Discover how Thistle Meals, loaded with prebiotics and probiotics, can support your gut microbiome and overall health. Learn about the benefits, recommended intake, and tasty ways to incorporate these vital nutrients into your diet.
Did you know that there are live microorganisms inside your body? This might be a little strange to think about, but rest assured that these microbes are crucial to our health.
These microbes that live in our bodies are called probiotics, and they are necessary for gut health. The absence of probiotics may also be linked to other health conditions. Since probiotics are living organisms, they require their own food source: enter prebiotics. This blog post digs into what these organisms are, how they support our health, how much you should aim to consume, plus some examples for how to include more pre- and probiotics in your diet.
Probiotics vs. Prebiotics
We’ll start with the differences between the two similar-sounding nutrients. Probiotics, as defined by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, are “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” In other terms, probiotics are living microbes that provide the host (us!) with health benefits. The same source defined prebiotics as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit.” While this sounds similar to the last definition, prebiotics can be thought of as the food source that keeps probiotics alive and flourishing. Together, pre- and probiotics live together with other bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Ideally, these organisms are balanced and coexist peacefully in an environment called a microbiome. Most pre- and probiotics are located in the small and large intestines, which are included in the term “gut microbiome.”
The gut microbiome is a newer field of interest, and is understood to originally develop at birth, though factors such as diet, environment and medication all change the composition of the gut throughout life. The Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health mentions that our gut microbiomes “stimulate the immune system, break down potentially toxic food compounds, and synthesize certain vitamins and amino acids, including the B vitamins and vitamin K.” Emerging research suggests that the degradation of the microbiome could be linked with other health conditions such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, some cancers and allergies.
Foods with Pre- and Probiotics
The good news is that there are a plethora of tasty ways to increase the number of healthy microbes in your body, and the food source they need to thrive!! Probiotics are found in larger amounts in fermented foods – these can include kimchi, kombucha, pickles, miso paste, tempeh, sourdough bread and many yogurts. Some yogurts do not include probiotic cultures, so when selecting a yogurt (vegan or non-vegan), you’ll want to look for the words “live and active cultures” in the ingredient list. Prebiotic fibers are found in onion, garlic, unripe bananas, flax and chia seeds, legumes, oats, spinach, blueberries and artichokes. Check out these delicious suggestions for how to include more of these ingredients outside your Thistle deliveries!
The foods mentioned above are excellent additions to your diet for general health, and have the added bonus of providing pre- and probiotics. The amount of these organisms you need to consume each day will depend on many factors, including your medical conditions, age, medications, strains consumed and the form in which you ingest them. In supplemental form, common dosages include 10-20 billion CFUs – known as colony-forming units – per day for adults. It’s best to check with your medical professional for dosage support.
Many of the food sources discussed are included in Thistle meals and add-ons. We love highlighting ingredients that support full body wellness, and the gut biome is certainly included here! One standout offering from Thistle is our Probiotic Juice Shot, which is packed with an impressive 1.1 billion CFU per 2 oz shot! Food-wise, our Kimchi “Fried” Rice with Sesame Edamame features a fermented kimchi ingredient, which provides probiotics along with a salty, tangy zing to this customer favorite meal. Miso is another probiotic-rich and flavor enhancing ingredient, and it’s featured in our Miso Glazed Kabocha Curry with Lemongrass Baked Tofu. In terms of prebiotics, most Thistle lunches and dinners contain onions and garlic, a source in and of themselves! Other dishes that contain prebiotics are our Black Bean and Plantain Tofu Scramble made with prebiotic-rich plantains, and our Thistle Kale Caesar with Garlic Garbanzo Beans made with prebiotics from garbanzo beans. Really, because of our meal’s plant-forward composition, a majority of Thistle meals will contain pre and/or probiotic ingredients all wrapped up in a tasty and nutritious package!
From keeping our digestive systems functioning, to preventing chronic disease states, probiotics, and their fuel source, prebiotics are essential for our health. Luckily for us, many delicious ingredients provide pre- and probiotics, and Thistle makes it easy to include them into your daily diet. Cheers for healthy and happy guts!
