Your gut: More than just probiotics

When most people think of gut health, they think of probiotics — the “good bacteria.” And while probiotics are important, they are only one part of a much larger ecosystem. To truly nurture your gut microbiome, you need the complete trio:

• Prebiotics: specific fibers and compounds that selectively nourish beneficial microbes

• Probiotics: the microbial visitors that interact with and shift the ecosystem

• Postbiotics: the functional signals that directly influence your cells and immune system

Together, these three components form a dynamic system that fuels microbial diversity, strengthens the gut barrier, and helps regulate inflammation.^1-3

Prebiotics: Feeding the right bugs

Prebiotics are nondigestible carbohydrates and bioactive compounds that selectively nourish beneficial microbes in the gut.^3,ISAPP The most common prebiotics are dietary fibers, but they also include resistant starches and certain polyphenols (plant compounds with antioxidant properties that microbes can metabolize) that reach the colon intact.³ When microbes ferment these compounds, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, acetate, and propionate, which play critical roles in gut and whole-body health.⁴

Why does this matter?

• Gut Barrier Integrity: SCFAs nourish colon cells, strengthening the gut lining and preventing “leaky gut.”⁴

• Inflammation Control: Butyrate signals the immune system to promote balance.⁵

• Metabolic Health: Prebiotic fermentation helps regulate blood sugar and appetite.⁶

Good Bacteria combines three complementary prebiotics:

• Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS): a rapidly fermentable fiber that provides quick fuel for beneficial microbes

• Acacia fiber: a slow, gentle fermenter that sustains microbial activity and diversity over time

• Green banana flour: rich in resistant starch, which travels deeper into the colon, diversifying which microbes are fed

This layered approach ensures steady microbial nourishment — both immediately and over time — helping to build a resilient and balanced microbiome.

Probiotics: Reintroducing beneficial diversity

Probiotics are traditionally defined as live microorganisms that, when taken in sufficient amounts, may provide health benefits.^7,ISAPP While many probiotic effects come from live activity in the gut, newer science shows that even inactivated microbes or their structural components can still have beneficial effects — blurring the line between probiotics and postbiotics.⁸

What matters most is that the strains are clinically studied and validated for their effects. Probiotics help by:

• Competing with harmful microbes and supporting balance⁹

• Training the immune system to respond appropriately to threats^2,9

• Producing signals that benefit digestion, metabolism, and brain health^1,10

• Shifting the ecosystem while in transit — interacting with resident microbiota and host cells to create beneficial changes, even though they do not engraft as permanent members of the gut community¹¹

Good Bacteria’s rotational model delivers five unique, clinically validated strains each week, including keystone strains like LGG® and BB-12®, plus next-generation strains like Bifidobacterium longum 1714®. By rotating strains, we avoid microbial “monoculture” and better reflect the variety our guts evolved with through diverse, traditional diets.⁶

Postbiotics: The missing link

Postbiotics are the bioactive compounds produced by microbes plus with the inactivated microbes themselves or their components — directly signaling to your body.^8,ISAPP They act as molecular messengers between the microbiome and host, influencing immunity, inflammation, and gut barrier function.

Good Bacteria includes a postbiotic form of Limosilactobacillus reuteri, one of the most studied species in microbiome science. Why? Because L. reuteri demonstrates powerful benefits even when it’s no longer alive.

Here’s what the science shows:

Immune modulation and infection protection

Both live and heat-inactivated L. reuteri can regulate immune responses. In mouse models of influenza, heat-inactivated L. reuteri reduced lung damage and improved survival rates.¹²

Gut barrier and intestinal health

In both animal and organoid studies, L. reuteri supported epithelial maturation and strengthened gut barrier integrity through postbiotic-mediated mechanisms. While these effects were first demonstrated in early-life models, they highlight the broader potential of L. reuteri to reinforce gut resilience and maintain barrier function across the lifespan.¹³

Support in gastric health

A randomized controlled trial in adults with Helicobacter pylori infection found that supplementation with inactivated L. reuteri significantly improved eradication rates and reduced gastrointestinal side effects when combined with standard therapy.¹⁴

Summing up the science

Together, these findings underscore why postbiotics like L. reuteri are essential: They can deliver immediate functional benefits to the gut barrier and immune system while the probiotics and prebiotics gradually reshape microbial diversity. They also demonstrate that “alive” isn’t the only pathway to benefit — inactivated microbes can still influence host health powerfully.

