Prebiotics vs. Probiotics: Why Do You Need Them?

Prebiotics and probiotics play a crucial role in gut health, while both support your digestive system, prebiotics are fibers that feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut, and probiotics are live bacteria that help maintain a healthy balance.

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Proper gut health impacts everything from digestion to your immune system, so it’s essential to include these nutrients in your daily meals. Keep reading to find where you can find them in your diet and their key health benefits, along with potential consequences of not getting enough prebiotics and probiotics in your diet.

What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are live, beneficial bacteria that help maintain the balance of good bacteria in your gut.

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Benefits of Probiotics:

Improves Digestion: Probiotics help break down food and reduce bloating and gas.
Restores Gut Balance: They are especially helpful after taking antibiotics, which can kill both bad and good bacteria.
Boosts Immune Health: Probiotics help the body by boosting immunity and protecting the gut. They work by producing substances that kill harmful bacteria, competing with pathogens for space and nutrients, and strengthening the gut barrier. Probiotics can also increase helpful immune responses, like producing antibodies and reducing inflammation.
Improve eczema: evidence suggests that the use of probiotics during pregnancy might reduce the risk of developing atopic dermatitis in children during infancy.
Improve lipid profile: reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels.
Decrease risk of developing IBD: Some research suggests that keeping the balance of good bacteria in your gut might help prevent Inflammatory bowel disease.

Probiotics can be found in both foods and dietary supplements.

Foods Rich in Probiotics:

Yogurt with live active cultures
Kefir
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Miso
Tempeh
Yeast

What Are Prebiotics?

different vegetables and fruits on a tan background, depicting sources of prebiotics

Prebiotics are types of fiber that the body can’t digest. They act as food for the good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut (stomach, small and large intestine), helping them grow and thrive.

There are many different types of prebiotics that naturally exist in different foods such as fruits, vegetables and milk.

Benefits of Prebiotics

Prebiotics break down into small molecules that enter blood circulation. For this reason, they have an impact beyond your gut health.

Supports Digestive Health: By feeding the good bacteria, prebiotics help promote a healthy digestive system.
Boosts Immune System: A healthy gut boosts your overall immune function. Studies have shown that prebiotics are able to cross the placenta during pregnancy and may influence the development of the baby’s immune system.
Improves Nutrient Absorption: Prebiotics help your body absorb essential minerals like calcium and magnesium.
Improve Lipid profile: prebiotics help decrease total cholesterol levels, and LDL levels.
Impact on the brain: prebiotics help with mood, learning, cognition and memory.
Cancer prevention: some studies have shown that prebiotics can have a protective effect against colorectal cancer.

In studies, prebiotics helped manage conditions like obesity and NAFLD by improving gut bacteria, reducing inflammation, and promoting insulin sensitivity. They also support calcium absorption, potentially reducing osteoporosis risks. Prebiotics positively influence glucose balance and gut barrier integrity, but more research is needed to confirm long-term benefits in humans.

Foods Rich in Prebiotics:

Fruits: Bananas, apples, tomatoes
Vegetables: Onions, Garlic, Asparagus, sugar beets, artichokes
Whole grains: oats, barley, peas, beans
Cow’s milk, honey, seaweeds and microalgae
Sodas: OLIPOP, Poppi, Wildwonder, Mayawell

Fiber Recommended intake

Women 25 grams of fiber each day.
Men 38 grams of fiber each day.

A good rule is to eat about 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume.

What Happens if they’re not included in your diet?

Without enough prebiotics and probiotics in your diet you may experience digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, or diarrhea and an imbalance of gut bacteria (dysbiosis) may occur, leading to a weakened immune system.

Including both prebiotics and probiotics in your diet is essential for maintaining overall health, particularly for your digestive and immune systems.

image with hands holding a pink cutout of a gut describing the benefits of pro and prebiotics

FAQ

Do you need to use dietary supplements?

Whether you need to take prebiotics or probiotics depends on your individual health needs and diet. If your diet is low in fiber, adding prebiotic foods or supplements could be beneficial.

If you’ve been taking antibiotics, have digestive issues, or want to support your gut health, a probiotic supplement could help restore the balance of good bacteria in your gut.

Can you take probiotics and prebiotics together?

Yes, you can take probiotics and prebiotics together, and they actually work well as a team.

This combination is sometimes called a symbiotic because prebiotics and probiotics work together to support a healthy digestive system. Taking both can help with digestion, boost your immune system, and keep your gut healthy.

Can you take probiotics with antibiotics?

Yes, since probiotics replenish the natural gut flora you can take probiotics with antibiotics. In fact, it’s often recommended to help reduce the negative effects antibiotics can have on your gut bacteria.

However, it’s important to take probiotics and antibiotics a few hours apart to avoid antibiotics killing the probiotics right away. Remember to consult your doctor before starting probiotics and antibiotics, especially if you have specific health conditions.

How are prebiotics and probiotics regulated in the United States?

The FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they hit the market. However, once a supplement is being sold, the FDA can take action if it finds that the product is unsafe or mislabeled.

This means that the companies making the supplements are responsible for ensuring their products meet safety and labeling standards, but the FDA steps in if there are issues after the products are available.

How to choose a good probiotic supplement?

Probiotics are measured in colony forming units (CFU), which show how many live bacteria cells are in a product. Many probiotic supplements have between 1 to 10 billion CFU per dose. However, 5 billion colony-forming units have shown to be more effective.