Probiotics and Prebiotics: The Whimsical Journey of Tim’s Gut Adventure
Once upon a time, a young man named Tim lived in a land not so far away.
A tale of how probiotics and prebiotics transformed his gut health and life. 🤩
Tim loved his burgers, fries, and all things deep-fried.
He believed that his stomach was invincible and could handle anything.
But oh boy, was he wrong!
Tim’s poor eating habits took a toll on his gut health, leaving him feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and with severe grumbles.
Poor Tim’s life was like a rollercoaster ride, but not fun like Disney Land!
Tim’s story isn’t unique by any means, and it might have carried on like that for the rest of his life!
As long as he was full and happy, he didn’t think much about the microscopic drama unfolding inside his gut.
At the start of his journey, Tim was quite naïve about the concept of gut health.
Tim's probiotic and prebiotic journey begins...
That is until a well-informed nutritionist explained the profound wisdom of feeding the “good bacteria,” probiotics, which lived in his gut and kept him flourishing.
Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that confer a health benefit on the host when consumed in adequate amounts.
In Tim’s case, the host was his gut.
This is the tale of how our plucky protagonist, Tim, consciously decided to fortify his diet with more of the good guys and create an ideal ‘gut society’.
Various foods provide these gut-friendly probiotics, such as yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir.
However, Tim, who was always one for flair and flamboyance, decided to explore the full spectrum of probiotic-rich foods.
How much probiotic food should you consume on any given day?
Great question.
You should consume about 10 to 20 billion colony-forming units (CFU) daily!
It’s hard to say what shocked Tim more – the idea of intentionally consuming colony-forming units or the fact that billions of them are needed every day!
Eeek!
So, let’s put it into perspective for you.
In microbiology, a colony-forming unit (CFU) serves as a measure to determine the quantity of viable bacteria or fungi present in a sample.
Essentially, a colony refers to a group of bacteria that are thriving together.
On average, one gram of kefir milk has about a billion CFUs.
One gram is less than a teaspoon, in fact, a lot less.
If you had 100ml or ½ a cup per day, that would be about 250 billion CFU’s!
Easy!
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much...
Helen Keller
While Tim found joy in the probiotic party, he realised that the probiotics were not as happy as him!
In fact, they were leaving the party in droves!
Why, you ask?
The favourite food of our helpful probiotic bacteria is the undigestible fibre we get from our foods.
This brought him to the beautiful world of prebiotics.
Probiotics get all the glory these days!
But as Napoléon said, “an army marches on its stomach.”
If probiotics were a city’s population, prebiotics were the grocery stores.
These indigestible food components nourish the probiotics, helping them thrive and multiply.
Probiotics and prebiotics really are a match made in heaven!
Tim began a mission to include prebiotic foods in his diet.
He filled his shopping cart with whole grains, bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus and apples.
He even started enjoying some chicory root in his morning yoghurt to pack that prebiotic punch.
Months passed, and Tim could feel the difference.
His gut was happier, and he had fewer encounters with harmful bacteria.
He realised that the balance of power in his gut had shifted in favour of the good guys, thanks to the probiotic and prebiotic rich foods.
Our tale ends here, but Tim’s journey continues.
He has learned that maintaining a healthy gut is an ongoing process, filled with nutritious food, laughter, and an occasional serving of probiotic rich Emmental cheese on whole wheat toast, smothered in prebiotic organic applesauce! (a guilt-free pleasure).
He now understands that the micro-world of our gut mirrors our larger world: it thrives on balance, diversity, and, importantly, a good feast of probiotics and prebiotics!
Moral of the story -
Be like Tim, invite more probiotics and prebiotics to your gut party, and remember – a happy gut is a happy you.
Looking to give your gut some love?
Check out these resources for gut health tips that will have your gut microbiome partying like it’s 1999.
