So if you’re on social you know: You’re always being told you need a probiotic. Or is it a prebiotic…or both…? So let’s start with the basics: What are these things and do you really need to be on one?<\/p>\n
When healthy, the microbiome of your gut is crowded with good-for-you microorganisms, called probiotics. And I mean crowded.<\/p>\n
“It’s about 100 trillion that are there,” says registered dietician Kelly Jones. “It actually adds up to four pounds of weight on your body as an adult.”<\/p>\n
“When you gut is happy, you’re happy; the gut-brain connection affects everything, from your mental clarity to your heart health, and beyond. There’s a respiratory connection, even a connection to your bones and muscles,” says Jones.<\/p>\n
Now the probiotic strains in your gut need food, or prebiotics, to thrive.<\/p>\n
So one is the organism, the other is feeding it.<\/p>\n
A healthy gut vibes with fiber from beans and lentils, fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
But most of us eat the same handful of things over and over, and way too much processed food.<\/p>\n
Our microbiome suffers, as some of our probiotic strains disappear.<\/p>\n
“Over 90% of Americans are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, and over 90% of Americans are not getting enough fiber,” says Jones.<\/p>\n
Mixing up your diet, not a pill, is your best bet.<\/p>\n
Put berries in your cereal or add a cup of yogurt. You could also switch your daily broccoli with cauliflower or try different salad greens.<\/p>\n
If you’re put off by fermented foods, start small: like a dressing with a little yogurt or miso, or a spoon of pickled veggies.<\/p>\n
“I love to make a shrimp and rice and vegetable bowl and put a little kimchi in there, so it’s going to make the flavor pop a bit and it’s not going to be as tart,” says Jones.
<\/p>\n
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