Do you Know the Difference Between Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Postbiotics?
You have probably heard about probiotics and prebiotics, but you still may be confused as to what exactly the difference is between these “biotics.” To make things even more challenging now there is a new “biotic” known as postbiotics.
Don’t worry this all may sound complicated, but we will break down each one and let you know all the key points you need to know.
Highlights
- Your body has trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses living inside you which are collectively known as your microbiome.
- Controlling and regulating your gut microbiome and keeping it in balance is essential for overall health!
- Probiotics are living microorganisms, while prebiotics and postbiotics are non-living.
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics are essential means by which you can modulate and balance your gut microbiota to receive numerous health benefits.
The importance of gut health
Before getting into each type of “biotic” it is essential to know up front that each one of these “biotics” are essential and play different and important roles in managing your overall gut health.
Why should we care about our gut health, you may ask?
Your body has trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses living inside you which are collectively known as your microbiome. While some bacteria and fungi can be associated with diseases, others can be vital for your immune system, heart, digestion, and overall health.
Changes in diet, antibiotic use, or invading pathogens can all agitate the gut microbiota, upsetting its delicate balance and encouraging the proliferation of potentially harmful microbes. This may lead to immune response impairment, disruption of immunological regulatory networks, and susceptibility to pathogenic invasion.
Natural defenses against gastrointestinal tract infections are provided by the human gut. Together, the intestinal epithelium, the mucosal immune system, and the gut microbiota make up a highly specialized multilayer barrier defense that coordinates critical processes to keep the gut in balance and guard against disturbance from pathogens.
Controlling and regulating your gut microbiome and keeping it in balance is essential for overall health!
Probiotics: building a better gut army
If you want to ensure that you stay healthy you need to make sure that you have the right makeup of microorganisms in your gut. These good microorganisms serve as your gut army, which can help fight against bad bacteria or invading microbes.
Probiotics are living microorganisms that you consume to increase the positive bacteria or fungi in your gut army.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the definition of probiotics is “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”
When you eat foods or supplements rich in probiotics you can think of it as enlisting new soldiers to your gut defenses.
Foods that are rich in probiotics are typically fermented foods such as:
- Yogurt,
- Kefir,
- Pickles,
- Miso,
- Kimchi,
- Sourdough bread,
- Kombucha,
- Sauerkraut.
When you eat these foods you are eating the microorganisms that are in them and adding them to your gut population. Probiotics can have a wide range of health benefits from boosting immunity and reducing inflammation, to helping digestion, lowering blood pressure, and even improving mental health!
Prebiotics: feeding your gut army
Now that you have all of these microorganisms helping you and keeping your gut balanced and healthy you need to feed them, so they stick around.
Prebiotics are just this, food for your gut microbiota.
So, what do these beneficial microorganisms in your gut army like to eat?
Dietary fiber, and just like big strong soldiers they eat a lot of it!
Prebiotics promote the production of nutrients for your colon cells by the microorganism in your gut, leading to a healthy digestive system. Short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate, and propionate are among these nutrients. Furthermore, your bloodstream may absorb these fatty acids, which has a positive effect on your metabolic health.
Here is a list of some of the best prebiotic foods:
- Oats,
- Barley,
- Bran,
- Bananas,
- Chickpeas,
- Garlic,
- Cabbage,
- Chicory,
- Almonds,
- Lentils.
If you want to sustain your gut army so that it can best defend you, it is essential that you feed them!
Postbiotics: auxiliary benefits of your gut defenses
Having a strong well-fed microorganism army can be beneficial even when they are not fighting invaders. They can help to build essential infrastructure and keep order.
According to the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), postbiotics can be defined as a “preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host.”
Postbiotics could also be described as “non-living microorganisms and their cell components, with or without metabolism products”
It is important to point out that consensus on the term “postbiotic” has been relatively recent and these non-living microorganisms have also been labeled by other names in the literature including, “paraprobiotics”, “ghost probiotics”, “non-viable probiotics”, and “inactivated/non-viable microbial cells.”
So, after you add good microorganisms to your gut with probiotics and then feed them with prebiotics you get an additional positive benefit in the form of postbiotics.
Postbiotics are usually formed from the following compounds:
- Short-chain fatty acids,
- Exopolysaccharides,
- Cell wall fragments,
- Functional Proteins,
- Vitamins.
Research on postbiotics is relatively new, therefore the health benefits and scope of use of this form of “biotic” are still not entirely explored. Most research on postbiotics focuses primarily on short-chain fatty acids such as:
- Butyrate
- Propionate
- Acetate
And their health benefits.
One of the major known benefits of postbiotics at this time is their immunomodulatory capability. Recent studies have found that certain postbiotics can reduce overall systemic inflammation.
Furthermore, postbiotics may be a safer alternative with similar physiological effects to probiotic administration as they do not have the potential risk of infection/bacteremia, and they do not have the possibility of transmitting antibiotic resistance genes.
Probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics: your building blocks for a balanced gut
To summarize, probiotics are living microorganisms, while prebiotics and postbiotics are non-living.
A growing prospect for the efficient treatment of many diseases involves focusing on your gut microbiota and microbiome. Probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics are essential means by which you can modulate and balance your gut microbiota in order to receive numerous health benefits not only in terms of digestion but overall mental and physical health.
The focus of the microbiome field is evolving from a straightforward descriptive investigation of commensal components to more molecular, cellular, and functional analyses as more research is conducted and researchers continue to find even more reasons why gut health is so intrinsic to overall health.
It’s also crucial to remember that many prebiotic foods may be consumed by vegans and those who follow other diets, enabling them to have a diversified, healthy diet that also fosters good gut health.
Therefore, probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics can help all people balance their gut microbiota to receive the immense benefits that it has to offer!
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8707144/
3. https://www.livestrong.com/article/13772471-postbiotics/
