We receive a lot of questions regarding both probiotics and prebiotics:
- What are probiotics good for?
- What are prebiotics?
- Are probiotics and prebiotics safe to take together?
- What are the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics?
- How can I boost gut health with probiotics and prebiotics?
- How can I find the best probiotic for my personal health?
We’re here to answer these commonly asked questions and explain why these probiotics and prebiotics play a major role in achieving better digestion, improved immune response, and a host of other health benefits
What are probiotics?
Your body has both good and bad bacteria, and a healthy gut is well balanced between the two. If you experience gut issues, one cause might be that your gut bacteria is imbalanced. Queue probiotics!
Probiotics are good bacteria that live in your body and help!
- Probiotics break down and digest food
- Probiotics support the immune system
- Probiotics improve gut health
When you consume probiotics, this good bacterium gets added to the population of healthy microbes in your gut.
Probiotics can be taken through both food sources and probiotic supplements. Most fermented foods contain probiotics which include sauerkraut, yogurt, kombucha, miso, pickles and kimchi.
Every probiotic is different because of the variation in bacteria strains. For example, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are two common strains known to improve digestion and support gut health. In the Lactobacillus strain alone, there are over 120 species!
Dr Tobias Health Tip: When buying probiotic supplements, it’s important to note the strains it contains. We recommend a multi-strain probiotic that targets your specific gut health concerns. Dr. Tobias Probiotics 30 Billion contain a multi-strain formula with both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains.
What are prebiotics?
Unlike probiotics, prebiotics don’t contain any bacteria. They’re a type of dietary fiber that helps feed and grow good bacteria in your gut. We like to think of them as fertilizer for good bacteria.
Like probiotics, they can be found in food sources and dietary supplements. The fiber inulin is a prebiotic that can be found in foods such as bananas and asparagus. This fiber isn’t digestible by your body, so it passes through the digestive system and becomes food for bacteria and other microbes. Foods that contain both prebiotics and probiotics are called synbiotics. These include cheese, kefir, and some varieties of yogurt.
Should I take both Probiotics and Prebiotics together?
The short and simple answer is YES!
They might sound similar, but they both play different (and complementary) roles in improving your gut and digestive health. By combining a prebiotic with your probiotic the effectiveness of the probiotic is boosted and the digestive tract benefits.
If you are looking to repair or prepare your gut and encourage healthy digestion, we would recommend a combination of Dr. Tobias Probiotics 30 Billion alongside Dr. Tobias Prebiotics.
Dr. Tobias Probiotics 30 Billion, is a powerful blend, including 10 probiotic strains with 30 billion CFU’s per capsule. The formula of spore-forming bacteria is delivered deeply into the gut, withstanding stomach acid and releasing in the intestines for better absorption.
Dr. Tobias Ultimate Prebiotics contain Dr. Tobias patented PreforPro® formula. Dr. Tobias PreforPro® Prebiotics act as healthy food for probiotics so that the probiotics can continue to colonize, and the tiny microbes can more easily devour the food you ingest in an efficient way.
And, for an even more convenient way to ensure your gut is getting a healthy dose of both pre and probiotics, you might wish to try Dr. Tobias Deep Immune Probiotics 4.4 billion CFU. Deep Immune is formulated with both probiotics and prebiotics, in one, easy to take, daily capsule.
For healthy gut flora and yeast balance, Dr. Tobias Probiotics for Women is formulated with Pacran®, Cranberry Extract for additional urinary tract support.
Gut health affects your whole body, from your bowels to your kidneys, heart, skin, and brain. For best results, take your supplements alongside some food and always make sure to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. If you’d like to learn more, check out the related blog articles below!
