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If you are already into the gut health game you
may already be familiar with probiotics. You may also be clued up on
prebiotics. However ‘synbiotics’ are much lesser known as they are a relatively
recent concept. So what are these new kids on the gut health block? Are these
beneficial for our gut health? And could they be the new frontier in probiotic
supplements?
Before we get into the concept of synbiotics it
is important that we ensure we fully understand the difference between
probiotics and prebiotics as often they can be easily confused and incorrectly
interchanged. Firstly, probiotics can be found in supplements as well as in
fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and natural yogurt. These
contain sources of bacteria and yeasts that we believe to be beneficial to our
gut health and when we consume said foods and supplements the idea is we ingest
microbes that add good bugs to our gut. Prebiotics, on the other hand, refer to
specific types of fibre compounds which can be found abundantly in foods
including garlic, onions, leeks and asparagus to name a few. These have a
potent feeding effect on our existing gut microbes enabling them to proliferate
and thrive. So to put it simply the key difference between the two is that
probiotics are a means to adding in beneficial microbes whereas
prebiotics have a feeding action. So whilst they only have one vowel
that separates the two they actually have very different actions. Got it?
Newer into the gut health lexicon are
‘synbiotics’ which can be best described as a blend of both prebiotics and
probiotics where the prebiotics selectively favour the probiotic organisms. In
other words they are specifically designed to include prebiotics that feed the
particular strains of microbes in a given formula or food. Proponents of
synbiotics suggest that this more strategic partnership can help to combat some
of the challenges that have been highlighted with probiotics, most notably the
rate of survivability of the organisms to reach the large intestine. The premise
being that synbiotics may improve colonisation and as such staying power of
probiotics in the gut as well as having a direct stimulating effect on their
growth. Of course we also need to highlight that this is only really possible
when we have a healthy gut terrain. After all this is essential to supporting a
flourishing gut ecosystem which is why gut health barrier integrity is so
vitally important. ION* can help to nourish this on a more fundamental and
foundational level to enable the synbiotics to survive and thrive.
So where do we find synbiotics?
Well, we can actually see synbiotics occurring
naturally in certain foods such as yogurt for example – the lactose in the milk
feeds lactobacillus species of bugs that then ferment to create yogurt. Likewise
this is what happens to create a sourdough culture as the yeast and bacteria
feed off the carbohydrate in the grain in order to multiply. The probiotics are
largely destroyed in the cooking process of sourdough but many of the organic
acids and certainly the prebiotic element is very much in tact. We can also
make our own synbiotic meals through deliberate food combining which could be
sourdough with some traditional cheese like an aged cheddar for example. If we
add a spoonful of kimchi we’ve got even extra synbiotic (and taste) benefits.
In terms of taking synbiotics in a supplement
form it is really important to ensure that the supplement has legit credentials
and clinical trials to back up its claims and that it contains sufficient
amounts of probiotic CFU’s (colony forming units). Most credible supplements
contain at least 1 billion and with prebiotics the dosage is generally around
the 500-1,500mg mark. Obviously different supplements will have different
dosages depending on their formula but this can give you an approximate guide.
It is also worth noting as a final point that
whilst the rationale behind synbiotics seems sound, the actual clinical data
and research is fairly limited at this point so we still have a long way to
substantiate the various claims of synbiotics. And remember, to support any
burgeoning and symbiotic (yes I mean symbiotic) ecosystem we need healthy
foundations and this is very much true for our own inner microbial world.
REFERENCES
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