Postbiotics: The Prebiotic & Probiotic Replacement
If you want to be healthy and have a vibrant gut microbiome, you’ll need to take care of your the bacteria, and healthy gut postbiotics include supplements with bioactive compounds (and more than just fermented foods and ideas here), are the best way to do that, as you’ll learn in this guide.
Guide table of contents:
For ease of navigation through the SANE Solution Postbiotics Supplements Guide, below is the table of contents.
- Fundamentals
- What Are Postbiotics?
- Postbiotic Metabolites And How They Help You
- How are Postbiotics Different From Prebiotics?
- Postbiotics vs Probiotics
- Postbiotics and Dietary Fiber
- Postbiotics And Gut Health
- Postbiotics and Leaky Gut
- Postbiotics and Inflammation
- Postbiotics and Immune Response
- Why Harvard Calls Butyrate the “Optimal” of Postbiotics
- Postbiotic Foods? Not From Your Diet!
- Why TRIButyrate is the Best Way to Get Butyrate
- Postbiotic Supplements
- Postbiotic Conclusion
- Postbiotic Guide Citations and References
Postbiotics supplements ultimate guide: The fundamentals
Approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, mostly bacteria, live in your gastrointestinal tract. These microorganisms, called “gut microbiota,” or gut microbiome, were once thought to control digestion, nutrient absorption, and excretion.
Now, scientists have discovered that your gut microbiome is important for your overall health.
An imbalance of good and bad gut bacteria (dysbiosis) has been linked to many medical conditions, including obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and more. 1,2
Multiple studies also show that having a diverse microbiome (a variety of different strains and qualities of bacteria) is crucial to overall health.3,4
Postbiotics can help provide this diversity as well as rebalance your gut bacteria. In fact, these patented supplements can even replace your prebiotics and probiotics!
What are postbiotics?
If you’re wondering what these compounds are, you’re not alone. Postbiotics is a fairly new term in the microbiology field. As you’re probably more familiar with prebiotics and probiotics, we’ll start there.
Prebiotics and probiotics increase the number and diversity of beneficial gut bacteria. Research shows that increasing beneficial gut bacteria can support your health in many ways.
Post biotic is a “waste” products left behind from the interaction between prebiotics and probiotics. They are a result of “good” bacteria fermentation process inside your colon.
Specifically, when you consume fiber, it travels to your lower intestine (colon) where it is eaten (fermented) by your good bacteria (probiotics). This bacteria then excretes postbiotics.
Though “waste” products sound like something unimportant, postbiotics supplements may be the key factor in obtaining the health benefits promised by eating a high-fiber diet.
Indeed, the different strains of beneficial bacteria are known to produce various types of post biotic metabolites to support a healthy mind and body.
Post-biotic metabolites and how they help you:
Postbiotic metabolites are the compounds created from the probiotic fermentation process. More than 22,000 metabolites are identified in scientific literature.5
There are likely thousands more metabolites still to be discovered.
Each of these metabolites provide different health benefits, and the exact effects seem to depend upon the interaction between the host (you) and the metabolite.
Various metabolites have been shown to have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.
They may also lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and regulate the immune response.
In short, they seem to have a direct impact on health. even though researchers have not yet discovered the exact mechanism for this effect.6
Some of the best-known and in some cases most-studied postbiotic metabolites
Along with some of their health-regulating benefits, include:
B-vitamin synthesis: (biotin, cobalamin, folate, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamine)7: These vitamins are essential to health and life. They play a huge role in cardiovascular health, hormones and cholesterol production, proper nerve function, energy levels, brain function, and more.
Vitamin K8: Essential for proper blood clotting and bone metabolism. It also regulates blood calcium levels.
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs): acetic, propionic and butyrate.9: They provide important functions in your body. Specific SCFAs may reduce your risk of cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, and much more.10
Glutathione 11: May reduce the risk of several diseases – including diabetes, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis – by reducing oxidative stress.12 (Oxidative stress in the cells occurs when the body cannot fight off free radicals sufficiently.)
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) 13: May protect the body against dangerous pathogens. And unlike traditional antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides appear to slow pathogenic resistance to them.14 This means they can be more effective for long-term use than antibiotics.
Phenyllactic acid 15: Has shown antibacterial properties against various bacteria.
D-amino acids 16: Appear to have bacteria regulatory properties.