Discover how Thistle Meals, loaded with prebiotics and probiotics, can support your gut microbiome and overall health. Learn about the benefits, recommended intake, and tasty ways to incorporate these vital nutrients into your diet.
Did you know that there are live microorganisms inside your body? This might be a little strange to think about, but rest assured that these microbes are crucial to our health.
These microbes that live in our bodies are called probiotics, and they are necessary for gut health. The absence of probiotics may also be linked to other health conditions. Since probiotics are living organisms, they require their own food source: enter prebiotics. This blog post digs into what these organisms are, how they support our health, how much you should aim to consume, plus some examples for how to include more pre- and probiotics in your diet.
Probiotics vs. Prebiotics
We’ll start with the differences between the two similar-sounding nutrients. Probiotics, as defined by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, are “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” In other terms, probiotics are living microbes that provide the host (us!) with health benefits. The same source defined prebiotics as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit.” While this sounds similar to the last definition, prebiotics can be thought of as the food source that keeps probiotics alive and flourishing. Together, pre- and probiotics live together with other bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Ideally, these organisms are balanced and coexist peacefully in an environment called a microbiome. Most pre- and probiotics are located in the small and large intestines, which are included in the term “gut microbiome.”
The gut microbiome is a newer field of interest, and is understood to originally develop at birth, though factors such as diet, environment and medication all change the composition of the gut throughout life. The Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health mentions that our gut microbiomes “stimulate the immune system, break down potentially toxic food compounds, and synthesize certain vitamins and amino acids, including the B vitamins and vitamin K.” Emerging research suggests that the degradation of the microbiome could be linked with other health conditions such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, some cancers and allergies.
Foods with Pre- and Probiotics
The good news is that there are a plethora of tasty ways to increase the number of healthy microbes in your body, and the food source they need to thrive!! Probiotics are found in larger amounts in fermented foods – these can include kimchi, kombucha, pickles, miso paste, tempeh, sourdough bread and many yogurts. Some yogurts do not include probiotic cultures, so when selecting a yogurt (vegan or non-vegan), you’ll want to look for the words “live and active cultures” in the ingredient list. Prebiotic fibers are found in onion, garlic, unripe bananas, flax and chia seeds, legumes, oats, spinach, blueberries and artichokes. Check out these delicious suggestions for how to include more of these ingredients outside your Thistle deliveries!
The foods mentioned above are excellent additions to your diet for general health, and have the added bonus of providing pre- and probiotics. The amount of these organisms you need to consume each day will depend on many factors, including your medical conditions, age, medications, strains consumed and the form in which you ingest them. In supplemental form, common dosages include 10-20 billion CFUs – known as colony-forming units – per day for adults. It’s best to check with your medical professional for dosage support.
Many of the food sources discussed are included in Thistle meals and add-ons. We love highlighting ingredients that support full body wellness, and the gut biome is certainly included here! One standout offering from Thistle is our Probiotic Juice Shot, which is packed with an impressive 1.1 billion CFU per 2 oz shot! Food-wise, our Kimchi “Fried” Rice with Sesame Edamame features a fermented kimchi ingredient, which provides probiotics along with a salty, tangy zing to this customer favorite meal. Miso is another probiotic-rich and flavor enhancing ingredient, and it’s featured in our Miso Glazed Kabocha Curry with Lemongrass Baked Tofu. In terms of prebiotics, most Thistle lunches and dinners contain onions and garlic, a source in and of themselves! Other dishes that contain prebiotics are our Black Bean and Plantain Tofu Scramble made with prebiotic-rich plantains, and our Thistle Kale Caesar with Garlic Garbanzo Beans made with prebiotics from garbanzo beans. Really, because of our meal’s plant-forward composition, a majority of Thistle meals will contain pre and/or probiotic ingredients all wrapped up in a tasty and nutritious package!
From keeping our digestive systems functioning, to preventing chronic disease states, probiotics, and their fuel source, prebiotics are essential for our health. Luckily for us, many delicious ingredients provide pre- and probiotics, and Thistle makes it easy to include them into your daily diet. Cheers for healthy and happy guts!
