Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

Are you giving it what it needs to keep you healthy and strong?

How do you help your microflora stay energetic, active, healthy, and powerful?

After all, its composition determines whether you'll withstand a course of antibiotics or a year later suffer from digestive problems, whether the puzzle will come together in the formation of bile acids, the metabolism of bad estrogens, in the normal immune response to flu, and ultimately, whether you'll live for 60 years or a 100. The QUALITY of microbiota is responsible for all of this, among other things.

There are several ways to solve this task.

• Diet

• Prebiotics

• Probiotics

In particular, through diet, you can very well support microflora diversity, and nutritionists usually advocate introducing prebiotics specifically from food.

Brief glossary:

Prebiotics are substrates and different types of fibers used to reproduce various types of beneficial bacteria. This includes rough and soluble fiber and some other substances, such as fructooligosaccharides, inulin, glucomannans, and others.

Probiotics are the bacterial strains that we introduce into ourselves from supplements in capsules/powder.

So, about fiber.

We can get a wide variety of fiber sources from food products. These mainly pass through the upper digestive tract and are fermented in the large intestine, where they are transformed into various "treats" for intestinal cells and friendly bacteria.

Effects of different types of fiber on the intestines:

It slows down the evacuation of food from the stomach, which allows protein components to be well-saturated with hydrochloric acid.

Slows down glucose and insulin spikes after eating.

In the large intestine - this means fermentation, formation of SCFAs (short-chain fatty acids that nourish intestinal cells), maintenance of normal water levels (prevention of constipation), and formation of hormones and regulatory molecules.

Now to practical matters.

Products and substances that should be added to the diet for microflora health:

Any plant food has prebiotic properties, especially vegetables and greens, most notably Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, different types of cabbage, fermented vegetables, green bananas, cooled white rice and potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, greens and salads, and mushrooms.

The key to success lies in VARIETY!

If you eat super-healthy broccoli 3 times a day for a year, nothing will grow there! Your plate should have a rainbow of textures, colors, and varieties.

The same apple will give you different fiber types when raw versus baked.

You should leave the store with a different set of vegetables each time. This also applies to varieties of meat, fish, berries, and fruits.

Fermented dairy products contain many prebiotics, but many people can't. The best option is raw goat yogurt and aged cheeses like cheddar and parmesan from goat's/sheep's milk.

A healthy person can have EVERYTHING in adequate amounts! The main thing is to achieve stable remission and initially put in the effort.

Prebiotics include the following substances:

• Apple pectin

• Beta-glucan 

• Glucomannan

• Aloe

• Psyllium

• Xylooligosaccharides (XOS)

• Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)

• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)

• Mannanoligosaccharides (often included in Saccharomyces boulardii) Arabinogalactan

• Chitosan

• Butyrate

• Lactulose and many others.

All these substances are available as supplements and should be combined and alternated. Each deserves attention and additionally has various properties: immunomodulating, coating, anti-inflammatory, and sorbing.

The more diverse the incoming types of prebiotics, the better the chances of growing good and effective microflora.

IMPORTANT!!! First, consult a specialist about your situation; any treatment requires an individual approach.

With current SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), prebiotics are not introduced, with the only exceptions being: glucomannan, aloe, and chitosan. That is, first, we treat SIBO, and only then populate the cleaned space with new inhabitants.

Prebiotics without probiotics can be used and have good results, provided that you won't simultaneously grow pathogens with inappropriate food.

Pharmacy prebiotic preparations: medications containing famotidine and sodium bicarbonate, preparations containing strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Saccharomyces boulardii.

Prebiotics are used for IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), after SIBO treatment, to correct microflora quality after taking medications (NSAIDs, OCPs, antibiotics, PPIs, and others)

Many supplements use inulin as their base, which we've already written about. You can use its natural sources in your food.

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Warm regards,
Kos and Helen.