Probiotics are good for everyone. Adding good bacteria to your diet is beneficial for an overall healthy lifestyle, starting with your gut first. Dietary fiber or roughage falls under the macronutrient category, abundantly found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. These are any non-digestible carbohydrate that is found in plant sources. Probiotics and fiber can be a powerful duo when taken properly.
Probiotics the Good Bacteria
Probiotics are live bacteria that promote the overall health of the host when eaten. It is claimed that probiotics generally improve or restore gut flora. They can be obtained from foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, miso, Kombucha, pickles, traditional buttermilk, natto, and some types of cheese. The first probiotic was a certain strain of bacillus in Bulgarian yogurt in 1905. This discovery was made by Bulgarian physician and microbiologist Stamen Grigorov.
Probiotics help the host in different ways including helping the body to digest food, keeping bad bacteria from getting out of control and making people sick, creating vitamins, and supporting the cells that line the gut to prevent bad bacteria that may have been consumed, breakdown, and absorption of medications. They are believed to prevent gastrointestinal discomfort, improve immune health, relieve constipation, and avoid the common cold. Furthermore, probiotics are generally safe to consume, but some rare side effects of consuming them include a temporary increase in gas, bloating, constipation, and thirst.
Dietary Fiber
Fiber is a macronutrient that consists of non-digestible carbohydrates and lignin. It is also known as dietary fiber and roughage. It promotes the overall health of the host when consumed. It is a portion of plant-derived food that cannot be digested by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition. They can be classified based on solubility, viscosity, and fermentability. Dietary fiber has two main components: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Moreover, dietary fibers are components of plant foods such as legumes, whole grains, cereals, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
The advantages of consuming fiber depend on which type of fiber is consumed. Bulking fibers like cellulose and hemicelluloses absorb and hold water and promote regularity. Viscous fibers such as beta-glucan and psyllium thicken fecal mass. Fermentable fibers such as resistant starch, xantham gum, and inulin feed gut bacteria of the large intestine and metabolize them to yield short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids have diverse roles in gastrointestinal health.
Main Differences between Probiotics and Fiber
The thing that stands out about probiotics is that they are living organisms that your body needs to survive. Probiotics can actively help to increase the number of good bacteria in your gut. By contrast, fiber is a non-living carbohydrate that passes through your digestive tract. Let me sum up the difference between fiber and probiotics in two sentences. Fiber helps your gut through a combination of creating movement and feeding good gut bacteria. Probiotics help your gut by increasing the number of healthy bacteria in the gut.
Main Similarities of Probiotics and Fiber
- Fiber and probiotics are two important additions to a healthy diet in humans.
- Together, they can create a powerhouse of health benefits for humans.
- Soluble fiber and probiotics together yield short-chain fatty acids that have diverse roles in gastrointestinal health.
- Both are extremely important to live longer.
- However, they may have rare side effects.
The benefit of Taking Probiotics and Fiber Together
Probiotics and fiber supplements are typically used to treat digestion and elimination problems. Probiotics can help balance your intestinal flora, the healthy bacteria in your intestines. Many people rely on probiotics if they take antibiotics, which can destroy gut bacteria. Fiber supplements can alleviate constipation and pass stools through your intestinal tract. They may also help with irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, and diabetes.
There are many ways to consume probiotics. Various makers of yogurt and kefir, a fermented dairy product, market probiotic products that contain several bacteria strains. Most grocery stores sell probiotic capsules in the drug aisle. More concentrated versions, including liquid forms, may be found at higher-end grocery and nutrition shops. Fiber supplements include cereal and cereal bars, muffins, powdered mixtures, and tablets.
