Important  Pre/ Pro/ Postbiotic Considerations:

“Pretreatment” is a word seen in probiotic and postbiotic studies. It means probiotic bacteria produce benefits via their postbiotics, and postbiotics require time to build up in their host’s system to produce effects. In flu studies, the pretreatment required to experience protection from the flu averages 1-2 weeks for probiotics, and about half that time if directly taking a postbiotic prior to getting the flu. For benefits against an ongoing immune problem like asthma or seasonal allergies, postbiotic pretreatment of 3 months is the average.

Longer fermentation times increase benefits.  

While plant foods fermented a few days are nutritious, they don’t necessarily produce postbiotics that match benefits produced in studies unless they’re fermented for longer time periods like more than a week or several weeks. Benefits improve as fermentation time increases.

Postbiotics in their natural form are liquids with an acidic pH.

Postbiotic are liquid compounds that can either be secreted outside the probiotic or be internal to the probiotic. If they’re internal liquids or part of the probiotic’s cell wall, the benefits are conferred when the probiotic dies and any solid parts are made liquid by other probiotics.

Liquid delivery to Microbiome’s throughout the digestive tract.

Postbiotics natural liquid form allows researchers to deliver benefits closer to whatever microbiome they’re targeting. For example: when researchers are trying to protect the respiratory tract from a flu infection, they might use either a liquid option to reach the airway microbiome,  or a liquid nasal spray to reach it. Both options deliver benefits closer to the lungs. Other microbiomes include the oral microbiome (in the mouth), the esophageal, stomach microbiome, and small intestine microbiomes. Being liquid allows postbiotics to directly go to these areas too. Other researchers are adding postbiotics to intravenous drips. This enables them to target other body parts, not just the digestive tract.

Made in response to Needs:

Our probiotic bacteria make postbiotics in response to needs. For example they only make anti- flu postbiotics when we come in contact with a flu virus. Nutritional postbiotics contained in long fermented phytonutrient rich foods or beverages,  act as building blocks for secondary postbiotics that are made when the need arises (like flu postbiotics).

Probiotics specialize in creating different postbiotics and often need a specific phytonutrient or set of phytonutrients to make them.  

Not all probiotics are equal at producing benefits. They each have their own areas of specialty (Also see “Flu Postbiotic Research” for examples of how specific combinations of bacteria and nutrients are often needed to produce postbiotics with the desired benefits).