Are you confused by the difference between probiotics and prebiotics? While both contribute to a healthy colon, these substances differ from each other and serve different functions in the intestinal tract.
What are Probiotics and Prebiotics?
A prebiotic is a special type of not soluble fiber found in many fruits and vegetables that is used as nourishment by probiotics. Probiotics are delicate, living microorganisms found in fermented foods such as yogurt. They are affected by age, acid or heat. In addition eating too much foods rich in refined sugar, refined carbohydrates and complex starches also harm probiotics.
Benefits of Probiotics
Probiotics help the body synthesize some vitamins of group B, vitamin D and vitamin K. They help your immune system work properly and play a major role in encouraging healthy pH levels in the intestinal tract. Probiotics set up barriers against toxic substances and allergens making it difficult for these molecules to pass through. They can also alleviate intestinal inflammation and correct problems with diarrhea.
What Types of Probiotics Should I Look For?
There are only 3 types of bacteria that set up permanent colonies in the human intestines, so be sure to check for the presence of the ones below because most probiotics available in the market do not contain them or have a lot of different bacterial cultures which limit their grown mutually…
The ones you should look for are:
- Lactobacillus:Â l. acidophilus and l. rhamnosus
- Bifidobacterium: b. bifidum, b. longum, b. breve and b. infantis
- Enterococcus faecium
What Types of Prebiotics Should I Look For?
- Tomatoes
- Artichokes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Barley
- Bananas
What is the Best Probiotic Supplement
You can receive some probiotic benefit from homemade fresh yogurt (we’ll teach how to make it at home in the next news-letters) or by taking some probiotic supplements. From the ones we checked, we recommend you buy these: Culturelle Probiotic, Nutraelle Digestive Care and the best product on the market today is PB 8. It’s a nice blend of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium cultures designed to deliver the proper amount to keep your intestinal tract healthy.
