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Contributed by: Priyaish Srivastava

What are prebiotics and probiotics?

A healthy stomach is important for general health, and the health of your stomach is mostly determined by what you eat. Vitamins, minerals, carbs, proteins, fat, and water-rich foods provide you the energy you need to go through your day and keep your body healthy.

Apart from all these important and healthy elements for your fitness, prebiotics plays an essential role in maintaining and improving your gut health. Prebiotics are the healthy fiber that supports the functioning of good bacteria (probiotics) in your stomach to make your digestive system healthier.

Your abdomen is full of both good and bad bacteria. Probiotics are good bacteria that are born and bred inside your body. They help fight against any virus or disease that affects your immunity and causes infection. When your immune system gets attacked by infectious ailments it indicates that you have more bad bacteria than good. Good bacteria or probiotics helps eliminate these bad bacteria and bringing the balance back.

Importance of prebiotics

Prebiotics promotes the health of beneficial bacteria in your gut, that aids in holding your immune system strong to fight against any infection-causing viruses by keeping your digestive system healthy. Prebiotics support in keeping the stomach thriving in the following ways-

Assists in calcium absorption
Helps in controlling the blood sugar level and protecting you from diabetes
Provide energy to digest food faster (fermentation). This eliminates the chances of contracting constipation
Promotes the health of good bacteria that keeps your gut healthy

Importance of probiotics

Probiotics are microorganisms that live in your stomach and help to keep your digestive system healthy. According to studies, your general health and sickness are mostly influenced by your digestion, and probiotic bacteria not only aid in healthy ingestion and the battle against infectious viruses but also assist you in the following ways:

Help and balance the presence of friendly bacteria in your stomach
Helps in preventing and curing your stomach of diseases like diarrhea
They may also promote your mental health and heart health
Probiotics can prevent you from allergies and eczema
Probiotics may help promote your immunity and maintain body weight

Importance of a healthy gut

Your gut is full of bacteria, fungi, and viruses (commonly termed microbiomes) and they are responsible for your overall health and body functioning. Some bacteria can cause certain serious and non-serious diseases and some bacteria prevent you from these diseases.

The gut microbiome is present in your body from the time of your birth and mutates as you keep growing. Researches have proved that the more microbiome you have in your body, the healthier your stomach will be. It is crucial to remember that the health of your beneficial bacteria is mostly determined by the foods you eat.

A sizeable increase in the gut microbiome affects your health in various ways, such as:

It promotes your heart health and mental health
It improves your overall body functioning
Increases your immunity power
Improves your body weight
Good gut health aids in maintaining the health of the baby in the womb
It helps the newborn babies in the digestion of breast milk
Makes your digestive tract healthier
It promotes your brain health

Fun Fact: The weight of the overall microbiome present in your body can be 1-2 kilos. This is roughly the weight of your brain.

Which foods contain prebiotics?

It is important to consume foods rich in prebiotics to promote the health of good bacteria. Some of them are-

Cornflower
Jerusalem artichoke
Garlic, onion, and spring onions
Savoy cabbage
Chickpeas and lentils
Red kidney beans, soybeans, and baked beans
Banana, watermelon, custard apples, and grapefruit
Bran, barley, and oats

Which foods contain probiotics?

Probiotics are live bacteria present in your stomach. It promotes your heart health, reduces depression, and improves digestive health. Here are a few food products that are rich in probiotics-

Yogurt
Kefir
Fermented soybean products (tempeh)
Kombucha (green or black tea)
Pickles
Buttermilk

What if you don’t consume enough prebiotics and probiotics?

When your body does not obtain enough nutrients to support the health of beneficial bacteria in your stomach, the impacts of bad bacteria on your body become more pronounced. If you don’t have enough beneficial bacteria, you could notice the following symptoms:

Digestive issues (diarrhea or constipation)
Can affect heart health
An upset stomach can affect your work-life like school, college, or office
Frequent symptoms of nausea and fatigue
Affect mental health
Can make you prone to viral diseases
Can cause infections
Frequent abdominal pain

Closing Thoughts

Taking supplements to promote the health of beneficial bacteria is also an option. But you may not find the word ‘prebiotic’ or ‘probiotic’ on those supplements. You should look for some alternative terms on the label like-