Hydrogen peroxide 17: Has been shown to have antibacterial properties that may help you fight off infection.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 18: May serve as a marker for the presence or absence of certain harmful bacteria. This can help doctors administer the proper treatment more quickly than they have been able to do in the past.
Phytoestrogens: equol, enterolactone, enterodiol 19: Mimics the female hormone estrogen in the body, which can modulate the symptoms of menopause.
Urolithin A and Urolithin B 20: Like phytoestrogens, they may display behavior that mimics that of estrogen in the body.
Fulvic acids: Helps carry nutrients into the cells. Thus, fulvic acids may lessen free radical damage, among other things. 21
How are they different from prebiotics?
There are key differences between Postbiotics and Prebiotics, although their relationship is interdependent. (The creation of them depends upon the existence of prebiotics.)
Prebiotic fiber is of a different nature than what we are talking about here, though, where our patented products (you’ll soon learn) have quite the beneficial effects!
Like all living organisms, bacteria needs to eat to survive. Prebiotics are the food sources of beneficial colon residing bacteria.
Prebiotic foods contain dietary fibers that pass through the upper part of the digestive system intact because the body cannot break them down. When they get to the colon, “good” bacteria ferment them.
Postbiotic is a byproduct created from prebiotic fermentation.
Prebiotics are typically found in certain vegetables including:
- Leeks
- Asparagus
- Onions
- Chicory root
- Dandelion greens
- Garlic
Postbiotics supplements vs probiotics
Post vs pro can be a good leisure-time debate. But there’s really no comparison between the two. Post are created when “good” bacteria ferment dietary fiber in the colon. (Good bacteria = probiotics. Dietary fiber = prebiotics.)
Once considered just a waste product without value, they have been shown to have many health benefits.
You can get probiotics through your diet. Probiotic foods are created from fermentation and thus contain live bacteria that can help rebalance your intestinal bacteria.
Probiotic-rich foods include:
- Yogurt (for best results, check the ingredient label and make sure it includes L. acidophilus, a type of bacteria shown to be particularly beneficial to human health.)
- Sauerkraut
- Kefir
- Tempeh
- Brine-cured olives
- Miso
- Raw milk (from cows, goats, or sheep)
- Fermented pickles (Not all pickles are fermented. Pickles made with vinegar are not fermented and do NOT contain live bacteria. If you’re looking for fermented pickles, always check the label to make sure they’re fermented.)
If you aren’t familiar with these food items — or you hate the taste of most of them — probiotic supplements are a good alternative.
However, research shows that many probiotic supplement brands fail to adequately protect bacteria from human digestion. Far too often, the bacteria in probiotic supplements do not reach the intestines in a usable state.22
This is also true for some of these digestive healthy supplements. For instance, doctors at Harvard Medical School call butyrate the “optimal” short-chain fatty acid and note that it “shows a higher potency” and added health benefits than other short-chain fatty acids.23
Yet, if taken in supplement form, it breaks up long before it reaches the colon. (More about this in a moment.)
Of the three short-chain fatty acid postbiotics (acetate and propionate), this SCFA is the least abundant metabolite produced from probiotic fermentation. Yet, it is the major energy source for epithelial cells of the colon.24
Thus, this short chain FA is extremely important for intestine health, as well as overall health, as we’ll see in a moment.
But if you cannot get much through probiotic fermentation, what do you do?
The scoop on and dietary fiber:
To get these SCFA’s you can, of course, load up on dietary fiber. This will perhaps slightly increase the amount of compound yielded from the fermentation process.
Though dietary fiber helps create them like our novel SCFA, it’s a very inefficient process. When you eat fiber, it moves through your entire digestive system until it finally gets to your colon.
Only then does your colonic biome or bacteria digest the fiber, fermenting it in your colon. (This is why you often experience painful bloating and embarrassing gas when you eat more fiber.)
You can also get this form of biotic directly from certain foods, such as butter and ghee, but the amount you’d get is even less than that created through probiotic fermentation.
What you need is the right form of it, a biotic that skips this inefficient digestive process and goes straight to your colon.
There is such a product. But before we get to that, let’s discuss some of the amazing health benefits of it.
Postbiotics supplementation and gut health
If you’re read this far, you know that these nutraceuticals are great for digestive health. How effective is this for gut-related issues? Very! Let’s start with an increasingly common gastrointestinal condition — irritable bowel syndrome.
