Probiotics and prebiotics are hot subjects in the nutrition world right now. Despite their similarity in sound, the two perform distinct roles in your health. Probiotics are good bacteria, and prebiotics are the good bacteria’s nourishment.
But what are they exactly and how do they work?
Prebiotics are plant fibers that have been modified to act as prebiotics. They serve as fertilizers in the stomach, encouraging the growth of beneficial microorganisms.
Many fruits and vegetables include prebiotics, especially those that contain complex carbohydrates like fiber and resistant starch. Because these carbs can’t be digested by your body, they travel through your digestive system and become food for bacteria and other germs.
Foods that are high in prebiotic fiber include:
Beans
Bananas
Asparagus
Garlic
Berries
Onions
Oats
Leeks
Probiotics differ from other supplements in that they include living organisms, usually specific strains of bacteria, that contribute to the population of beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Probiotics, like prebiotics, can be consumed through food and supplements. Yogurt is probably the most popular probiotic food. Yogurt is manufactured by fermenting milk with microorganisms that are then left in the finished product. Probiotics can also be found in bacteria-fermented foods like:
Kombucha tea
Some types of pickles
Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Live organisms are also present in probiotic supplements. A single dosage may contain a single microbe strain or a mixture of microorganisms. Probiotic supplement companies, like prebiotic supplement companies, target specific ailments like irritable bowel syndrome.
Prebiotics and probiotics operate together. Prebiotics are living probiotics’ breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they can enhance gut health. Including health-promoting functional foods — such as those that include both prebiotics and probiotics — in your diet will help you become healthier.
Ever since I started having mystery digestive issues about 8 or 9 years ago now, I began researching all the different potentials for what could be wrong with me.
After ruling out anything serious, I made some dedicated attempts to try to fix what I thought was an imbalance of my gut bacteria. To this day, I still don’t know if that had much to do with the issue. However, with all the new research happening on the microbiome and how intricately linked it is to so many other parts of ourselves (our stress levels, various illnesses, the list goes on), I have decided to always pay close attention to my diet as well as antibiotic use.
I am someone who has petit mal epilepsy and generalized anxiety disorder. Something significant I have learned over the years is how truly linked all of our conditions can be. My anxiety could have come as a comorbidity with the epilepsy, and my digestive issues may have come from chronic high stress levels over time.
Additionally, about 12 years ago I began getting migraines regularly, primarily during my menstrual period. I learned that this can be due to a hormonal imbalance, such as too much estrogen and not enough progesterone, which can also occur from chronic stress. This was proven to me when I got a hormonal IUD inserted that made my body’s progesterone levels higher, and my migraines disappeared.
It’s clear that managing stress should always be a priority — and especially is a no-brainer in someone with an anxiety disorder. For me, it certainly is. And what a part of managing stress is for me is not just promoting relaxation through meditation, breathing techniques, etc., but making sure my gut does not get totally out of whack again.
Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known and also one of my favorite doctors to follow, has recently written about the recent microbiome news in his 2020 issue of the Self-Healing magazine.
I’ll paraphrase two of the most recent findings he wrote about regarding the microbiome that I think are important to know:
There may be a link between your gut bacteria and your personality. The magazine states that “various types of bacteria previously linked to autism spectrum disorder were also associated with differences in sociability in those without autism.” The research showed that people who have large social networks and social activity were more likely to have higher microbial diversity.
The important thing about this is that people with more microbial diversity will typically have lower stress and anxiety levels.
Not too long ago, I learned about this myself when I took a gut health test from Thryve (https://www.thryveinside.com). You send in a stool sample, and they give you an overview of what kinds of bacteria your gut has, as well as a general picture of how healthy your gut likely is.
The really cool thing about this is that they will tell you what strains are out of normal range and how this could be contributing to your mental state, physical traits or other conditions. This test showed me in its overview that I was likely to have anxiety due to my microbiome. Amazing, since it’s 100% correct that I have anxiety, and I really didn’t realize gut bacteria (or lack thereof) could still be influencing this. From there they will formulate a probiotic for you, which I have been now taking monthly.
So for me it’s just a question of what’s influencing what quicker. Is my anxiety disorder itself affecting my gut and that’s the primary issue, or is my gut worsening my anxiety disorder? Regardless, definitely more evidence there that I should be taking care of my gut.
