What Are Postbiotic Metabolites?
The Unsung Heroes of Our Health
Most health-conscious people have heard of probiotics, those live bacteria that keep your gut healthy. But postbiotics are a new frontier for researchers. These are byproducts of probiotics’ fermentation process inside your intestines. But don’t dismiss them as simple waste products. Scientists are learning about the crucial role postbiotics play in your health. Remarkably our native, natural intestinal bacteria are crucial in producing thousands of these compounds that then control many of our body’s vital functions.
Diversity and Postbiotics
Different bacteria produce different kinds of metabolites. For optimal health, we want to have many different kinds of probiotic bacteria in our gut. Microbiologist and supplement developer Dr. Iichiroh Ohhira has created the world’s first multi-strain probiotic supplement. Because it uses twelve strains of probiotic bacteria, it results in a broad range of postbiotics. These substances are collectively called postbiotic metabolites.
Types of Postbiotic Metabolites
Postbiotic metabolites fall into many broad categories. Here are some important examples.
- Bacteriocins—These protective compounds make life hard for the bad guys, killing or inhibiting the growth of unwanted bacteria.
- Enzymes –These postbiotic metabolites help to digest food, get rid of toxins and assist other metabolic processes.
- Vitamins –For example, the B vitamins and vitamin K
- Amino acids – These organic compounds are the building blocks of protein
- Neurotransmitters –Postbiotic metabolites that carry messages between the nerves and brain and can even affect appetite
- Immune-signaling compounds –These crucial postbiotic metabolites support the body’s immune cells
- Short-chain fatty acids –Created from fiber, these postbiotic metabolites keep the intestinal lining strong and healthy
- Nitric oxide –These are crucial for cardiovascular health.
- Organic acids –For example, fulvic and humic acids. They combine with minerals, making them easier to absorb and help maintain the correct pH in the GI tract.
Our Health Suffers from Lack of Postbiotics
A robust, naturally diverse community of intestinal bacteria (i.e., a healthy microbiome) will make all the postbiotics a body needs. However, when fewer families of bacteria are on board, the variety of postbiotics is also reduced—and our vitality and gut health suffers. Sadly, many factors like smoking, most medications, chlorine in drinking water, junk food, pesticides and chemicals around the home have reduced the diversity of intestinal bacteria.
Benefits of Postbiotics
- May help with digestive system health
- Work together with probiotic supplements to improve gut health
- Anti-diarrhea treatment
- Beneficial effects for individuals with a compromised immune system
Building Postbiotic Metabolites in Your Body
Eating fermented natural foods supports our intestinal bacteria by increasing the probiotics in our diet, and thus creating the postbiotics our bodies need for good gut health. The wider the variety of fermented foods, the more abundant the variety of postbiotics. Dr. Ohhira had that in mind when he created the only supplement that contains postbiotics.
He fed dozens of wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, seaweeds, mushrooms, and herbs to twelve proven beneficial strains of probiotics. Then he waited three years while they fermented, giving them plenty of time to create the postbiotic metabolites that in turn keep our entire body healthy.
A pioneer in probiotic health and research, Dr. Iichiroh Ohhira proved what science now confirms, that the most vital and health-promoting aspect of probiotic supplementation is the restorative postbiotic metabolites produced in his exclusive natural three-year fermentation process. We’re proud to make his supplement available to our customers.