At N1 – your leading Johannesburg and Cape Town meat wholesalers – we take great pride in our core values and we constantly strive to provide the best quality, service and delivery possible! We also believe in keeping abreast of all things in the wholesale meat and food industry, and that includes the role food plays in our health. A subject that’s gained much attention in the world of nutrition is how important a happy gut is for optimal health.

To understand the difference between probiotics and prebiotics, we first have to consider the role of bacteria in our bodies. About 100 trillion bacteria, both good and bad, live inside our digestive systems. Collectively, they're known as the gut microbiota. Many scientists actually refer to this as the forgotten organ; and having the right gut bacteria is linked to many health benefits including better digestion, weight loss, and a stronger immune system – in short, its presence helps our bodies fight off many diseases. 

The importance then of caring for our gut flora cannot be underestimated, which is where probiotics become important. Probiotics are certain foods or supplements that contain beneficial bacteria that help healthy guts continue to perform at their best. Good examples of probiotics include certain yoghurts and also fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir and certain non-pasteurised pickles.

While probiotics are the beneficial bacteria, prebiotics, on the other hand, are the foods that these bacteria feed on! In other words, if you want your good bacteria to flourish, you need to keep them well fed which means consuming certain types of carbs (mostly fibre) which we can’t digest, but which the beneficial bacteria can. Examples of prebiotics include legumes, beans, peas, oats, banana, berries, asparagus, garlic, leeks and onions.

Together prebiotics and probiotics are a powerful team! Maintaining a happy and healthy gut by regularly consuming these can help your body beat systemic inflammation, depression and anxiety; and also help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels – which brings new meaning to the Hippocrates quote ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ doesn’t it?!