The Mediterranean Diet May Improve the Microbiome. For quite some time now, there have been plenty of research studies out there showing the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Apparently, a new study about the microbiome is adding to the pile.
The Mediterranean Diet is one that focuses on eating fish, veggies, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and olive oil.
The study that was done took 612 older men and women, and half of them followed the Mediterranean diet for a year. What they found was that those who ate the Mediterranean diet had a more diverse microbiome than those who followed their typical diet.
This more diverse microbiome was also linked to better results when “testing for markers of frailty, or age-related weakness, including better walking speed, better handgrip strength, and improved cognitive functioning” (from “The Latest Microbiome News,” Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self Healing 2020).
More research is needed on this still, but it appears as though the Mediterranean diet can possibly improve microbial diversity through all of the nutrients that it provides, such as magnesium, B and C vitamins, potassium, iron, etc.
Overall, I’m happy that we are finding out new things pretty quickly on how important the role is that the gut microbiome is for our health. Given this fact and based on my own experience through digestive issues, I can’t stress enough importance on eating well with a diversity of foods, and include probiotic-rich or fermented foods regularly.
Note: I had to separate this article into two parts because I had so much to say about it, so stay tuned for Part 2!
Ever had a REALLY bloated stomach that almost made you look like you were a few months pregnant, got worse after you ate but was better in the morning, and lasted long-term? When random things seem to upset your stomach and create a storm but don’t seem to have anything in common? That’s the summary of what I’ve been going through the past couple of months, and I wanted to be sure to share with you what I’ve found in case you might be going through something similar. I’ll tell you I’ve ripped through hours of research on the internet, tried different supplements and diets, and in the process I’ve discovered some key things about gut issues you might not know.
How It Started
It started when my stools started to be really large. As in, clogging the toilet regularly. It was embarrassing. I have read, somewhere amongst all the literature I’ve taken in, that this is a classic sign of gut dysbiosis, when the bacteria in your gut is out of whack. This makes sense to me, because I had not too long before taken a dose of antibiotics I had to stop mid-course because my body ended up being sensitive to them and I was actually getting fevers from it.
Then one day, I woke up and noticed an immediate lack of appetite. I’m usually really hungry and can’t wait for breakfast in the morning, but this particular morning nothing seemed really all that appetizing. The rest of the day it got worse. I was nauseated, couldn’t eat due to zero appetite, and I even developed an elevated body temperature; possibly a low-grade fever (I didn’t check) and by the time I got home from work I had to collapse in bed.
So now what the heck was this?
This really seemed to come out of nowhere because no one around me had this, I hadn’t been outside of the house all that much recently, and I realized it felt more like my body had an infection somewhere that it was fighting rather than some stomach bug. And, it only lasted about two days max and I was fine!
However, ever since then, I’ve had a distended stomach. Specifically functional distention – meaning my abdomen was visibly bloated nearly all the time to varying degrees throughout the day, but everything else was fine – bowel movements all normal, no other seemingly serious side effects.
Worthy to note is this was not normal bloating that you experience after having extra gas. This was consistent bloating that made me look like I had gained a bunch of weight in my midsection.
I did notice my pelvic area also seemed to be puffy and bloated along with my stomach as well. This led me to the conclusion that it was a gynecological issue and I was freaked out for a few days that I had ovarian cancer. I also noticed that hair was falling out at a higher rate and I had weird tired spells earlier this year for no apparent reason.
So, something was definitely out of whack with my body; but like many illnesses, infections, or parasites you can get, this one was really, really hard to put my finger on even what it COULD be, which drove my anxious brain absolutely crazy since I was facing a giant abyss of unknowns.
And guess what, two doctors appointments later and a whole lot of research and reading others’ similar stories, I still don’t have any 100% definitive answers. I’ve realized this is a sad truth with many stomach issues. But not only have I calmed down about it, I’ve found what seems to keep it under control and some key points to consider if you’re experiencing something like this.
Key Point #1: Don’t try to self-diagnose…especially with a gut/digestive issue.
I did, and I soon realized that especially when it comes to the persistent abdominal bloating and distention (or other digestive issues), it could be a symptom of a billion things, so don’t do what I did and immediately assume you have ovarian cancer. You probably don’t, and in fact, the digestive system is ridiculously complicated (says my best friend who’s in medical school). Issues can arise easily.
