If you’re big on gut health or are looking to improve your gut health, you may know what prebiotics and probiotics are...but have you heard of postbiotics? It’s not as widely known as pre- and pro-, but it can play a great role in supporting many aspects of your health. To better understand postbiotics, it can be helpful to learn the differences between all three.
For a healthy microbiome you need to feed your probiotic bacteria. Probiotic bacteria require non-digestible carbohydrates or non-digestible fiber.
Living microorganisms that give a health benefit to the host. Different bacteria produce different metaboltes, so variety is important.
Postbiotics help control and manage gastrointestinal health. Probiotic bacteria produce numberous classes of postbiotic compounds.
These are nutrients that can help provide “food” to promote good bacteria growth and help change the composition of gut microbiota (microorganisms that live in your digestive tract). Prebiotics can mainly be found in dietary fiber from fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.
Probiotics are actually the gut microbes themselves. They have properties known to help maintain a healthy gut and help strengthen the immune system, as about 70% of your immune system is within the gut. You can find probiotics through foods like yogurt, kombucha, and kimchi.
Postbiotics have been linked to many health benefits for the gut and immune system. One type is essentially a byproduct of probiotic fermentation. When your gut bacteria (probiotics) digest and break down fibers (prebiotics) the result is a postbiotic. The “leftover” or “waste” that comes from the probiotic creates the postbiotic which can help give a healthy boost to your gut, alongside any other health benefits.
The second type is dead/inactive bacteria. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) defines it as “a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host.” These non-viable microorganisms are often more stable and convenient to include in food products.
Interest in inanimate types of postbiotic ingredients has increased over the past several years due to its health benefits; however, there’s little information on how to easily include it in your diet. That’s why we’ve created Mori-Nu Plus Fortified Tofu – a convenient and versatile way of adding postbiotics to your routine. It’s packed with protein, calcium, vitamin D, and includes our proprietary postbiotic, LAC-Shield.
LAC-Shield is a pasteurized Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849 that is Morinaga’s proprietary postbiotic. Clinical studies show that the heat-killed postbiotic strain (L. paracasei MCC1849) possesses excellent immune-stimulating activity.
The best part? Just one serving of Mori-Nu Plus contains 10 billion Lactobacillus paracasei cells. It works as a beneficial alternative to live bacteria and has been added to our Fortified Tofu to support your immune system and general well-being, so your body feels its best.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
