Gut health basics: Why the microbiome matters

If you’re new to the topic of gut health, you are likely just learning about your gut microbiome and the positive impact emerging science shows it may have on your overall health and wellbeing.

Your gut microbiome is a community of trillions of tiny, living organisms – good and bad bacteria – that populate your large and small intestines. They’re living, breathing, feeding and growing within you every minute of every day. While that may sound concerning, it’s not.

A balanced gut microbiome – the ideal amount of good and bad bacteria – supports several aspects of your health, including digestion, metabolism, managing occasional stress, getting good sleep, staying fit, heart health, managing a healthy weight and absorbing nutrients from food and supplements. Also, 70% of your body’s immune system is located in the gut.

So, when it comes to overall wellness, it’s pretty important to take care of your gut. But how do you support a balanced gut microbiome?

Habits to support a healthy gut

Your body works hard every day to try to keep your good and bad bacteria at ideal levels, but it’s all too easy to lose that delicate balance, said Kristin Morris, a principal research scientist for Nutrilite™ products with a Ph.D. in nutrition biochemistry. The Western diet includes too many processed foods and not enough plants. Combine that with other poor lifestyle habits, and that balance is at risk, she said. Focusing on healthy habits is the best place to start when it comes to supporting your gut health.

• NUTRITION: Strive for a plant-based diet that is rich in antioxidants while limiting sugars, fats and processed foods.
• HYDRATION: Try to drink at least half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day while also consuming foods with high water content like fruits and vegetables.
• EXERCISE: Set a target of 7,000-10,000 steps each day with at least 75 minutes of regular exercise each week.
• MINDFULNESS: Do activities such as meditation, diaphragmatic breathing or yoga to practice mindfulness 1–2 times per day.

Gut health supplements: Prebiotic vs probiotic vs postbiotic

Gut health supplements or digestive supplements are another way to support a balanced gut microbiome, and there are a lot to choose from. So much so that it can be confusing – especially when it comes to prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics.

“Each of these ‘biotics’ are an important part of a balanced gut microbiome so, when choosing gut health supplements, it’s important to ensure you’re getting all three,” Morris said. “Together, they play a unique, complementary function in the gut.”

Prebiotics are food for your microbiome

Prebiotics are a type of fiber that serve as food for the good bacteria in your gut, promoting their growth. They are the undigestible parts of many plant-based foods such as garlic, onions, asparagus and oats. Just like people have different preferences in food, the bacteria have different preferences for prebiotics.

“When our gut bacteria are properly nourished and thriving, they can help us to thrive as well,” Morris said. “It’s important that we consume a variety of prebiotics daily so that we are providing foods preferred by different kinds of good bacteria present in our gut.”

Probiotics are the good bacteria in your microbiome

Probiotics are live, beneficial bacteria that can be consumed through certain foods or supplements, adding to the good bacteria in your gut microbiome. These bacteria, when consumed regularly, contribute to gut health by helping to balance gut microbiome.

These good gut bacteria use prebiotics as food to help them grow and thrive. You can consume probiotics through probiotic supplements or through some fermented foods that retain live cultures, including certain types of sauerkraut, kimchi or kombucha.

“There are many factors in our daily lives that can impact the balance of bacteria in our gut, including pollution, poor dietary choices, sedentary behavior, stress and lack of sleep,” Morris said. “Choosing probiotic dietary supplements and foods that provide good bacteria, such as fermented foods, helps to replenish and maintain levels of good bacteria in our gut.”

Postbiotics are the byproducts of what happens in your microbiome

Postbiotics are what’s left when probiotics digest prebiotics. They include beneficial molecules like enzymes, acids and microbial cells that help improve digestion and maintain gut health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Even though they are no longer active or living like probiotics, they still have an important role to play in the health of your gut microbiome. You can get postbiotics through supplements to bolster what your gut already produces.

Another way to describe their roles is to think about your gut microbiome as a garden. Prebiotics are like fertilizer, probiotics are the plants and postbiotics are what the plants produce, like fruit or fallen leaves. Fertilizing leads to flourishing plants, which leads to fruit. Or in the case of prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, balance within the microbiome.

Daily GI Primer for foundational support

A great place to start with gut health supplements is a comprehensive product like a daily gut primer that offers more than one gut health benefit.

Nutrilite Begin Daily GI Primer, for example, is a plant-rich drink supplement designed to prime the gut at the start of each day.† It features six gut-supporting blends in one. It has prebiotics and postbiotics to promote the growth of good bacteria and a balanced gut microbiome as well as digestive enzymes to help break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It also includes fruit and vegetable concentrates, alkaline spices and fermented greens.

Probiotics were intentionally left out of the Begin Daily GI Primer because of their sensitive nature. Probiotics are living organisms and when consumed they must make it alive all the way to your gut so they can live in your microbiome. Because of that, probiotic supplements must be specially formulated to protect them on their journey through your digestive system.

To ensure you’re getting the benefits of all three (prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics), it’s recommended that you pair a daily probiotic supplement with Begin Daily GI Primer, such as Nutrilite Balance Within™ Probiotic. (Learn more about choosing a probiotic.)

Additional targeted support

Everyone’s digestive system is different, and there are a variety of other gut health supplements to consider based on what your body might need. Fiber helps support regularity and overall gut health, but most people don’t get the recommended 21-38g of fiber each day from their diet. A fiber supplement can help fill those gaps.

Digestive enzymes help your body break down foods into simpler nutrients, working at the early stage of the digestive process (pre-digestion). Your body typically produces all the digestive enzymes it needs, but sometimes people need extra enzymes to further support digestion. They can consider a digestive enzyme supplement, which can help digestion so your body can absorb as many nutrients as possible.

If you’re interested in supporting a healthy body composition and waistline as well as normal metabolic function,† there is Nutrilite Metabolic Pre & Postbiotic. It supports a healthy weight with a blend of gut-healthy ingredients including whole kiwi fruit and purple carrot prebiotics and a clinically studied postbiotic.†

Want to learn more about your gut health? Consider the Nutrilite Begin 30 Holistic Wellness Program, a 30-day, guided program focused on gut health through improving the way you eat, drink, move and think. The holistic approach is designed to build healthier habits that can lead to big wellness wins for your gut and overall health and wellbeing.

†This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.