Postbiotic metabolites are increasingly recognized as compounds that play important roles in regulating many aspects of health, especially the immune system. It is well documented that as people age, there is an age-related decline in immune function. Aging doesn’t just happen to the body; it also affects the microbiome. Aging is associated with striking changes in the gut microbiome, resulting in constipation, increased inflammation, and a decline in immune function.i
One of the primary causes of age-associated changes in the microbiome’s composition and function is a decrease in the production of postbiotic metabolites. Probiotic bacteria abundantly produce Postbiotics in a healthy microbiome. They provide many benefits, such as suppressing pathogens’ growth, reducing inflammation, and enhancing immune function.ii
What’s Better, Probiotics, or Postbiotic Metabolites?
Probiotic bacteria are largely ineffective if the individual is not also consuming adequate dietary fiber because fiber is the “food” for probiotic bacteria. When probiotic bacteria ferment indigestible nutritional fibers in the colon, they produce postbiotic metabolites.
A newer and more effective method of improving the gut microbiome’s composition and function is to take a fermented food probiotic. During the fermentation process, probiotic bacteria break down dietary fibers and convert them into a wide range of postbiotic metabolites. The world’s premier fermented food probiotic is Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics. After a multi-year fermentation production process, each dose of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics directly delivers over 500 different postbiotic metabolites.
Direct ingestion of postbiotic metabolites eliminates the time it takes ingested probiotic bacteria to locate dietary fibers in the intestinal tract and then begin the process of fermenting the fibers to create postbiotic metabolites. However, it has been reported that 90% of children and adults in America DO NOT consume the recommended amount of daily dietary fiber.iii Hence, millions of people who purchase commercial probiotic products get minimal benefit from them because their diets are severely fiber deficient.
When an individual directly ingests postbiotic metabolites, they immediately begin to create positive changes in the intestinal tract such as reducing symptoms of gas, bloating, and/or diarrhea, reducing inflammation, and enhancing immune function.
As mentioned above, there are numerous age-related changes in diet and lifestyle that contribute to unfavorable changes in the gut microbiome’s composition and function and a weakening of the immune system.
Two of the most important proactive steps people can take to improve the function of their microbiome, and their immune system are:
While these suggestions are essential for everyone, they are especially important steps elderly individuals can take to improve their microbiome and immune system’s health.