Believe it or not, you have bacteria living within your gut…millions of them! While some of them are harmful and could cause diseases, a good part of them (about 400 strains) are actually beneficial. Matter of fact, they work ‘round the clock to keep the bad bacteria as well as yeast at bay…preventing it from multiplying and reproducing to threatening levels.

These friendly and beneficial bacteria also help pump out Vitamin K while keeping your immune and defensive systems functioning in tip top shape.

Usually, your body will be flourishing with friendly and beneficial probiotics. HOWEVER, through antibiotic therapy, poor food choices, stress, and other not so friendly factors, we suffer from intestinal dysbiosis. Just in case you don’t know, dysbiosis refers to the bacterial imbalance that result when the bad and not so friendly bacteria together with yeast outnumber and overpower the good ones.

HOWEVER, fear not! Probiotic and prebiotic foods can restore the balance of bacteria in your digestive and intestinal tract. BUT before we move on and check out how probiotic and prebiotic helps us, let’s define them first for those who don’t have even the foggiest idea what they are.

Probiotics DEFINED!
Probiotics are beneficial and friendly strains of bacteria that can be found in the food you eat. When you consume probiotics, those friendly and healthy bacteria are added in your intestinal tract. Some of the most common strains of probiotics are Lactobacillus as well as Bifidobacterium families of micro organisms.

Prebiotics DEFINED!
Prebiotics, on the other hand, are non digestible foods that travel all the way to your digestive system. Prebiotics are consumed…used by good bacteria for them to grow and flourish. YES, probiotics also need to feed, and prebiotics keep them healthy and in tip top shape.

Including Prebiotics In Your Diet
The prebiotics that feed and keep the beneficial bacteria in your gut originate mostly from the carbohydrate fibers that are known as oligosaccharides. As mentioned earlier, you don’t digest oligosaccharides. With that in mind, they remain in your digestive system to stimulate the proliferation of probiotics.

Wondering what are excellent sources of prebiotics?

Let me name a few for you – the excellent sources of oligosaccharides include fruits, legumes, as well as whole grains. There are supplements like fructo oligosaccharised that you can take as a supplement. Alternatively, you can also add them to the food you eat. Another good source of both probiotic AND prebiotic would be yogurt that is made with bifidobacteria. These yogurt products naturally contain oligosaccharides.

Including Probiotics In Your Diet
Good and beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium are naturally found in fermented foods and dishes like sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, and more. HOWEVER, with more and more knowledge about probiotics being uncovered, the demand for more probiotic foods and supplements are now on the rise.

Nowadays, you would find candy bars, granola, drinks, etc. that contain live cultures of probiotics. Just make sure that it says “Live Cultures” on the label to make sure you are getting live probiotics.