According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the “most common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder.”25
IBS affects as many as 45 million people in the United States.26
Symptoms of IBS range from mild to severe, and include stomach pain and/or bloating, excessive gas, and diarrhea or constipation.27
Treatment in the early stages of IBS usually focuses on relieving these symptoms with dietary modifications.
Research shows that it may also help relieve these symptoms.
More on intestinal health:
According to a 2013 study, this SCFA can reduce the hypersensitivity of intestinal receptors, resulting in a decrease of pressure inside the intestines.28
This can reduce the pain and bloating of IBS. It can also ease constipation by helping the bowel muscles contract and retract properly.29
It also supports the health of the cells lining the intestine and reduces intestinal inflammation, easing the pain and digestive symptoms of IBS.30,31,32
Although these studies focus on IBS, the results can apply to other gastrointestinal complaints.
This can help keep your large intestine healthy and prevent colon cancer.34
It doesn’t get much better than this for colonic and stomach health! But there’s more.
Postbiotics and leaky gut:
Like in IBS, these metabolites are one of the bioactive supplement compounds that can help fix leaky gut, a condition that plagues so many people. Leaky syndrome is a condition in which your intestinal barrier becomes “leaky,” allowing toxins and other harmful substances to enter your bloodstream.
How do your walls become “leaky?” It starts with your intestinal wall. You see, a layer of cells line your intestines, making up your intestinal wall.
These cells are connected by gates that are called “tight junctions”. These gates allow water and nutrients to enter your colon, while also keeping toxins and other harmful substances from escaping into your bloodstream.
If these gates weaken, it causes gaps in the intestinal wall. This allows harmful substances to “leak” into your bloodstream, which can put you at risk for many health problems.
Some of the conditions associated with leaky gut syndrome include:
- Irritable bowel disease
- Crohn’s disease
- Diabetes
- Food allergies
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Joint pain 35
Research shows that butyric acid can help fix many aspects of leaky gut syndrome. For instance, through a few mechanisms, but mainly through its role in ATP production, butenoate has been shown to repair and enhance the barrier function of intestinal cells.
Basically, it makes sure your cells have what they need to keep the “gates” functioning perfectly.36
Studies also show that it directly influences the gastrointestinal flora, helping to balance colonic bacteria. It may even play a beneficial role in treating gastrointestinal infections. Both are important factors in preventing or treating leaky gut.37,38
Postbiotics and their role in inflammation:
In fact, butyric acid is one of the colonic supplements that can help with general inflammation. Systemic inflammation has become a villain in medicine.
Chronic inflammation has been associated with a wide range of health conditions and diseases, including:
- Obesity
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Metabolic syndrome
- Psoriasis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Asthma 39
These metabolites have shown to help reduce or prevent inflammation. As previously mentioned, having a healthy colon is crucial to your overall health.
This is because the toxins that enter the bloodstream due to leaky stomach can cause inflammation throughout the body.40
So, fixing inflammation could be an important step toward reducing or preventing bodily inflammation.41
Plus, colonic inflammation itself is a big risk factor for leaky intestines.42
It has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect, especially with irritable bowel syndrome.43
The anti-inflammatory effects of it have also been observed in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and radiation proctitis (rectal injury after pelvic radiation therapy).44,45
By the way…inflammation is triggered by your immune response.
Postbiotics supplements and their role in inflammatory responses:
And these supplements can help regulate your immune response, which can reduce or eliminate systemic inflammation.
Before we continue, it’s important to know that inflammation isn’t always a negative occurrence. In fact, it is a vital part of your immune response.
When the immune system detects an intruder — pathogens, toxins, and other foreign bodies — it launches an attack to kill it.
One of its weapons is inflammation, which traps the intruders so that they cannot travel to other parts of the body. (This type of acute inflammation is characterized by swelling and redness at the site of the invasion/infection.)
White blood cells then move in to fight the infection and heal the injury. As the body heals, inflammation gradually recedes and then disappears.
The problem arises when inflammation doesn’t go away but becomes chronic. This can happen for a number of reasons, including hypersensitivity to harmless substances, or long-term, low-level exposure to toxins.
Intestinal health compounds like postbiotics can help. Research shows that these postbiotic molecules can calm and quiet your immune system by down-regulating your T-cells.46
It can also help your intenstine cells grow, helping to fill in the damaged areas so that toxic substances can’t leak into the bloodstream and trigger the immune response and resulting inflammation.47
Why Harvard Calls Butyrate the “Optimal” of postbiotics supplements
Harvard calls butyrate the “optimal” postbiotic primarily because of its effect on histone deacetylases (HDACs). This is crucial for, among other things, preventing cancers, especially colon cancer.
