nosh magazine
UNDERSTANDING
PRE AND PROBIOTICS
Yakult’s dietitian Rachael Thompson helps you understand pre and probiotics.
ermenting food is an important part
of most food culture around the
world; the German’s have sauerkraut, and
the Korean’s have kimchi. Fermenting food
was originally a way of preserving foods
during times when foods weren’t available
all year round like they are now.
F
The fermentation process is an anaerobic
reaction (without oxygen), whereby the
lactobacilli bacteria naturally present on
the food being fermented feast on the
starch or sugar present in the food,
allowing the lactobacilli numbers to
multiply. The bacteria produce lactic acid,
giving fermented foods their characteristic
tangy flavour.
Fermented foods are full of probiotics
– live, beneficial bacteria that, when
consumed in sufficient quantities, provide
a health benefit to the host1 (that’s us!). The
most common types of probiotic bacteria
are those from the lactobacilli or
bifidobacteria families.
Probiotic bacteria may assist with
digestive health, and improve the
workings of our immune system. The
ways in which probiotics exert these heath
benefits are not yet fully understood. At
the moment, we believe it may be through
modifying the composition of the gut
microbiota, strengthening the gut
epithelial barrier (maintaining/repairing
tight junctions of the intestinal wall to
prevent bacteria passing through to the
blood stream), and training our immune
system to be more efficient2.
You can get your daily dose of probiotics
from the following foods:
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Yakult
Yoghurt
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Kefir
Kombucha.
It’s important to note that the process of
making yoghurt requires a starter culture,
but to enjoy the health benefits of probiotics,
look for a brand with added probiotics.
Also, some commercially available
sauerkraut and kimchi have undergone
pasteurisation, a heat process that destroys
the beneficial bacteria, so it’s best to make
your own if possible. There are heaps of easy
step-by-step guides on the Internet.
Prebiotics and probiotics go hand-in-hand;
prebiotics are non-digestible components of
food that act as fuel for the good bacteria in
our d