Probiotics and prebiotics are different. You need both to keep you healthy. Do you know the difference? Many people get confused as to what these are and why we need them. It is important to be responsible for your health and understand what you need to keep you healthy.
Probiotics are small bacteria that are good bacteria to keep you healthy. These need to be eaten or taken in supplement form and there are many different types or strains that have different benefits for your body. The two most common strains of probiotics that you will find in supplements are lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. These probiotics can include everything from helping your immunity to fight cancer to reducing your inflammation in arthritis and keeping your brain healthy.
They are necessary in the body to keep out harmful bacteria such as yeast that can cause problems in the intestines.
This is one of the reasons people need to test for their sensitivities because without the test you really don’t know what foods are causing you inflammation and making you ill in the long term.
If you want to increase your probiotic levels in the body you can do so by eating foods such as sauerkraut, miso, and yoghurt. You need to make sure the yoghurt you buy is a live culture with the probiotics in them. When buying sauerkraut or any of these foods they should be refrigerated to ensure maximum probiotic benefits.
Sometimes however probiotics are not enough. Whilst eating these or other unheated, unpasteurized fermented food you may be so depleted that you need to take the supplement to raise the level of probiotics. These supplements will help you fight off harmful bacteria.
Prebiotics are what the probiotics feed on. Prebiotics are actually sugar, starches and fibre that are in all plant-based foods. This can include fruits, whole grains and beans. If you are regularly eating these foods then your body will most likely have enough prebiotics to feed the probiotics in the body for them to work properly. Foods that contain large amounts of prebiotics are leeks, artichokes, garlic and bananas. So it is important to eat these foods and drinking plenty of water to keep the probiotics working properly and your body healthy.
