Prebiotics, Probiotics & Symbiotics-Know the Difference & Health Benefits

The human intestinal tract has been colonized by thousands of species of bacteria during the coevolution of man and microbes. Perturbation of the intestinal microbiota may lead to chronic diseases such as autoimmune diseases, colon cancers, gastric ulcers, cardiovascular disease, functional bowel diseases, and obesity. Restoration of the gut microbiota may be difficult to accomplish. These types of bacteria help our body in various ways which is why it is important to know the difference between them and understand their health benefits.

Difference between prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics.
Probiotics are bacteria that help in improving the microbial balance and help to maintain good gut health. In other words, these are live organisms that, when administered in adequate amounts can bring health benefits to the host. Probiotics colonize your intestine and clean it thus avoiding diseases such as constipation, diarrhea, etc.

Prebiotics. Majority of prebiotics are nondigestible fibers that provide nourishment for beneficial bacteria. They act as fertilizer for your probiotics.

Synbiotics are the food ingredients or dietary supplements having both probiotics and prebiotics in a form of synergism, hence synbiotics. Synbiotics is a balanced relationship between probiotics and prebiotics to increase efficiency and maximize output.

Do you need probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics?
When prebiotics are added to the probiotics, there is improved viability of the probiotic. This means that if you combine probiotics with prebiotic “food,” for those probiotics, it might be more likely to survive and plant its flag in your gut. This indicates that you should always keep a healthy amount of probiotics and consume a healthy amount of prebiotic fiber for the probiotics, eventually, this process becomes symbiotic.

Potential benefits of probiotics have been seen in the treatment or prevention of

• diarrhea
• irritable bowel syndrome
• ulcerative colitis
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcer causing organisms
• vaginal infections
• urinary tract infections
• recurrence of bladder cancer
• infection of the digestive tract

Over to you.
Having good gut health is important, the major reason being to Avoid infections and diseases. We can look after our gut health by having plenty of good bacteria or ‘probiotics’. Probiotics carry out their functions efficiently when they are nourished by Fiber-rich prebiotics. Follow the above-mentioned article to maximize the synergy between the two, thus consuming synbiotic products and make your gut a healthy place.