Why you need PREbiotics and PRObiotics

Why you need PREbiotics and PRObiotics…

I think we’ve all heard by now the fact that 70% of our immune system is located in the gut!

But have you actually thought about what the means and what you need to do to support it?

Unfortunately, the standard American diet doesn’t feed the good bacteria and help them grow, but rather triggers inflammation, further disrupting the balance of good and bad bacteria. The foods we eat are imperative for supporting our gut integrity and gut microbiota!

Scientific evidence shows that the types of food that you eat will directly determine the levels of certain bacteria in your gut, and therefore the diet and food you choose will either support and strengthen your immune system or weaken your defense system.  It’s important to help beneficial bacteria flourish by ingesting probiotic foods or supplements that contain the “good” GI bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacillus species, and by consuming the high soluble fiber foods that good bugs like to eat, called prebiotics.

Prebiotics are food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms already in the colon. 

Prebiotics feed Probiotics!

Examples of these foods that have a high inulin (soluble dietary fiber content) include: artichokes, garlic, leeks, onions, and bananas. But I commonly get asked if someone can take a prebiotic supplement.

Taking a quality probiotic is key in conjunction with a quality diet. Unfortunately, considering our lifestyle and the frequent use of antibiotics, I always recommend supplementing with a probiotic long term. Once your good bacteria have been killed off or altered, the damage is typically permanent and the best way to ensure re-inoculation is with a quality probiotic.

I’ve personally done so much research to find the right probiotic/prebiotic supplement and absolutely love Biomunity™!!

Biomunity™ provides a comprehensive prebiotic supplement that delivers both soluble and insoluble fibers. This unique blend of functional dietary fibers feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome and helps them thrive in the intestines. In addition, the program comes with a complete probiotic supplement containing 50 Billion Live Colony Forming Units (CFUs) per capsule, and a well-studied blend of 5 probiotic bacterial strains that clinical testing has shown to be highly effective at helping maintain healthy immune system function. To ensure that the probiotic bacteria are not destroyed by gastric or bile acids before they are released into the bowel, Biomunity™ is delivered in an acid-resistant capsule. 

I also love that Biomunity provide the background on the probiotic Genus, species AND STRAIN!!

This is how you should read a bacterium on a supplement bottle:

1. Genus: Lactobacillus
2. Species: acidophilus
3. Strain: KB27

This is critical because characteristics of a probiotic are STRAIN specific, so companies that don’t provide this information should lead you to question the impact of the product.  Key aspects of specific strains are related to:

• shelf stability
• resistance to gastric acid and bile salts
• adherence capacity & method of adherence
• colonization capacity
• ability to produce anti-microbial compounds
• Clinical efficacy

You can also go to BIOMUNITY website and find clinical data on the various strains!