Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Diva Podcast. I'm your host, Monica Reinegel. And today's

show topic was suggested by Max, who wrote, I've heard you talk about prebiotics and probiotics,

but I just came across a reference to postbiotics. What are these? And how do they affect our health

or nutrition? Well, Max, all three of those terms, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics,

have to do with the trillions of bacteria that live and work in our digestive tracts.

Understanding the complex interactions between us and our unseen guests has really become the

leading edge of nutrition and health research. Everything we thought we knew about nutrition,

digestion, immunity, and metabolism is now being re-evaluated through the lens of the microbiome.

Who knew that these little critters were so important? So first, let's just sort out some of

our terms. Probiotic refers to the bacteria that we might get from foods or supplements

that are thought to have beneficial effects in the body. The lactobacillus and bifidobacteria that

we get from yogurt, for example, are some of the more common types of probiotic bacteria.

Prebiotic refers to the foods that we consume that also provide fuel for the bacteria that

inhabit our intestines. And this fuel is mostly in the form of plant fibers from vegetables, grains,

and legumes. We humans lack the enzymes to digest these fibers, so they arrive more or less intact

in the large intestine. But unlike us, the bacteria living in our large intestine do have the enzymes

to digest these fibers, so eating more of those foods can bolster the health and the vitality

of your intestinal population. Sinbiotic is another term that you might come across,

and this refers to a product that combines probiotic bacteria with prebiotic fibers.

Sort of the way you might buy a product for your lawn that includes both grass seed and plant food

to help it grow. Now, postbiotics is a relatively new term, and it's been coined to refer to the

metabolic byproducts of those probiotic bacteria. And metabolic byproducts is really sort of a

...