In a 2018 Harvard study, researchers found that butyrate keeps colonic epithelial stem cells from rapidly multiplying, and it suppresses inflammation, which inhibits the activity of HDAC.
Indeed, researchers concluded that butyrate is the strongest inhibitor of the activity of HDACs, among the short-chain fatty acids.48
This is one of many studies that show that butyrate may defend against colon cancer. Another reason for this effect is that butyrate is the main source of energy for cells that line the colon.
This is true even when glucose is present.49 And let’s not forget the study mentioned earlier in this report, the one that showed butyrate can trigger “cell suicide” in the colon, causing cancer cells to die.
Postbiotic foods will not come from your diet unfortunately
You’re probably wondering if you can get enough by eating specific foods.
The answer is “no.”
Since these molecules are created through fermentation of fiber in your colon, there are few helpful foods. (There are only trace amounts of it in butter, ghee, raw milk, plant oils, and animal fats.)
And even if you significantly increased your fiber intake, you still wouldn’t get a huge amount of it. Plus, you’d be left with painful and embarrassing gas, bloating, and stomach cramps from all that fiber.
So, to get a healthy dose of this nutrient, you’ll really need to take it in supplement form. There’s only one problem, though. By itself is a VERY stinky nutrient.
Plus, it is an “unstable” molecule, meaning it rapidly breaks down before getting to your colon. Remember…if it doesn’t get to your colon, it can’t give you all those incredible health benefits mentioned earlier.
The only way to get this compound to your colon is to combine it with a “stable” molecule.
Why TRIButyrate is the best way to obtain butyrate
TRIButyrate is the superior patented form of butyrate. It is hands down – the most effective and efficient way to transport butyrate to your colon. (Tributyrin is the natural form of butyrate found in butter.)
After years of research, scientists have combined 3 Butyrate molecules with a glycerol molecule to create a radically more effective version of this “optimal” short-chain fatty acid.50
And that’s how TRIButyrate was created.
Viscera-3 Postbiotic Supplements:
There are several supplements on the market today. Research clearly shows, Viscera-3 is superior to any other postbiotic brand.
With Viscera-3, this superior form of TRIbutyrate is time-released directly into your lower colon (the only place it can provide all the above life-changing benefits).
It is three times more potent than the weak short-chain fatty acids created by fiber alone. Along with TRIButyrate, Viscera-3 contains the SLIMGut Earth Minerals Matrix™ and the SLIMGut Garden Blend™.
Together, their powerful multi-factor effect on gut health leads to less gas, constipation, bloating, and of course faster setpoint weight loss! No increasing your fiber intake required.
This patented nutrient is the fastest, easiest and most effective way to poop a more normal, healthier stool and enjoy a slimmer, less bloated waist in just 48 hours!
Conclusion: relationships between post, pre, and probiotics
As you’ve seen in this report, you don’t need to waste money on — prebiotics and probiotics — instead take the “gut health shortcut” to support gut health which, of course, also improves your overall health.
Now with Viscera-3 you can save time and money by leaving behind the old 5-step process for gut health. As a reminder, when you eat fiber (prebiotics), it travels through the gastrointestinal system.
When it gets to your colon, it is fermented by beneficial bacteria (probiotics). This bacteria then excretes postbiotic metabolites — including that all-important nutrient — which Harvard doctors describe as an “optimal” short-chain fatty acid.
This inefficient 5-step process was once the only way to obtain it:
- Eat lots and lots of fermentation resistant starches, better known as fiber.
- Then spend lots of money on probiotic supplements and take them multiple times everyday.
- These two substances need to transfer through your entire digestive system. Stomach, upper colon and then finally to the lower colon.
- Then your gut bacteria digests the fiber, fermenting in your gut. That is why you often experience painful bloating and embarrassing gas when you eat more fiber.
- After your gut bacteria digests the fiber it excretes these gut health super nutrients, which are called Short-Chain Fatty Acids.
With Viscera-3, you can do away with this inefficient 5-step process and transport this patented , more effective and bioavailable form of butyrate straight to your colon.
It’s quick and easy — and it helps fix so many of your digestive and bathroom issues, such as gas and bloating. It works for your overall health, too.
Give it a try and see for yourself today.