With regards to our well being, most of us have heard of prebiotics and probiotics and know one thing about their advantages to our digestive system (even when it is onerous to inform them aside), however what about postbiotics?
To recap, probiotics are the dwell microorganisms or “good micro organism” that we eat in our weight loss program to ascertain a wholesome intestine microbiota—your complete assortment of trillions of micro organism that usually dwell within the intestines.
Probiotics reminiscent of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, often known as lactic acid micro organism, are present in fermented meals together with yogurt, sauerkraut, some cheeses and sure fermented drinks, in addition to dietary dietary supplements.
Prebiotics are what the probiotics feed on, primarily the undigestible plant supplies in our weight loss program together with fibers that solely can be utilized by the probiotics and intestine microbiota.
Fruits together with bananas and apples, greens reminiscent of Jerusalem artichokes, leek and asparagus, onions, garlic, and in addition sure cereals, nuts and legumes are wealthy in prebiotic compounds.
Sure mixtures of probiotics and prebiotics can be utilized collectively to spice up the useful results of probiotics when consumed, and these are referred to as synbiotics.
So what are postbiotics?
As their title could counsel, postbiotics are what are generated after the digestion of sure meals. They’re the breakdown merchandise or ‘metabolites’ following the digestion of prebiotics and fiber-rich compounds by probiotics and our intestine’s resident microbiota.
The colon, the decrease a part of our digestive system is the place many postbiotics are produced, because the microbiota and meals we eat undergo a section known as colonic fermentation within the colon.
One of many essential issues that occur throughout colonic fermentation is the breakdown of non-digestible prebiotic and fiber substances in our weight loss program by intestine microbiota. This produces useful compounds for our well being like short-chain fatty acids, sure nutritional vitamins (Vitamin B and Ok), amino acids and antimicrobial peptides that stop the expansion and actions of dangerous micro organism.
Even some carbohydrate substrates referred to as secreted polysaccharides and exopolysaccharides produced by these micro organism present numerous useful results, and so are thought-about postbiotics.
However as a result of the idea of postbiotics is comparatively new, the method of defining them continues to be a piece in progress. In our article Nature Opinions Gastroenterology & Hepatology, we focus on the definition of probiotics and their significance in enabling customers to know which merchandise have health-promoting properties.
Advantages of postbiotics
Usually, postbiotics can present us with related advantages to that of probiotics and prebiotics.
However the great thing about postbiotics is they will present these advantages even with none unwanted effects that probiotics and prebiotics could have. For instance, some individuals may expertise discomfort due to a short lived enhance in fuel and bloating after consumption of probiotics and prebiotics.
So you’ll be able to take postbiotics as dietary supplements should you can’t tolerate them or you don’t like consuming probiotics and prebiotics.
One of many well-known advantages of postbiotics is their potential to shift our intestine microbiome in the direction of a wholesome composition. Analysis has proven that useful postbiotic compounds can assist the expansion, actions and capabilities of probiotics and intestine microbiota.
It’s extra like a boosting impact, in order that our intestine microbiota, which performs an important function in our general well being, can battle in opposition to pathogenic microorganisms like Salmonella in our physique. As we all know wholesome intestine microbiota preserve us wholesome as they will positively affect our general well being.
Postbiotics can even stimulate our immune system as nicely. For instance, exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, one of many starter tradition micro organism used to supply yogurt, have the flexibility to reinforce the exercise of the physique’s pure killer cells.
Comparable optimistic results on the immune system have been proven in a latest examine the place researchers used exopolysaccharides produced by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum remoted from human breast milk.
Postbiotic short-chain fatty acids produced by the digestion of fiber-rich plant meals can even decrease the danger of colon most cancers. They’re thought-about cancer-protective metabolites. Some optimistic results of postbiotics on breast most cancers sufferers have additionally been proven.
It’s nonetheless early days for postbiotics analysis, with most of those research being cellular-based lab experiments or carried out on animals. Nonetheless, their purposes in people are promising.
Are useless probiotics useful?
For useful probiotic results, they have to be dwell when consumed and journey via our intestine. However latest analysis exhibits that even should you fully take away the probiotic cells from its development medium, for instance, the meals supply the probiotics are grown in, the cell-free supply can nonetheless produce some optimistic results together with boosting the immune system.
This seems to be as a result of some postbiotics produced by these probiotics when they’re in meals stay even should you take away all dwelling probiotics. For instance, some exopolysaccharides and nutritional vitamins stay energetic and don’t degrade within the meals earlier than we eat them.
Some useless probiotics and their cell parts have additionally been proven to supply useful results. However rather more analysis must be executed on this space.
The way to harness the advantages of postbiotics
As the sphere of probiotics continues to be rising, there can be much more to find within the coming years.
For now, the perfect factor we are able to do for intestine well being is to eat probiotic-containing meals like yogurt and sauerkraut as a result of they comprise each the postbiotics which were produced throughout processing and storage in addition to the dwelling probiotics, which is able to proceed to launch extra postbiotics within the intestine.
Together with prebiotic-rich plant meals within the weight loss program will then add to those well being advantages, offering the meals for probiotics as step one in the direction of a wholesome intestine microbiome.
Quotation:
Postbiotics: The brand new child within the intestine well being household (2023, Could 25)
retrieved 27 Could 2023
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