Why all three are stronger together

Science increasingly shows that using pre-, pro-, or postbiotics alone only tells part of the story. It’s the synergy of the trio that creates real resilience:

• Prebiotics feed both the probiotics you consume and your resident beneficial microbes.

• Probiotics add new diversity and shift the system, making it more adaptable.

• Postbiotics provide immediate benefits, strengthening the gut barrier and modulating immunity while the ecosystem matures.

This approach is called a synbiotic — but Good Bacteria goes one step further by incorporating rotation and rhythm, preventing microbial dominance and fostering balance.6,8

Why this matters to you

Your microbiome is constantly adapting to your diet, stress, environment, lifestyle, and more. A rigid, one-size-fits-all probiotic doesn’t reflect that reality. A dynamic, systems-based approach with pre-, pro-, and postbiotics better mimics the diverse inputs your gut evolved to expect.

When your gut is supported in this way, evidence suggests you may experience benefits far beyond improved digestion, including immune support, energy and mood regulation, and resilience.

The Good Bacteria difference

We designed Good Bacteria’s 28-day rotation to reflect ecological principles of rhythm and renewal:

• Week 1: priming with keystone strains

• Weeks 2–3: peak diversity with the highest probiotic counts

• Week 4: taper to rebalance and prepare for the next cycle

Every sachet delivers this carefully balanced trio — prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics — grounded in clinical research and validated strains. This rotating, 3-in-1 design nurtures a thriving gut ecosystem and supports digestion, immunity, and the gut-brain connection as the foundation of whole-body well-being.

Bottom line

Pre-, pro-, and postbiotics aren’t competing concepts — they’re partners in building a resilient microbiome. By feeding, seeding, and signaling, this trio supports the gut’s natural rhythm and your long-term health.

Send your gut health questions to Good Bacteria at AskDrFrame@itsgoodbacteria.com for next month’s blog, and let’s keep nurturing our guts together!

Sources

1. Alison Warren et al., “The Microbiota-Gut-Brain-Immune Interface in the Pathogenesis of Neuroinflammatory Diseases,” Frontiers in Immunology 15 (2024), https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1365673.

2. Qing Zhao and Charles O. Elson, “Adaptive Immune Education by Gut Microbiota Antigens,” Immunology 154, no. 1 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1111/imm.12896.

3. J. E. Aguilar-Toalá et al., “Postbiotics: An Evolving Term Within the Functional Foods Field,” Trends in Food Science & Technology 75 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.03.009.

4. George T. Macfarlane and Sandra Macfarlane, “Fermentation in the Human Large Intestine: Its Physiologic Consequences and the Potential Contribution of Prebiotics,” Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 45 (2011), https://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0b013e31822fecfe.

5. Marco A. R. Vinolo et al., “Regulation of Inflammation by Short Chain Fatty Acids,” Nutrients 3, no. 10 (2011), https://doi.org/10.3390/nu3100858.

6. Hannah C. Wastyk et al., “Gut-Microbiota-Targeted Diets Modulate Human Immune Status,” Cell 184, no. 16 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.019.

7. Colin Hill et al., “The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics Consensus Statement on the Scope and Appropriate Use of the Term Probiotic,” Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 11, no. 8 (2014), https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2014.66.

8. Seppo Salminen et al., “The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Consensus Statement on the Definition and Scope of Postbiotics,” Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 18, no. 9 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00440-6.

9. Tihong Shao et al., “The Gut Ecosystem and Immune Tolerance,” Journal of Autoimmunity 141 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaut.2023.103114.

10. John F. Cryan et al., “The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis,” Physiological Reviews 99, no. 4 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00018.2018.

11. María X. