You’ve probably noticed ‘with added probiotics’ or ‘with prebiotic fibre’ highlighted on the labels of many supermarket products recently… What’s it all about? Do they do the same thing? Which should we aim to get more of? Are they worth paying extra for?

First off, it’s important to understand that prebiotics and probiotics have different functions.

PREBIOTICS
Prebiotics are fibres found in foods we eat, like asparagus, onion and garlic. The human body can’t digest these fibres….but our gut microbes LOVE them.

Try thinking about adding extra prebiotics to your diet to help ‘feed’ your gut bugs…sort of like keeping a beloved pet alive, these microbes need to be fed the good stuff to function at their best!

PROBIOTICS
Probiotics are the actual live microbes themselves. We can eat extra probiotics in foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, yoghurt and kefir and this basically helps to add in extra ‘friends’ to the community of microbes we already have, to encourage diversity and stability.

WHICH ARE BETTER?
There’s no winner in this competition! Both pro and prebiotics have great potential health benefits and are definitely worth including in your diet.

SUPPLEMENTS?
There seems to be a pill for everything these days, but is taking a pre or probiotic supplement necessary?
…Not for most people!
Pre and probiotics occur naturally in many foods and drinks and are generally a lot cheaper to consume in this way. If you are, however, after a more targeted approach, or have specific concerns, please speak with your healthcare practitioner. 

If you’d like to learn more about various ways to improve your gut health, including increasing its diversity and resilience, sign up to our online course, which is currently free. Modules 2, 5 and 8 all contain more discussion around prebiotics, probiotics, and the latest science on why they can support a health gut microbiome.

Enter the code ‘HEALTHYBUB’ at checkout to receive 100% discount for all 10 modules of ‘Healthy Gut, Healthier Baby’.