Natto

• Soft and aged cheeses such as Gouda, mozzarella, gruyere, swiss, parmesan, cheddar, and cottage cheese

• Beet kvass

• Green olives

If you’re unable to eat these types of probiotics, there are supplements that you can take instead. Before you take any dietary supplement, you’ll want to check with your doctor first to ensure it is the right treatment option for you.

What is Prebiotics?

Prebiotics are the non-digestible parts of food that help promote the body’s growth of beneficial microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. Dietary fiber, from plant-based foods, are prebiotics that the human body’s microorganisms use as a food source. Prebiotics is often precursors to probiotics since the probiotic microorganisms often rely on prebiotics for growth and more.

What are the Health Benefits of Prebiotics?

Prebiotics are healthy in their own right since they are fiber. Fiber is important for cleansing the colon among other things. But keeping your colon and intestines healthy isn’t the only benefit you can get from including prebiotics.

Some other health benefits to adding prebiotics into your diet are:

• They enhance the production of certain vitamins

• Aid digestions and bowel regularity

• Increases absorption of calcium and magnesium

• Increases bone density for stronger bones

• Helps decrease bad gut bacteria

• It aids in reducing blood triglyceride levels

• Aids in preventing the leaky gut syndrome

• May help reduce intestinal infections and inflammation

• May help those who suffer from anxiety

• Helps with maintaining healthy weight and appetite

• Can help enhance and strengthen the immune system

• May help those who struggle to fall asleep or remain asleep

Looking at all these benefits you might be wondering what side effects prebiotics could have?

The Drawbacks to Including Prebiotics in Your Diet

Prebiotics are helpful in many ways, but even the best things have their downsides. Prebiotics can cause abdominal bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and discomfort. This effect comes from the fact that prebiotics promotes healthy flatulence, which may not be ideal for some people.

For those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, prebiotics may worsen symptoms. And if you have either FODMAPs intolerance or sensitive intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO), you’ll need to avoid eating too many prebiotics as well.

Prebiotic Foods You Don’t Want to Miss

If you’re on the hunt for the best prebiotic foods, then you’ll want to check out the following list for natural sources of prebiotics.

• Raw onions

• Cooked onions

• Raw leeks

• Bananas

• Chicory root powder

• Raw garlic cloves

• Jerusalem artichoke

• Raw asparagus

• Whole wheat flour

• Dandelion greens

• Oats

• Barley

• Apples

• Konjac root

• Burdock root

• Cocoa

• Flaxseeds

• Yakon root

• Jicama root

• Wheat bran

• Seaweed

If you can’t eat most of these foods, there are prebiotic supplements and prediction-fortified foods that you can include in your diet too. If you intend on taking any type of prebiotic supplement, make sure to check with your doctor first before pursuing further supplementation.

Should You Combine Probiotics and Prebiotics?

While you could be eating one or the other, you can combine both probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics and prebiotics are part of microbiome therapy. Taking probiotics and prebiotics together is ideal for those recovering from anti-biotics. This form of treatment is also useful for those who suffer from gastrointestinal conditions.

Final Thoughts

All in all, choosing between probiotics and prebiotics is far easier than you might think. After all, to get the most out of probiotics, you'll need to include prebiotics into your diet. And with this in mind, we hope this guide is of help for understanding the similarities and differences of probiotics and prebiotics.