Gut Army Prebiotic & Probiotic Capsules

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria, and prebiotics is food for these bacteria. Both prebiotics and probiotics are important for human health. However, they have different roles: Probiotics.Probiotics are active bacterial cultures. These are live bacteria found in certain foods or supplements. They can provide numerous health benefits. Prebiotics.Prebiotics are substances that can only be metabolized by gut bacteria and not the human host. These substances come from types of carbs (mostly fiber) that humans can’t digest. The beneficial bacteria in your gut eat this fiber. The gut bacteria, collectively referred to as the gut flora, or gut microbiota, perform many important functions in the body. Eating balanced amounts of both probiotics and prebiotics can help ensure that you have the right balance of these bacteria to keep your gut microbiota healthy.

This is very important, and you’ll generally see quantities enumerated on a label as a certain billion or trillion CFU or AFU. To meet these criteria, each probiotic must be associated with an effective dosage, and this dosage is arrived at through clinical study or studies. Health benefits: So you’ve taken some live bacteria in the right amounts. But are they doing anything for you? To satisfy the definition of a probiotic, the live cultures must demonstrate a health benefit. This means each specific strain (not just the species) must have been clinically studied and shown to be beneficial.

Products that contain both prebiotics and probiotics are referred to as synbiotics. Synbiotic products usually combine friendly bacteria along with some food for the bacteria to eat (the prebiotics), all in one supplement. The most common probiotic bacteria are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. Other common kinds are Saccharomyces, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Escherichia, and Bacillus. Each genus comprises different species, and each species has many strains. Please refer to the section on Gut Army Microbial Consortia, which explains specific strains, the species, subspecies, and their specific health benefits. Different probiotics have been found to address different health conditions. Therefore, choosing the right type — or types — of probiotics is essential. Gut Army is a broad-spectrum Synbiotic, with 25 strains, combining different species in the same product.

We first need to clear up a common misconception: that probiotics have to colonize your gut and alter the composition of your microbiome to be effective. That’s not true: Probiotics typically don’t take up residence in your gut. Compared to the tens of trillions of microbes already rooted in your intestinal tract, most probiotics don’t contain enough new bacteria to make a significant difference in the composition of your microbiota. What scientists say is that, as transient microbes, probiotics travel through your colon, interacting with your immune cells, gut cells, dietary nutrients, and existing bacteria to, directly and indirectly, deliver benefits. Some enhance the gene expressions involved in tight junction signaling, which help protect against intestinal permeability—this means a tight gut barrier. Others trigger neurotransmitters that stimulate muscle contractions for increased motility—think easy, regular poops. Yet other bacteria produce byproducts like short-chain fatty acids, which have been shown—extensively—to be beneficial for metabolic and gut-immune health.

The food you eat plays an important role in the balance of good and bad gut bacteria. For example, high-sugar and high-fat diets negatively influence gut bacteria and may contribute to insulin resistance and other conditions. Once you regularly feed the wrong bacteria, they’re able to grow faster and colonize more easily, without as many helpful bacteria to prevent them from doing so. Harmful bacteria and less healthy gut flora have also been associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Additionally, foods treated with pesticides may have negative effects on gut bacteria, although more research is needed to confirm this. Studies have also shown that antibiotics can cause permanent changes in certain types of bacteria, especially when taken during childhood and adolescence. Because antibiotic use is so widespread, researchers are now studying how this may cause health problems in people later in life.