Here’s my list of conditions I thought I could possibly have that I wrote down to myself in my notebook (mostly noted here for entertainment purposes):
-SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth – can be caused by antibiotics)
-C. Diff (bacterial infection) or H. Pylori
-Colon Cancer
-Ovarian Cancer
-Some kind of parasite
-Gallstones
-Pelvic floor disorder
-Endometriosis
-Candida or severe yeast infection
-Interstitial cystitis
-Gut dysbiosis
-Bacterial vaginosis
-Diverticulosis
-Leaky Gut Syndrome
Key Point #2: Important!! Keep a food diary and record times when your stomach is upset
Once I began actually paying attention to when it was upset and when it wasn’t instead of just assuming it was random and persistent…I started noticing patterns. I learned that for some reason, broccoli and eggs, two things I previously ate all the time, now gave my stomach tons of trouble. Oh, and eating a spaghetti plate at Cheesecake Factory? Terrible idea, I really paid for that later. I have to be careful eating out in general…you never know exactly what ingredients they put in things so it’s more difficult to figure out what’s really bothering you.
I couldn’t fathom what could possibly have suddenly made my stomach sensitive to broccoli and eggs though, until I googled that and learned it could possibly be leaky gut syndrome, claimed to be somewhat of a mystery in itself. I had to take that with a grain of salt though too because who knows if that’s truly what it was. However, this is right about when it clicked with me that I needed to start paying close attention to my good and bad days, and what was affecting the bloat.
Key Point #3: Western medicine has a lot to learn about the gut and its relation to overall health…
…So, don’t be surprised if you go to a gastroenterologist only to have them send you home with an IBS diagnosis and some acid reducers. Luckily this didn’t happen to me because I landed on a good doc (not literally), but I heard many people’s stories of their mysterious symptoms with nothing but a mere IBS diagnosis with no insight as to what may have actually caused their condition (or if they didn’t really have IBS and the doc just couldn’t come to a diagnosis). I’ll tell you right now I was not going to accept a diagnosis of IBS, because that essentially would have told me nothing.
For the record, I went to both a GI doc and an Ob-Gyn doc, and had a pretty full workup for gynecological tests to check for infections, and even had a transvaginal and pelvic ultrasound. Everything came back normal (although I did have a few fluid-filled cysts on my ovaries. No big deal, and he said the bloating was likely not from that – which made sense since I also had an overly upset stomach often).
My friend’s mom who had also experienced my exact symptoms at one point in her life (and also had an ovarian cancer scare) did end up having some type of infection causing her symptoms, so it’s always worth it to cover your bases if you have zero idea what the cause could be, even if it costs a bit more.
My GI doc said that it could be gastroparesis, where your stomach has trouble emptying normally. He said that at times gastroparesis is transient and will just go away on its own. He then gave me some VSL#3 (high potency probiotic) and told me to completely avoid all fatty foods, as well as “roughage” – things like broccoli, for example. This made a lot of sense to me and I am basically back to no bloating at all after eliminating any offending foods after figuring out what those foods were in my diary.
Key Point #4: When it comes to these gut issues – depending on what you have, many times the best thing you can do is be vigilant about your diet and eliminate the stuff causing problems. Also…take a probiotic.
Again it depends on what you have, but don’t rely on simply medication to solve the problem, because if your case is anything like mine, medication is only a mask and never would have solved anything. I finally got my bloat down after months to basically non-existent by diet alone.
Also consider taking a probiotic. No matter what you have this can be helpful. They are fairly expensive for the good ones (anywhere from around $25-$60 per bottle), but totally worth it especially if you have taken repeated rounds of antibiotics in the recent past. I won’t recommend a brand (except for VSL#3 which is great – and available at Costco I hear) but it’s really a matter of trial and error to see which one works best for you.
And, get the ones you need to keep refrigerated. Forget about the ones laying dormant in a paper box or things like “probiotic gummies.”
There are around 100 trillion microorganismsliving in our gut, and we are just now beginning to understand how important those little creatures are in relation to our health! Please try not to wipe them out more than you have to with antibiotics!
In the next part of this article, I’ll go over what supplements I have explored (although these will differ for everyone) and what types of things I’ve introduced into my diet that has not only reduced my bloat but made me feel better. Stay tuned!
Note: I had to separate this article into two parts because I had so much to say about it, so stay tuned for Part 2!
