Eating a healthy diet with foods that promote your gut health is important, since your gut health can impact various other facets of your overall health. Probiotics and prebiotics are two important nutrients for gut health, and they work together to promote good digestive health. Each of these two food nutrients has a different role. Probiotics help introduce new beneficial microorganisms to your microbiome, while prebiotics help feed these microorganisms.

Most people benefit from regularly consuming prebiotic- and probiotic-rich foods since they promote a healthy gut microbiome. They’re an important part of a well-rounded diet, and they contain other important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

At Vascular Care Specialists of Los Angeles, Dr. Mathew Cheung and Dr. Peter Lin discuss the role of probiotics and prebiotics in your health. Previously they have discussed in a blog regarding how probiotics can improve your cardiovascular health. In this post, you will learn the difference between probiotics and prebiotics as well as their health benefits in your body. Once you learn these food nutrients, you can hopefully incorporate these foods in your diet regularly.

Prebiotics help beneficial gut bacteria to grow and thrive. Think of them like food for healthy gut bacteria. Prebiotics are a form of dietary fiber that feed the good bacteria in your gut. However, prebiotics are not the same as fiber. They are both, however, non-digestible by human enzymes. Like probiotics, they can be found in foods or in supplements. Some forms of probiotics produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate, and propionate through fermentation.

Most prebiotic foods are oligosaccharide carbohydrates including galacto-oligosaccharides, starch and glucose-derived oligosaccharides, and others. Some examples of prebiotic foods include:

• Asparagus
• Sugar beet
• Garlic
• Chicory
• Onion
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Wheat
• Honey
• Banana
• Barley
• Tomato
• Rye
• Beans

Your gut is made up of trillions of bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms, similar to or the same as the ones that exist in your gut. They can be found in certain foods or you can purchase them as supplements. There are a variety of species of probiotics. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the most common.

Probiotics are commonly found in fermented foods since the fermentation process often causes these bacteria to grow. They are also added to certain foods, like yogurt. Here are some good food sources of probiotics:

• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Sauerkraut
• Miso

There are also an increasing number of foods with added probiotics, like sparkling beverages or cereals. However, sometimes these products or the ones listed above may not contain legitimate probiotic strains, causing them to degrade before exerting a benefit on the gut.

The major benefit of adding probiotics and prebiotics to your diet is to improve your gut health. The wellness of your gut health can impact so many other aspects of your health, including your cardiovascular health. Here are 4 primary benefits of probiotics and prebiotics in your health.

1. Improve gut health

Probiotics may help prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea, constipation, and Clostridium difficile infection. Probiotics may also help manage symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and maintain or induce remission of ulcerative colitis a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Clinical studies have shown that taking prebiotics can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowl disease. Some researchers have shown that taking both prebiotics and probiotics could protect against the development and progression of colorectal cancer.

2. Improve absorption of certain micronutrients

Consuming prebiotics, particularly fructans found in foods like wheat, rye, and onions, is associated with improved absorption of calcium, leading to better bone mineral density.10 Prebiotics may also help with the absorption of magnesium and iron.

Furthermore, a review article examining the effects of probiotics on micronutrient absorption found that taking probiotics was associated with improved status of vitamin B12, calcium, folate, iron, and zinc in healthy individuals.

3. Improve immune function

Both prebiotics and probiotics are associated with improved immune health because of the gut’s impact on immune functioning. For example, a prebiotic mixture of oligofructose and inulin—found in foods like onions, bananas, and garlic—has been shown to promote the body’s immune response to influenza and measles vaccines, while galacto-oligosaccharides—found in beans and some dairy products—are associated with a reduced risk of atopic dermatitis (an immune condition) in infants.

A recent review article in 2022 showed that probiotic supplementation may play a role in preventing upper respiratory tract infections and reducing the length of infection when compared with placebo or no treatment.

4. Improve mental health

The gut-brain axis is an area of interest for researchers. Existing research has shown that prebiotics and probiotics may improve various mental disorders including anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, depression, autism, and more through various pathway.

