Probiotics and prebiotics: what is the difference?

Know what each of the terms consists of and how they can improve your physical and mental well-being, as well as the splendor of your skin.

You can find probiotics and prebiotics in foods, medications and supplements. These can help us feel better and cure or improve certain pathologies. But to be able to use them for our benefit in a conscious way, we will start by defining each of them and the environment in which they live.

The home of probiotics and prebiotics is the intestinal flora

Within us live hundreds of bacterial species that, in total, reach an amount that multiplies by ten the number of cells in our body. But don’t feel dirty when reading it. These bacteria, most of which live in our intestines, make sure we have good health, both physically and mentally. And both inside and out.

This set of bacteria is called intestinal flora or microbiota and its balance is essential for its proper functioning. Alterations in this balance are very common. Stress situations, taking antibiotics, diseases such as gastroenteritis and many other everyday situations, may alter the balance of our flora. But there are ways to restore it: taking probiotics and prebiotics.

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are bacteria or yeasts, that is, live microorganisms, which, administered in the right amount, can positively add to our well-being.

Where can you find them? In different foods, in some medications and in supplements specifically designed to increase the concentration of probiotics in the body for a specific purpose. The most common are lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.

What about prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a type of carbohydrate that our body is not able to digest and that serves as food for certain types of beneficial bacteria when fermented in the gastrointestinal tract. That is, simplifying it, probiotics eat prebiotics.

The most studied prebiotics currently are inulin and fructooligosaccharides.

Now that you know what they are, where probiotics and prebiotics live, and that contribute to the proper functioning of your health, why are they so important to enjoy the maximum splendor of our skin?

Its effect on the quality of our skin

These good bacteria contribute more than we can imagine to the well-being of our skin. Experts say that it is not possible to have good skin if the state of our intestines is not well. This is because it constitutes the first defense of our body and, therefore, communicates continuously with our immune system.

This statement, which would be encompassed within the currently popularized term gut health, hides much behind. Science offers us thousands of different strains that will act differently according to what we want to achieve in one of our most visible organs: the skin.

One way to ensure an ideal balance in the bacterial colonies of our intestines is to incorporate orally administered probiotics and prebiotics into our daily care routines. With the simple gesture of taking a pill, we will be doing a lot for our inner and outer health.

How to know what probiotics and prebiotics to buy

Each type of skin will benefit more from one type or another of bacteria, but there are certain tricks you can use to make sure you’re choosing well.

1. Ideally, choose slow-release or tindalized probiotics so taht they reach the intestine without being affected by stomach acid.
2. When the preparation contains more ingredients, see if the probiotics or prebiotics are in the top positions. If they are too far back in the list, it means that the amount they contain is too small.
3. Look at the packaging. If they are for the skin, light and air can damage them very easily, so it is better to choose containers without transparent glass.

The secret, both in physical health, as in emotional or in our skin, always lies in balance. When you feel that you are in harmony, everything starts to improve, and both prebiotics and probiotics are a good start to start finding that balance we all are looking for.