Prebiotics are substances that act as a food for the human microbiome, which is the environment in your stomach where bacteria live. New research suggests that prebiotics may be much more important than probiotics. Instead of adding or supplementing with new bacteria, we should focus on feeding what is already present. To further complicate matters with Probiotics, the ratios of Probiotics needed are very individualized and vary from person to person. The fact is, there is not a one size fits all approach to Probiotics, however, this is not the case with Prebiotics. This is because the microbiome loves vegetables and high fiber foods.

The problem is that the average American is only eating roughly half of the recommended daily fiber. As a result, the microbiome is suffering. A much more refined way of promoting the microbiome is to simply provide the necessary substances they feed on and let the flora come into a proper balance based on the individual makeup. Within a balanced microbiome, the beneficial flora (Good Bacteria) fight off the pathogenic flora (Bad Bacteria) and give us good health.