Ever had a REALLY bloated stomach that almost made you look like you were a few months pregnant, got worse after you ate but was better in the morning, and lasted long-term? When random things seem to upset your stomach and create a storm but don’t seem to have anything in common? That’s the summary of what I’ve been going through the past couple of months, and I wanted to be sure to share with you what I’ve found in case you might be going through something similar. I’ll tell you I’ve ripped through hours of research on the internet, tried different supplements and diets, and in the process I’ve discovered some key things about gut issues you might not know.
How It Started
It started when my stools started to be really large. As in, clogging the toilet regularly. It was embarrassing. I have read, somewhere amongst all the literature I’ve taken in, that this is a classic sign of gut dysbiosis, when the bacteria in your gut is out of whack. This makes sense to me, because I had not too long before taken a dose of antibiotics I had to stop mid-course because my body ended up being sensitive to them and I was actually getting fevers from it.
Then one day, I woke up and noticed an immediate lack of appetite. I’m usually really hungry and can’t wait for breakfast in the morning, but this particular morning nothing seemed really all that appetizing. The rest of the day it got worse. I was nauseated, couldn’t eat due to zero appetite, and I even developed an elevated body temperature; possibly a low-grade fever (I didn’t check) and by the time I got home from work I had to collapse in bed.
So now what the heck was this?
This really seemed to come out of nowhere because no one around me had this, I hadn’t been outside of the house all that much recently, and I realized it felt more like my body had an infection somewhere that it was fighting rather than some stomach bug. And, it only lasted about two days max and I was fine!
However, ever since then, I’ve had a distended stomach. Specifically functional distention – meaning my abdomen was visibly bloated nearly all the time to varying degrees throughout the day, but everything else was fine – bowel movements all normal, no other seemingly serious side effects.
Worthy to note is this was not normal bloating that you experience after having extra gas. This was consistent bloating that made me look like I had gained a bunch of weight in my midsection.
I did notice my pelvic area also seemed to be puffy and bloated along with my stomach as well. This led me to the conclusion that it was a gynecological issue and I was freaked out for a few days that I had ovarian cancer. I also noticed that hair was falling out at a higher rate and I had weird tired spells earlier this year for no apparent reason.
So, something was definitely out of whack with my body; but like many illnesses, infections, or parasites you can get, this one was really, really hard to put my finger on even what it COULD be, which drove my anxious brain absolutely crazy since I was facing a giant abyss of unknowns.
And guess what, two doctors appointments later and a whole lot of research and reading others’ similar stories, I still don’t have any 100% definitive answers. I’ve realized this is a sad truth with many stomach issues. But not only have I calmed down about it, I’ve found what seems to keep it under control and some key points to consider if you’re experiencing something like this.
Key Point #1: Don’t try to self-diagnose…especially with a gut/digestive issue.
I did, and I soon realized that especially when it comes to the persistent abdominal bloating and distention (or other digestive issues), it could be a symptom of a billion things, so don’t do what I did and immediately assume you have ovarian cancer. You probably don’t, and in fact, the digestive system is ridiculously complicated (says my best friend who’s in medical school). Issues can arise easily.
Here’s my list of conditions I thought I could possibly have that I wrote down to myself in my notebook (mostly noted here for entertainment purposes):
-SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth – can be caused by antibiotics)
-C. Diff (bacterial infection) or H. Pylori
-Colon Cancer
-Ovarian Cancer
-Some kind of parasite
-Gallstones
-Pelvic floor disorder
-Endometriosis
-Candida or severe yeast infection
-Interstitial cystitis
-Gut dysbiosis
-Bacterial vaginosis
-Diverticulosis
-Leaky Gut Syndrome
Key Point #2: Important!! Keep a food diary and record times when your stomach is upset
Once I began actually paying attention to when it was upset and when it wasn’t instead of just assuming it was random and persistent…I started noticing patterns. I learned that for some reason, broccoli and eggs, two things I previously ate all the time, now gave my stomach tons of trouble. Oh, and eating a spaghetti plate at Cheesecake Factory? Terrible idea, I really paid for that later. I have to be careful eating out in general…you never know exactly what ingredients they put in things so it’s more difficult to figure out what’s really bothering you.
I couldn’t fathom what could possibly have suddenly made my stomach sensitive to broccoli and eggs though, until I googled that and learned it could possibly be leaky gut syndrome, claimed to be somewhat of a mystery in itself. I had to take that with a grain of salt though too because who knows if that’s truly what it was. However, this is right about when it clicked with me that I needed to start paying close attention to my good and bad days, and what was affecting the bloat.
