You’ve heard of probiotics. But what about PREbiotics?
Probiotics. You know, like in Jamie Lee Curtis’ yogurt. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. The ever-popular probiotics are our little microbe buddies (aka living bacteria) that have beneficial qualities for us humans. Like you, those microbes need food to do their best work. But not any food will do. Enter prebiotics! Prebiotic fibre is food for our gut microbes - boosting metabolism, strengthening the immune system, and improving digestion.
Now, why oh why do we want to feed our gut microbes in the first place?
We hear a lot about “gut health” - and for good reason! It’s becoming increasingly researched, and we’re discovering new things every day, with some even theorizing that all everything begins in the gut. While it’s not yet easily defined or measured, we do know that your gut microbiota plays a central role in gut health. We also know that maintaining a diverse and robust gut bacteria is critical to overall health and well-being.
Okay so, here’s where prebiotics come in.
We all have species of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in our digestive tracts. Some can harm our health if we let them get out of control, while some are health-promoting. Obviously, we want more of those ones. Let them thrive! So how can we make sure they’re living their best bacteria lives? One key way to boost the number of “good” bacteria in your digestive tract is to consume PREbiotics.
So how can you support your microbiome in the daily choices you make?
It’s actually pretty simple. You can find prebiotics in foods like chicory root, jerusalem artichoke, garlic, onions, leeks, and green bananas. But we’re busy people, and sometimes that variety is not readily available to us in our day-to-day lives. And sometimes you just don’t want to chomp down on a green banana, you know? For a delicious boost, that also happens to be very convenient, you can get 5 grams of prebiotic plant-based fibre in every can of Geez Louise. Keep those gut bugs happy and healthy. Praise be to the PRE!