PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS FOR OPTIMAL GUT HEALTH

By: Dr Kenneth Smith PH.D.

Have you ever experienced a “sour” stomach? You may have experienced this leading up to, during, or after a high pressure event, in a hot environment, or when participating in a long duration race.  Do you have acne you can’t seem to eliminate with topicals? Gas or bloating and irregular bowel movements? How about anxiety or depression? These are all possible symptoms of a gut biome that is screaming for some help. Before we take a look at things that impact gut biome remember, as with anything concerning your health be sure to talk with your doctor before making any changes. While gut health is important and can result in some of the things mentioned above there could be something else going on. The following information is simply educational and not intended to diagnose.

A healthy gut biome is important to looking, feeling, and performing your best. 

There are currently many products available on the market that mention the benefits to your gut health. We see things like “packed with probiotics'' or “prebiotic fiber that can help your gut”. But what are these things and how are they different from one another? We are here to give you a quick guide to a few of these terms to help you understand food labels a little bit better.

PROBIOTICS: Probiotics behave a bit differently than some of the other nutrients we have discussed, and for good reason.. They’re ALIVE! Unlike fiber or prebiotics, probiotics are actually living organisms.

When combined, probiotics can be broadly defined as bacteria, a huge family of microorganisms. What separates probiotics from other types of bacteria is that they support a healthy state of being in the host. In other words, the probiotics that have a positive impact on you are “good germs”. Within the probiotic umbrella are many types of bacteria, most commonly from bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, and saccharomyces families of bacteria! You will see these terms if you look at the nutrition panel on a yogurt or probiotic supplement. Probiotics found in foods are not just any members of the above families, they are very specific, have been studied and determined to be safe for consumption. 

Now that you know WHAT probiotics are, lets look at how they can help with sour stomach, gas/bloating, and acne.

Benefits of Probiotics:

• Balances the friendly bacteria in your digestive system- We all have good and bad bacteria in our guts.

• Helps prevent diarrhea - a stronger gut can lead to less issues in training and on race day

• Growing clinical research is linking gut health to decreased anxiety and depression- The gut and brain are intimately connected.

• Improves heart health by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure

• Can reduce the severity of certain allergies, eczema, and acne, resulting in better looking skin!

• Can support reduced symptoms of certain digestive disorders (bloating, gas, constipation)

• Bolsters the immune system = Less missed training days due to being sick!

• Helps with weight-loss and belly fat reduction

How is it possible that some tiny living organisms can alleviate some or all of these symptoms? Simply put, because they make your body more efficient. If your body struggles to break down foods and eliminate waste efficiently, it gets backed up and puts stress on all of your other systems. By ensuring you have probiotics in your diet, you’re helping your body operate more efficiently by reducing the stress on all of your other systems.

Sounds like an easy fix, right? Before you dive in and find yourself in the probiotic supplement section at the store, beware: probiotic supplements are expensive! Not to say they’re not worth it- if you have consistent or more extreme symptoms, you may need to consider this, but typically, inserting the right foods into your diet will have the same effect without breaking the bank!

Probiotic Foods:

• Sourdough bread

• Cottage Cheese

• Pickled vegetables

• Yogurts (with no added sugar, or sugar free)

• Kefir

• Miso

• Kimchi

• Sauerkraut (Very high in Vitamin C)

• Kombucha

• Tempeh

Tips to Help with Absorption (if using a probiotic supplement):

The foods above have a fail safe for absorption because the probiotics are combined with other nutrients and substances, but if you’re choosing to supplement, it’s important to be aware that some probiotics can be destroyed by the stomach acid before even reaching the gut. Being sure you are consuming adequate amounts and taking them on an empty stomach will ensure the best absorption. Most of the studies showing benefits from probiotic supplementation used dosages of 1 billion to 100 billion live organisms or colony-forming units (CFU) per day. These numbers can be found on the nutrition labels. Remember to consult with your physician before beginning any supplement.

PREBIOTICS: Prebiotics are to probiotics as fertilizer is to seeds. Probiotics flourish when paired with prebiotics. Prebiotics are generally thought of as substrates utilized by microorganisms that have a health benefit. In other words they are the material that probiotics consume, therefore making probiotics more effective. Your gut biome can be thought of as a city of workers. Billions of workers. 

So, where do we find these prebiotics in our daily diets? While there are some non-fiber prebiotics like lactulose, many prebiotics are one type of soluble dietary fiber- so can be found in fiber rich foods (see fiber article). However, prebiotic fibers differ from other dietary fibers because they are digested by microbes (food for probiotics) whereas dietary fibers are not digested by humans or microbes.

In foods like yogurt, cereal or bread it is common for the prebiotics listed as extracts from natural sources like jerusalem root or chicory. On other labels, these might appear strange and will have names like fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), oligofructose (OF), chicory root fiber or inulin. One great thing is that these ingredients by nature are water soluble and easily extracted from the natural sources so while their scientific names might sound complex, finding them in nature and retrieving them from plants is pretty simple and extremely beneficial when paired with probiotic foods. An interesting reference can be found here.

Prebiotic Benefits (2):

• Improved digestive health 

• Better mineral absorption 

• Immune system support

• Regulated appetite 

Prebiotic Foods:

• Onions

• Garlic

• Bananas

• Chicory root

• Asparagus

• Berries

• Flax seeds

• Legumes

Get your gut biome flourishing today! Mix prebiotic and probiotic rich foods to achieve the greatest benefits. Start by intentionally incorporating these foods into your diet 2 days a week and slowly increase as you get more adventurous and comfortable with these foods. Below are a few ideas you get you started, there are a few comfort food options included.

Meal Ideas with pre- and probiotics:

Breakfast/Lunch: 

• Peanut Butter and Bananas on Sourdough Bread

• Cottage cheese 

• Yogurt with fresh fruit (blueberries and/or strawberries)

Some Holiday Favorites for Lunch/Dinner: 

• Well-sourced bratwursts with sauteed garlic and onions

and topped with sauerkraut (yes, you can put these on a

gf or whole grain brat bun). Add a side salad to this 

nutritious meal that can support your gut.

• Reubens- Replace rye bread with sourdough bread, then

add nitrate/nitrite free turkey or corned beef, sauerkraut, 

mayonnaise, and swiss cheese to enjoy this delicious 

lunch and/or dinner delight.

• Polish Sausage sauteed with onions and garlic, with 

  sauerkraut and boiled potatoes

Thanks for reading!

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrgastro.2014.66

2. ISAPPscience.org/prebiotics