Key Point #3: Western medicine has a lot to learn about the gut and its relation to overall health…
…So, don’t be surprised if you go to a gastroenterologist only to have them send you home with an IBS diagnosis and some acid reducers. Luckily this didn’t happen to me because I landed on a good doc (not literally), but I heard many people’s stories of their mysterious symptoms with nothing but a mere IBS diagnosis with no insight as to what may have actually caused their condition (or if they didn’t really have IBS and the doc just couldn’t come to a diagnosis). I’ll tell you right now I was not going to accept a diagnosis of IBS, because that essentially would have told me nothing.
For the record, I went to both a GI doc and an Ob-Gyn doc, and had a pretty full workup for gynecological tests to check for infections, and even had a transvaginal and pelvic ultrasound. Everything came back normal (although I did have a few fluid-filled cysts on my ovaries. No big deal, and he said the bloating was likely not from that – which made sense since I also had an overly upset stomach often).
My friend’s mom who had also experienced my exact symptoms at one point in her life (and also had an ovarian cancer scare) did end up having some type of infection causing her symptoms, so it’s always worth it to cover your bases if you have zero idea what the cause could be, even if it costs a bit more.
My GI doc said that it could be gastroparesis, where your stomach has trouble emptying normally. He said that at times gastroparesis is transient and will just go away on its own. He then gave me some VSL#3 (high potency probiotic) and told me to completely avoid all fatty foods, as well as “roughage” – things like broccoli, for example. This made a lot of sense to me and I am basically back to no bloating at all after eliminating any offending foods after figuring out what those foods were in my diary.
Key Point #4: When it comes to these gut issues – depending on what you have, many times the best thing you can do is be vigilant about your diet and eliminate the stuff causing problems. Also…take a probiotic.
Again it depends on what you have, but don’t rely on simply medication to solve the problem, because if your case is anything like mine, medication is only a mask and never would have solved anything. I finally got my bloat down after months to basically non-existent by diet alone.
Also consider taking a probiotic. No matter what you have this can be helpful. They are fairly expensive for the good ones (anywhere from around $25-$60 per bottle), but totally worth it especially if you have taken repeated rounds of antibiotics in the recent past. I won’t recommend a brand (except for VSL#3 which is great – and available at Costco I hear) but it’s really a matter of trial and error to see which one works best for you.
And, get the ones you need to keep refrigerated. Forget about the ones laying dormant in a paper box or things like “probiotic gummies.”
There are around 100 trillion microorganismsliving in our gut, and we are just now beginning to understand how important those little creatures are in relation to our health! Please try not to wipe them out more than you have to with antibiotics!
In the next part of this article, I’ll go over what supplements I have explored (although these will differ for everyone) and what types of things I’ve introduced into my diet that has not only reduced my bloat but made me feel better. Stay tuned!
Probiotics are defined as living microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to those taking them. Health benefits can be attributed to an ability to assist the natural microflora, either to re-establish itself following imbalance or to upregulate (meaning an increase in cellular response to a molecular stimulus due to increase in the number of receptors on the cell surface) vital metabolic functions of the bacteria.
Only a few select cultures have actually been proven to be beneficial and justifiably be called ‘Probiotics’ and include certain strains of Lactic Acid Bacteria (including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria) which have conclusive health benefits when taken.
Gut microbiota play an important role in:
-Maintenance of appropriate gut pH
-Digestive function through enzyme activity
-Modulation of immune function
-Production of antimicrobial substances, thus defending against invaders and maintaining a balance of microflora
-Synthesis of certain vitamins
-Production of amino acids and recylcing of nitrogen
-Synthesis of short chain fatty acids
-Detoxification and transformation of many substances
There is also growing evidence that probiotic supplements may be helpful in some specific conditions, notably side effects of antibiotics, irritable bowel syndrome, general immune support, allergy and upper respiratory tract infection.
Given these potential benefits, there is interest in the use of probiotics specifically in athletes to help maintain overall general health, enhance immune function or reduce URTI incidence and symptom severity/duration.
To date, most studies of probiotic interventions in athletes have been relatively small scale, but there is growing evidence pointing to a benefit in a number of areas which will be of interest to athletes in terms of their ability to maintain and/or boosting immune function through well understood mechanisms of action.
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