How does Diet Affect Gut Health?

We’ve all heard of probiotics, which are actual live cultures of beneficial bacteria that are found in foods such as yogurt, pickles, miso, kombucha, and other fermented foods. By consuming probiotic foods, we’re adding beneficial bacteria to our microbiome, in hopes of shifting our bacterial ratios to be more favorable to our health.

Prebiotics are soluble fibers that are fermented by bacteria, thereby allowing them to thrive. The byproducts of this fermentation are short-chain fatty acids, which have been found to reduce cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity.

Synbiotics are foods that contain both Prebiotics and Probiotics, like pickled asparagus. Having the prebiotics and probiotics together is thought to improve health outcomes more than having either of them on their own, however research on synbiotics is limited.