Pre & Probiotics For Good Gut Health
Guest blog post by Accredited Dietitian and Nutritionist Nikki Lancaster.
Gut health refers to our gut microbiome which is the colonies of different microorganisms living in our gastrointestinal tract. These include bacteria, viruses, and fungi of which there are trillions present within our large intestine (or colon). These microorganisms can be both good and bad, however through lifestyle and medical choices, we have the ability to improve our gut microbiome.
Pre and Probiotics are key to a healthy gut, ensuring that the good bacteria in the gut is thriving and providing you with the health benefits it has the ability to produce.
Probiotics are the live good bacteria present in the gut that the prebiotics from our food feed. The sources of probiotics include fermented foods such as yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut.
Prebiotics are the foods that fuel the probiotics (the live bacteria in the gut). These come from most high fibre foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains.
Gut health can be optimised through:
- Eating a healthy diet
- Eat the rainbow - a variety of coloured fruits and vegetables is ideal.
- Aim to include nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains daily
- Exercising regularly
- Drinking adequate water - 1.5L minimum per day
- Adequate sleep
- Managing stress
- Limiting antibiotic use
- Refrain from smoking
Gut health can also be optimised through probiotic supplementation, such as powders, capsules, liquid or drinks such as PERKii Targeted Release Probiotics. Each probiotic has different health effects, so it is recommended to discuss with your Doctor to find the most appropriate probiotic specific to what you are aiming to improve.
PERKii's Probiotic Drinks are incredible in that they uniquely deliver live probiotics in an ideal cold, moist, pH controlled environment to ensure that the probiotics reach the gut and at the highest possible absorption.