One study found that probiotic supplementation reduced measures of stress and improved mental flexibility in older adults. Others have found that probiotics reduce symptoms of mild to moderate depression and reduced anxiety scores in some people.

While more research is necessary to fully understand this connection and determine specific treatment protocols using probiotics and prebiotics for mental conditions, there is potential for these to become treatment options with a low risk of side effects.

1. Probiotics may lower blood pressure

High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it may be lowered by certain probiotics. A clinical study showed that probiotic fermented milk can significantly reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. A similar study also found that probiotics can reduce blood pressure, especially under the following conditions:

• When blood pressure was high originally
• When multiple types of probiotics were taken at the same time
• When the probiotics were taken for more than 8 weeks
• When the dose was high

2. Probiotics may lower cholesterol

Several clinical studies have shown that certain probiotics may be able to lower blood cholesterol, particularly in people with high cholesterol levels.

One study in particular, which is a review of 15 studies, specifically examined the effects of Lactobacilli. There are two main types of cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is generally seen as “good” cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is generally viewed as “bad” cholesterol. This review found that, on average, Lactobacillus probiotics significantly reduced both total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. The review also found that two types of Lactobacillus probiotics, L. plantarum and L. reuteri, were particularly effective in reducing cholesterol levels.

There are a number of ways that probiotics may reduce cholesterol. For instance, probiotics can bind with cholesterol in the intestines to stop it from being absorbed. They also help produce certain bile acids, which help metabolize fat and cholesterol in your body. Additionally, certain probiotics can also produce short-chain fatty acids, which are compounds that can help prevent cholesterol from being formed by the liver.

3. Probiotics may reduce inflammation

Inflammation occurs when your body switches on your immune system in order to fight an infection or heal a wound. However, this can also happen as a result of a bad diet, smoking or an unhealthy lifestyle, and if it happens over a long time it can contribute to heart disease.

One study of 127 people with high cholesterol levels found that taking a Lactobacillus reuteri probiotic for 9 weeks significantly reduced the inflammatory chemicals C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen.

Fibrinogen is a chemical that helps blood to clot, but it may contribute to plaques in the arteries in heart disease. CRP is a chemical made by the liver that is involved with inflammation.

Another study of 30 men with high cholesterol levels found that taking a food supplement containing fruit, fermented oatmeal and the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum for 6 weeks also significantly reduced fibrinogen.

Most people benefit from regularly consuming prebiotic- and probiotic-rich foods since they promote a healthy gut microbiome. They’re an important part of a well-rounded diet, and they contain other important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. However, if you are severely ill or immunocompromised, it’s best to speak with your healthcare provider before adding more of these foods to your diet.

Even for the general public, whether or not you should take a prebiotic or probiotic supplement depends on your diet, and any health conditions. For example, for someone who doesn’t like food sources of probiotics or who is on a course of antibiotics, it may be worth trying a probiotic supplement. However, these supplements can be expensive and there’s still a lot left to be learned about them, so splurging on a costly supplement is often unnecessary for those who eat food sources of probiotics and prebiotics.

Since many sources of prebiotics are also sources of fiber, it’s best to increase your intake slowly if you’re not already consuming these foods regularly. Increasing your intake too quickly can lead to uncomfortable digestive symptoms.

Probiotics are live microbes that have certain health benefits. There is good evidence that certain probiotics can reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and inflammation. However, most of the study participants already had high blood pressure or cholesterol. Furthermore, not all probiotics are the same and only some may benefit heart health.

If you have high cholesterol or blood pressure, certain probiotics may be useful in addition to other medicines, diet and lifestyle changes.

At Vascular Care Specialists of Los Angeles, we strive to provide the best service, care, and results possible. If you have circulation problem related to your arteries or veins and would like to seek consultation with a vascular surgeon, give us a call at 626-275-9566 to schedule an appointment. You can also visit us at www.vcsla.com for more information.