The idea of using bacteria to improve human health has been around since the early 1900s. Although people have not been able to embrace this idea until recently, probiotic and prebiotic products have now taken their rightful place. In fact, it is now widely used not only to protect health but also to treat and prevent gastrointestinal disorders.
What are Probiotics and Prebiotics?
There are billions of substances in our bodies that will help us stay healthy. There are bacteria. In fact, we can say that the largest bacterial population is in our intestines.
Good bacteria and bad bacteria exist in balance in our intestines. If this balance is disrupted by the increase of bad bacteria, digestive difficulties and gastrointestinal symptoms are inevitable. To increase the number of these good bacteria in the intestines and to maintain the necessary balance, probiotic or prebiotic sources should be consumed or their supplements should be used.
Probiotics
The word means “for life.” ” is.
According to the World Health Organization, Probiotics are live microorganisms that positively affect our health. Probiotics can be found in many food products and supplements, including fermented products and soy products. Probiotic bacteria are special creatures that manage to survive throughout the stomach until they reach the intestines.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are substances that encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria. So prebiotics can be considered a food for probiotics. While probiotics are live microorganisms, prebiotics are not live. Many prebiotics are carbohydrates that the human body cannot digest but provide excellent food sources for beneficial bacteria. While prebiotics help the beneficial bacteria living in our body to grow, they also help these bacteria survive for a long time where they are.
What are the Benefits of Probiotics and Prebiotics?
Probiotics Although prebiotics and prebiotics do not resemble each other in structure, we can say that their purposes are the same. Because both are bodies It aims to increase the healthy bacterial population in our fruit. Healthy bacteria create a protective shield in our digestive system, preventing harmful bacteria and viruses from entering our body. With the presence of healthy bacteria, our immune system is protected and ready to respond to a threat.
Some bacteria create vitamin K and short-chain fatty acids from the foods we consume in the intestines. Short-chain fatty acids are the main nutritional source of the cells that protect and surround the colon. These cells in turn develop the strong intestinal barrier that helps keep out harmful substances, viruses and bacteria. In this way, the risk of inflammation and cancer in our body is reduced.
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