Do we really need Pre & Post-biotics?

Hi Folks,

My inspiration for this blog came from chatting to one of my clients at the gym. Enthusiastically, he came up to me & said "Hey, did you know that those good-bacteria yogurt drinks aren't really that good, eat 1 leek instead & this will give your gut all the good bacteria it needs for a whole  year". 1 leek for an entire year I thought, this has got to be worth looking in to, especially as like most of us, I reach for a gut-friendly yogurt each morning. Here's a brief summary of what I found:

As you know our gut is absolutely packed with bacteria. If we take pro-biotics, this is a culture that actually contains live good bacteria so we can increase their number in the gut. These helps us digest our food, aid our immune system, & fight illness that may be brought on by 'bad bacteria' (usually from eating too much stodgy & junk food). Pre-biotics are foods that nourish & maintain these 'good bacteria'.

Trials have been done & tend to say it is most beneficial for us to eat pre-biotic foods such as bananas, onions, artichokes, garlic & yes leeks, rather than just take the pro-biotic cultures alone. My own view is that we should take a bout of pro-biotic cultures for 1 week in every 6, then try to include as many of the above foods in there remaining 5 weeks to feed them. Also, if you have been ill or on antibiotics it may be worth re-supplying your gut with pro-biotics then too.

Right, I'm off to eat a chicken pasta with leeks, onion & garlic, then bananas & custard for desert!