Most of us have heard prebiotic and probiotic without knowing the exact difference between them. These are a bit confusing because they both sound the same. however each has a different and very important function to maintain healthy gut.
As their name suggest the difference lies in their prefix. Probiotic literally means “for life”. These are colonies of good bacteria that lies in our gut. It helps to absorb different nutrients, synthesize vitamins and thus overall contribute to good health of gut.
Whereas prebiotic are the food for these good bacteria. This food is basically fiber, which remains undigested till the food reaches to small intestine. These fiber reaches to large intestine or colon and starts fermenting. This fermentation process is carried out, by the colonies of good bacteria already present in the gut. That is why these prebiotic is considered as the food of good bacteria.
So, prebiotic gives the required nourishment to the good bacteria they need to thrive.
Food sources of prebiotics –
It is easily available in your daily diet irrespective of what culinary culture you belong. If you are eating wholesome food daily it is there in your food. Some examples are garlic, onion, fruits, whole grains, spices and raw vegetables.
Food sources of probiotics –
Though as I said these are present in your gut. These bacteria are sometimes gets destroyed by some wrong food habits. Drinking too much alcohol, frequent use some medicines, specially pain killers and antibiotics (that’s why we need vitamin supplements along with antibiotics). There are some foods which are also rich in these bacteria. Dietary sources are curd, buttermilk, pickles, fermented food, rice kanji etc.
One simple way to make your own probiotic drink, put small amount of boiled rice in an earthen pot, fill it with water. Cover it with a lid, leave it overnight. In the morning consume this. Superb source of good bacteria. Here I would like to mention there are lots of products available in market in the name of this probiotic read their label carefully because most of them are unnecessarily loaded with sugar and preservatives.
By maintaining good ratio of these bacteria, you can manage good gut health. A healthy gut is key to good mood as colon secrets the same hormones as the brain. Good ratio of these bacteria keeps you away from irritable bowel syndrome, prevent diarrhoea, Crohn’s disease (an autoimmune disease).
Good gut health prevents many autoimmune diseases. Leaky gut syndrome leads to various disease related to skin (eczema and psoriasis), hashimoto disease of thyroid gland etc. So include these two friends prebiotic and probiotic of your gut in your daily diet and relish a healthy life…