By United Supermarkets Dietitian Team
Probiotics and prebiotics are both important nutrients that play a role in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. The gut microbiome consists of the complex community of different types of good bacteria in your large intestine. Pre and probiotics often get confused together, so what’s the difference? To put it simply, think of probiotics being live beneficial bacteria, and prebiotics as the food that the probiotic bacteria eats and thrives off of. There’s also synbiotics, which are a combination of both which are usually a special formulation or supplement.
Common foods that naturally contain healthy probiotics include kefir, yogurt with live cultures, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut. Common strains of live bacteria found in these foods include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus coagulans, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus which can be found on the food labels as live active cultures. Prebiotics on the other hand are dietary fibers that are not fully digested in the gut and include foods such as oats, bananas, onions, chicory root, inulin and fructo-oligosacarides and more. Probiotics feed off of these prebiotic fibers in the gut and as a result, produce short chain fatty acids as a by-product. Common short chain fatty acids that are produced include butyrate, acetate, and propionate. Researchers are currently exploring just how and why these byproducts can have anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects on the body.
Current research has shown links between certain strains of bacteria with positive effects of mood. For example, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve mood. Research on the relationship between mood and probiotics is based on the idea that the gut and brain are connected in certain ways, better known as the gut-brain axis.
What if I don’t eat foods that contain probiotics very often? Does that mean my gut microbiome is out of whack? Not at all. Consuming a healthy balanced diet with plenty of whole fruits, vegetables and whole grains and dairy provides a great foundation to have a healthy gut microbiome. If you feed your current bacteria with good prebiotics, you will get a healthy gut in return, no probiotic supplement needed! However, that’s not to say a probiotic supplement has no place in the diet, as it certainly can help in certain situations. It’s a good idea to talk with your doctor before taking a probiotic or synbiotic supplement.
Pineapple and Coconut Yogurt Parfait
Ingredients
1, 5.3 oz Chobani Pineapple Greek Yogurt
1/4 c. canned pineapple
1/4 small Banana (about 1/4 c.)
2/3 c. Kashi Go Honey Almond Cereal
1 Tbsp. Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Directions
Slice bananas and pineapple and mix together.
Mix together granola and unsweetened coconut.
Layer ingredients in the following order in your mason jar: yogurt, half of the granola, fruit, yogurt, and the other half of granola.
