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Understand how you can harness the synergistic power of prebiotics and probiotics for optimal gut health.
It’s common for the terms prebiotics and probiotics to be used interchangeably, but there is a huge distinction between these two powerhouses.
Probiotics are bacteria that induce health benefits when consumed in large enough quantities. They are similar to the natural residents in your gut that help your digestive system ferment fiber.
Prebiotics are carbohydrates your body cannot break down, so they exist as food for probiotic bacteria.
Although there’s no need to take probiotics and prebiotics together, providing health-promoting bacteria with these sources of nourishment may make them more effective.
Prebiotics are non-digestible dietary fibers that feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. They pass through your digestive system relatively untouched, until they reach your colon.
Here, certain bacteria ferment these carbohydrates, particularly Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli,enabling them to survive and thrive, and yielding several useful metabolites for human health and function, including short-chain fatty acids[i].
So, prebiotics do not contain bacteria, they just fuel gut bacteria to grown and function.
There are several types of prebiotics, but they are all a type of dietary fiber (although not all dietary fiber is prebiotic). Common examples include:
When it comes to probiotics, in most cases we’re referring to two important bacterial families, Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.
Bifidobacteria health benefitsinclude:
Lactobacillus health benefitsinclude:
Probiotics are available in supplement form but are also naturally present in fermented foods, like:
Yogurt and kefir are popular fermented foods known for their rich probiotic content. They are both created through fermentation, a natural process where beneficial bacteria and yeasts break down sugars to produce nutrient-dense, probiotic-rich products.
Yogurt is made from fermented milk, usually with specific bacteria from the Lactobacilli and Streptococci families. They are usually added to warm pasteurized milk and allowed to ferment over several hours.
When choosing a yogurt to enjoy, choose those that state they contain ‘live and active cultures’. If they don’t say this, then it may have been heat treated to kill the fermenting bacteria.
Live, probiotic yoghurt can:
There are two types of kefir, milk and water. Milk kefir is made from fermented milk, similar to yogurt, but with a distinctive tangy taste and a runnier consistency. However, it trumps ordinary yogurt when it comes to its probiotic content, containing more probiotics than any other yogurt.
Kefir grains, specific clusters of microbes, are added to milk. These microbes ferment the milk by breaking down the natural sugars, altering the flavor and adding important nutrients.
Depending on the kefir product you buy, it will usually contain Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, as well as others like Streptococcus and Leuconostoc.
Some of the benefits of kefir include:
Combining prebiotics and probiotics amplifies their health benefits. Combined, they become synbiotics and improve the viability of probiotic strains of bacteria which is why adding prebiotics to yogurt is so good for you.
Prebiotics are a critical energy source for probiotic bacteria, ensuring their survival as they travel through the stomach's acidic environment before reaching the gut. Combining prebiotics with probiotics helps the bacteria establish itself within the gut and supports its functions, such as aiding digestion and regulating the immune system[vii].
The interactions between prebiotics and probiotics in the gut helps to strengthen the mucosal lining[viii] which acts as a protective barrier against pathogens and other potentially harmful substances. By improving the integrity of the gut barrier, synbiotics may:
A diverse and thriving microbiome underpins good health. Synbiotics encourage the growth of a wide range of beneficial bacteria, fostering a resilient and balanced ecosystem. Overall, this enhanced the gut's ability to function, fight off invading pathogens, and adapt to environmental and dietary changes.
Interested in trying a synbiotic?Check out our SuperHMO Synbiotic. A combination of 5 potent HMOs and 10 clinically validated probiotic bacteria strains.
So, with all that said, why are yogurt and Kefir the ultimate vehicles for delivering prebiotics to your gut?
There are many reasons. Yogurt and kefir are:
Adding any prebiotic, whether its HMOs, inulin, FOS, GOS, or XOS, to yogurt or kefir instantly creates nutritional synergy which maximizes the benefits for your gut and wider health. These popular and convenient fermented foods are already packed with probiotic species which can work synergistically with prebiotics, ensuring they are fuelled and ready for action once they are delivered to the gut.
Yogurt, and kefir in particular, is one of the most widely available fermented foods[ix], making it an easy and convenient way to deliver both probiotics and added prebiotics into your gut.
Yogurt and kefir can be easily purchased from supermarkets and whole food shops across the world, and usually already contain many live bacteria strains that work synergistically with prebiotics.
Yogurt and other fermented milks, including kefir, are usually produced through the fermentation of milk by Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. The process increases the shelf life of the product and also produces a thickened, slightly tangy creamy product that’s not only a source of probiotics but is also a rich source of:
Therefore, making it a highly nutritious product that has benefits that far exceed just the health of the gut, but also supports:
Because yogurt and kefir are already nutrient-dense, adding prebiotics can enhance the beneficial properties of yogurt.
For example, as we discussed earlier, fruit is a natural prebiotic and when added to yogurt it can enhance the growth of the probiotic bacteria naturally present in the yogurt and improve the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome[xi].
Figure 1.The combined synbiotic effects of adding fruit to yogurt. (Source: Fernandez and Marette, 2017).
Further research has analysed the impact of adding glucose-galactose syrup to yogurt to act as a sweetener and a source of GOS. The researchers found that the addition of GOS remains stable in the yogurt and enhances the quality attributes of fermented milk[xii].This is of particular interest because lactose-derived oligosaccharides are considered the best alternative to HMOs.
The live strains present in yogurt and kefir, such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, and kefir-specific yeasts can metabolize prebiotics into many by-products and postbiotics that:
Incorporating prebiotics into yogurt or kefir is a simple and effective way to enhance your gut health. By enhancing these probiotic-rich food sources with prebiotic fibres, you’ll create your own synbiotic combination that favours your gut microbiome and supports your general health and wellbeing.
Here’s how:
Combining prebiotics with yoghurt or kefir creates a powerful synbiotic pairing that can optimize gut heat. Prebiotics fuel probiotics. They are essential for probiotic survival, can strengthen the gut lining, and improve the diversity of the microbiome. Therefore, these two super fermented foods are ideal prebiotic carriers, offering convenience, nutrition, and versatility.
Written by: Leanne Edermaniger, M.Sc. Leanne is a professional science writer who specializes in human health and enjoys writing about all things related to the gut microbiome.
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[vii] Adebola OO, Corcoran O, Morgan WA. Synbiotics: The impact of potential prebiotics inulin, lactulose and lactobionic acid on the survival and growth of lactobacilli probiotics. Journal of Functional Foods. 2014 Sept;10:75–84. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2014.05.010
[viii] Xue Z, Yu J, Zhao M, Kang W, Ma Z. Effects of synbiotics on intestinal mucosal barrier in rat model. Clinical Nutrition Experimental. 2017 Jun;13:12–21. doi:10.1016/j.yclnex.2017.02.001
[ix] Whelan, K., & Jones, N. (2021). Fermented foods: availability, cost, ingredients, nutritional content and on-pack claims. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12905
[x] Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S. Beneficial Effects of Yoghurts and Probiotic Fermented Milks and Their Functional Food Potential. Foods. 2022 Sep 3;11(17):2691. doi: 10.3390/foods11172691. PMID: 36076876; PMCID: PMC9455928.
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