In the world of gut health, many new terms can be confusing, especially those ending in -biotics. Today, we’ll clarify these terms and focus on synbiotics—what they are, their benefits, and how to include them in your daily routine.
What are biotics?
In the scientific world, there are different terminologies that we need to learn. They can start a word, be the middle of the word, or end a word to give you insight into what the word means.
Think back to high school and one of your classes was biology. Broken down: bio means life or living organisms and ology means the study of something. So biology means the study of life and living things.
The ending -tics means pertaining to something. So biotics are things that pertain to living things. Whatever prefix we put onto it will determine what pertains to living things.
Let’s talk about some of the common -biotics.
Antibiotics — against living organisms
Prebiotics — things that come before the living things (these are actually what feed the living organisms). Prebiotics in our diet are non-digestible fibers that the bacteria need to ferment and feed on for our bodies to use.
Probiotics — now pro- can be a little tricky because oftentimes it also means coming before something else. In the case of probiotics, it’ll take the meaning of “on behalf of” or “for life”. Probiotics are living organisms that work to help the human body function at its best. The organisms living inside our bodies can be supported by eating foods that contain probiotics to help enrich the balance of the microbes within our bodies.
Postbiotics — post- meaning “after”, are the result of what the bacteria give off as a result of the fermentation process (when they eat they ferment the foods to break them down which results in chemicals being sent out into the body — healthy foods result in healthy chemicals while unhealthy foods send out damaging chemicals)
These are all common words you see when gut health supplements are being spoken about.
What are synbiotics?
The word prefixes “syn” and “sym” (depending on the word) means together. Symbiotic relationships are when two organisms live together harmoniously and provide benefits to one another that without the other they may not prosper as effortlessly. Different animals have symbiotic relationships.
Our bodies work with bacteria symbiotically.
Synbiotics (with an n) are a combination of prebiotics (non-digestible fibers to feed bacteria) and probiotics (bacterial strains that bolster our gut microbiome balance).
Synbiotics take the best of both worlds by providing your gut with extra (healthy) bacteria and good foods to feed them so that your body can produce the beneficial postbiotics on its own and avoid needing antibiotics.
See how they all fit together?
So let’s talk more about synbiotics and why you might want them in your body.
Potential Benefits of Synbiotics
If your health is not where you’d like it, ask your doctor if synbiotics are right for you. Some of the common symptoms of your body not quite being at its best (which can be directly linked to dysbiosis) include:
- Brain fog
- Irregular bowel movements (constipation, diarrhea, a mixture of the two, or not having a bowel movement daily)
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Low energy levels
- Anxiety, depression, or other mental unwellness
There are a ton of studies that suggest that probiotics and prebiotics can be beneficial in these situations. They’re also suggested for more serious cases, such as:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular disease
- Gastrointestinal Issues
- Cancer
Studies show that the use of synbiotics or probiotics can help with major depressive disorder (MDD). People in a study were paired against healthy controls. They were given a placebo, probiotics, synbiotics, or prebiotics. Those who took probiotics or synbiotics received the most benefit.
Synbiotics are currently being studied for transplant patients. When people receive organ transplants, they have to take immunosuppressants and antibiotics to avoid organ rejection and infections.
However, this severely disrupts the gut microbiome and the immune system. So the thought is that if synbiotics are added to the recovery regimen, they should help balance out the negative effects.
So far the results of current studies have not shown much benefit. However, with the gut microbiome being so complex many of these things require a lot of trial and error before it can become an exact science. The fact that each microbiome is as unique to that person as their fingerprints also causes this to be a difficult treatment to nail down.
Where can I get synbiotics?
You can get synbiotics in your diet simply by incorporating foods that are fermented. They often have probiotics and many also include vegetables in the process which can provide prebiotics at the same time. Sauerkraut is a great example of a fermented food that can provide both prebiotics and probiotics.
However, many people don’t like these kinds of foods. In addition, it’s not easy to figure out what strains you’re receiving in these foods — also sometimes people confuse pickled foods with fermented foods and think they’re getting probiotics when they actually aren’t.
So some doctors may suggest that you take synbiotic supplements.
Because synbiotics contain probiotics, they may not be safe for all populations, so please talk to your doctor before adding probiotics or probiotic-containing foods/supplements to your diet. However, if you’re looking for a good supplement to provide your body with synbiotics, Atrantil PRO is a great option.
Atrantil PRO
You can only get Atrantil PRO from your doctor, which makes it safer than other options on the market. This ensures that you CAN take probiotics in the first place and that it won’t negatively interact with your other medications or diagnosis.
Atrantil PRO has all the wonderful goodness of Atrantil (prebiotics, postbiotics, and polyphenols) while adding in spore-based organisms (SBO probiotics). We prefer this type of probiotic because:
- They lay dormant until they reach your microbiome (in your colon) — this protects the bacteria from your stomach acid so they can actually provide your body with the benefits you’re looking for.
- If the body doesn’t need them at that time, they will pass through in your stool or hang out and wait until your body needs them.
- They help to fight off pathogenic bacteria in your gut and remove them from your body.
- Your body knows how to use them because they come from the soil. Our bodies know this from our ancestors and so our body innately can use them easier than those created in a lab.
Talk to your doctor about using Atrantil PRO to get your gut health back in order because probiotics and prebiotics together are the best way to get your gut health back in check.
