Everyone has bacteria in their bodies and this bacteria can actually benefit you in many ways. By adding prebiotics and probiotics to your diet, you can improve the health of the “good” bacteria. There are plenty of ways you can add prebiotics and probiotics to your diet.
What Are Prebiotics?
Your body contains both good and bad bacteria. Fortunately, the good bacteria outnumber the bad. Prebiotics help to maintain this balance and to nourish the bacteria in your gut. They act as the food for the good bacteria in your body. Eating foods that contain prebiotics helps you to create a healthy and sustainable environment for the good bacteria.
What Are Probiotics?
While prebiotics are meant to nourish the bacteria in your gut and act as fuel for them, probiotics actually introduce more good bacteria into your body. While introducing more good bacteria to your body can be beneficial, you don’t want to overdo it. Some people naturally produce more bacteria than others and they should avoid adding in more.
Benefits
What’s happening in your gut can actually benefit your entire body. Specifically, gut health is tied to your immune system. If you’re actively trying to improve the health of your gut by nourishing the good bacteria in your body, then you can help your body be better prepared for fighting off infection, illness, and injury. Probiotics will improve your gut health, but they can also benefit your mental health as well as help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure. Prebiotics normalize your blood sugar, help with weight loss, and they can even strengthen your bones. It’s worth it to add more prebiotics and probiotics to your body.
Foods Rich in Prebiotics
Foods containing prebiotics are typically foods that are high in fiber. They include bananas, barley, oats, asparagus, garlic, onions, berries, leeks, flaxseeds, etc. You can eat these foods on their own, or you can combine them with foods that are rich in probiotics so you can get double the benefits.
Foods Rich in Probiotics
Probiotics are commonly found in a lot of fermented foods and dairy products. Examples of fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and other pickled vegetables. Other good foods that contain probiotics are cottage cheese, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, parmesan cheese, kefir, yogurt, and miso. An easy way to add more probiotics to your diet is to make yogurt a staple. You can eat yogurt plain, add it to other foods, or you can dress it up with granola or berries (both of which add prebiotics to your meal).
Adding prebiotics and probiotics naturally to your diet can help improve many aspects of your health. Make sure you understand how to properly manage the balance of bacteria in your body. Talking with your doctor is a great way to create a healthy diet for you.
Premier Family Medical offers a variety of medical services and they can advise you on a beneficial dietary plan. Click here to learn more.
