When it comes to our health, we seldom look at decoding the root cause of what makes us sick! Rather we are bombarded with quick fix solutions which do nothing to solve the chronic health conditions & how to kick out chronic diseases from your life. Be it your nutritionist, healthcare practitioner, coach or trainer- all will give you some advice based on anecdotal evidence- which has worked for some folks. One of such quick fix solutions are Vitamin supplements- you are given that gummy vitamin to make you feel good. From herbal extracts to vitamin & mineral supplements you have a number of options to choose from. Obviously these are standard/generic suggestions without considering your unique biology & how these supplements would impact functioning of your cells at molecular level.
Now new trends of prebiotics & probiotics are shaping up. Studies have shown numerous health benefits of having probiotics which includes improving Gastrointestinal functions, modulating immune system, cancer prevention, overcoming irritable bowel diseases such as chronic diarrhea & most importantly healing gut. In Fact healing gut & optimizing gut diversity is the next big thing in health & wellness industry.
You have numerous probiotic options whether it is prescription by your health practitioner or taking OTC probiotic. The fact is there is nothing called healthy probiotic or prebiotic. Therefore before you rush to grab the most famous probiotic or those recommended by your healthcare practitioner, you should know about your unique biology to make the right decision in picking probiotics that will go with your unique biochemical activities taking place inside your body.
So what exactly are probiotics & probiotics? Probiotics are live organisms which are supposed to improve your gut diversity & give you health benefits when you consume them either through food or supplements. On the other hand, prebiotics are non digestible food components that stimulate the growth or promote beneficial microbial activities. Some times, Probiotics find it hard to colonise the gut. In such scenario, prebiotics helps fertilize them
Having prebiotics & probiotics in your diet can help you improve your overall health right from skin health, mental health ,improving the immune system as well as your digestive health. Prebiotics & Probiotics can help you have & maintain a healthy gut & can keep your body function as a well oiled machine. Besides, it helps restore balance of your gut which enables microbes in your gut to digest food, regulate your immune system, fend off pathogens or harmful bacteria & facilitate production of essential neurotransmitters. A lot of people even resort to Probiotics to overcome gas, bloating or constipation.
Here comes the most important part! Standard probiotic recommendations such as Yoghurt, Kimchi, fermented vegetables, kefir or even those prescribed by doctors are not always effective. Our body has close to 8000 strains of microbes & probiotics contain only a few specific strains. There is nothing called as one solution fits all Probiotics. It depends upon which strains are missing out in your gut & which probiotic can reinstate diversity or abundance of those strains. Therefore if someone tells you to have a lot of Yoghurt or some probiotic supplement without evaluating which strain is required to fix your gut, please take that advice with a pinch of salt.
Again how long you should take a particular probiotic for it to work would depend upon which strain you are taking, how much you are taking & what for you are taking. For instance, probiotics may work fast for conditions such as diarrhea while it may take a while to bring back your gut into balance which has been stripped by antibiotics or generally wrong dietary choices.
Although probiotics are safe & healthy to be consumed, taking the wrong strain of probiotics can lead to uncomfortable situations such as gas, diarrhea, constipation or frequent bloating. Therefore it is important to learn which probiotics will help you give that right combination of strains to be effective & heal your gut. This is where we step in. Through our UP THE GUT solution, we can digitise your body,measure your health up to epigenetic level & then tell you the right probiotics for your gut that brings back your gut microbiome homeostasis. For more details, visit us at www.genefitletics.com
Sources : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031164/
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know
