The Nutritional Institute

I often hear these two terms being used fairly loosely, but do we really understand the differences between the two? I’ll help out with some definitions. Probiotics are the good bacteria that help keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy by controlling the growth of harmful bacteria. They are live organisms, and when taken in large doses, they can help maintain our gastrointestinal health. These friendly bacteria are essential to maintaining overall good health and vitality.

So that’s probiotics, but what about prebiotics? In order for the good bacteria to survive in the gut, we need to regularly feed them. Prebiotics are specialised plant fibre that beneficially nourish the good bacteria in our gut, helping to stimulate their growth.
In a nutshell, probiotics introduce good bacteria into the gut, whereas prebiotics act as a fertiliser for the good bacteria that’s already there.

By including both prebiotics and probiotics into our daily routine, we help boost our immune and digestive health. We support vitamin B12 and K production and nourish our mental health. For example, a large percentage of our brain chemicals like serotonin are manufactured in the gut, so having an unhealthy balance of bad bacteria will affect our emotional wellbeing too.

When you don’t have enough prebiotics and probiotics, the pathogenic microorganisms flourish, which can lead to poor digestion, plus symptoms such as bloating, flatulence, constipation, diarrhoea, inflammation, and damage to the gut lining (leaky gut syndrome), Candida infections, and an increased susceptibility to infections like urinary tract, colds and flu, allergies and inflammatory disorders.

How is this balance between good and bad bacteria upset? First and foremost, the consumption of antibiotics annihilates a lot of the bacteria in our guts - the good and the bad… Secondly, if you don’t regularly consume live bacteria and prebiotic fibre in your diet, the ‘bad’ bacteria will tend to slowly make their way in and dominate. Thirdly, processed foods, man-made sugars (which feed the ‘bad’ bacteria), and life stress also change the bacterial balance for the worst.

Foods high in probiotics
Foods high in probiotics, that are fairly easy to source, include all fermented vegetables; not pickled onions or beetroot that you find in your local store, containing heaps of sugar and heating, but the ones fermented in high quality salts and that have not been pasteurised. Also, kefir made from milk, water or coconut, kombucha tea, yoghurts that only have two ingredients on the list ( milk and cultures), miso, kimchi and tempeh. The Nutritional Institute stocks a variety of flavours of sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. We also make delicious dairy kefir, ginger water kefir and kombucha tea. If you would like to load yourself further, we stock both powdered and encapsulated probiotics that you are able supplement with.

Foods high in prebiotics
Foods high in prebiotics, that are easily accessible, include green vegetables, underripe bananas, Jerusalem artichokes, wholegrains, sprouted grain breads, plus allium vegetables such as garlic, onions etc. Additionally, avocado, potato skin, peas and raw organic apple cider vinegar supply prebiotics. We have a lovely prebiotic powder to add to smoothies that contains fibre from coconuts and pineapple and inulin from chicory. When you combine this powder with a firm banana and dairy kefir, you should be sorted for the day.

To view our products for purchase please visit www.thenutritionalinstitute.com/store