Probiotics and prebiotics are some of the hottest topics (and supplements) in the wellness world right now, but what do you need to know before you take the plunge? Thanks to recent research, we now know how important our gut health is to not just our bowel movements, but to our energy, mood, libido, cognitive function, and hormones too, so it's time we started taking better care of it. Probiotics and prebiotics have entered the chat.
WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS?
“Probiotics are live microorganisms (beneficial bacteria) that inhabit our gut,” says nutritionist Hannah Cartwright, whereas, “Prebiotics are the food and fuel for the beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in our gut.” Probiotics can be taken in pill form as a supplement or through your diet in the form of fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kombucha, kimchi, and pickles. Prebiotics feed good gut bacteria and are found in fruits, vegetables, and plant-based, high-fiber foods.
Our gut is made up of trillions of microbes or bacteria, often referred to as gut flora. They make up your gut microbiome – the health of which is super important for key bodily functions, including how easily you can avoid getting sick, and how you feel, act and behave.
Gut health coach, Dr. Sunni Patel tells us how prebiotics can support probiotics. “Prebiotic fiber (in fructan rich foods like banana, oats, onions, Jerusalem artichokes) is a valuable fuel source for the trillions of gut bacteria by helping to create short-chain fatty acids like butyrate.” These fatty acids go into your bloodstream and improve your metabolic health, colon health, blood sugar levels, can aid weight loss, and even affect brain neuroplasticity.
ARE PROBIOTICS WORTH TAKING?
If you want to improve your overall health and wellbeing, yes. “High-quality probiotics can help to restore an unhealthy gut into balance. We want to make sure that we are feeding our gut bacteria with high-quality probiotics each day to bring our gut health back in balance,” says holistic lifestyle coach, Holly Zoccolan.
Cartwright explains why a healthy, balanced gut is so important. “Probiotics have a huge amount of health benefits when consumed for our body and brain, including improved digestive health, reduced depressive symptoms, and promoting heart health. If we don't have a healthy gut, so many other systems in our body are affected. 70% of our immune system lies along with the gut so good gut health also strengthens our immune system.”
Your gut health could be out of whack for several reasons including eating lots of processed food like takeaways and ready meals, consuming lots of alcohol, smoking, taking antibiotics, hormones, stress and not getting enough sleep.
If you’ve had a bodily complaint recently that won’t go away, it’s worth taking a look at your gut health. The gut and the brain are constantly in communication with each other which explains why, when you’ve got gut issues, you’re probably suffering from other frustrating health woes like stress, depression, eczema, psoriasis, breakouts, or yeast infections.
Dietician Christa Brown says, “Probiotics help crowd out harmful bacteria that may cause gastrointestinal infections. Many of my clients who incorporate more probiotics and prebiotics in their diet notice reduced constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. They also notice having more energy and overall feel less gastrointestinal distress.”
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR PROBIOTICS TO WORK?
“Because everyone's gut is different, not everyone reacts to prebiotics and probiotics in the same manner. The length of time it will take for noticeable changes is determined by your symptoms, strains of probiotics, and a variety of prebiotics. Signs that you’re gut health is improving are regular stools, less bloating, stable mood, better immunity, clearer skin, fewer yeast infections,” says nutritionist Ami Sheward.
"Supplementation timeframe can vary, but on average 8-12 weeks is a good length of time before you reassess the effectiveness. To get the best results probiotic supplementation should be accompanied by diet and lifestyle adjustments to reduce stress, improve diversity of diet, sleep well and include moderate exercise,” says Tweeddale. Over time, probiotics and prebiotics should increase the good bacteria, remove the bad bacteria and reduce inflammation in your gut microbiome to make for healthier bodily functions, not just in your digestion but all around your body.
HOW TO SUPPORT A HEALTHY GUT
“I recommend trying 30 different plant-based foods each week (this can also include herbs and spices) to increase the diversity and variety of your gut microbes and ensure all are happy – we want to feed them all, not just one group. Stress and sleep are also very important and play a huge role in gut health so it is important to look at your lifestyle as well as your nutrition,” Cartwright says.
“If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, try to swap out one cup a day for an organic green tea, a hot chocolate made with cacao powder, or a mushroom latte for an added prebiotic boost,” says nutritional therapist Maija Tweeddale.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROBIOTIC
“It might be a bit of trial and error. Each probiotic has a different strain so you might need to try a few before you see results. What works for your best friend might not necessarily work for you because you're unique and your gut microbiome is individual to you,” says Cartwright.
Probiotics like to have their friends around. They’re sociable creatures who ‘talk’ to each other via chemical signals and if they sense there are more of their kind around, they’ll start to build a colony. If they don’t get that sense of community then they won’t stick around. So, while it’s tempting to take a product that offers many different strains of probiotics at once, this could be inefficient as there probably won’t be enough of any one strain to create that sense of community and colonization,” says Tweeddale.
Step-by-step guide to choosing the right probiotic supplement for a healthy gut
1. Make healthy changes to your lifestyle and nutrition by eating a well-balanced diet, improving sleep, and reducing stress levels.
2. Research specific bacterial cultures for prebiotic supplements according to your specific symptoms (gut or otherwise!) “Look for a product that has been tested for the problem you're trying to solve,” says Sheward.
3. Look for independent clinical trials into the specific product and brand before buying.
4. Pay attention to the CFU number (Colony Forming Units) – they should be in the billions to make it through the digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid. “Choose probiotics that have at least 1 billion colony forming units and contain the Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, or Saccharomyces Boulardii, which are some of the most researched probiotics,” says Sheward.
5. Remember that probiotics won’t fix your complaints overnight. It might take months to get your gut back on track as your body adjusts to lifestyle and nutrition changes.
Probiotic power
When a healthy gut means improved digestive issues, less bloating, better mood and energy, stronger immunity, clearer skin, and fewer yeast infections, incorporating probiotics and prebiotics could be a queue-jump to your best, healthy self. Look after your gut health, and it’ll look after you.
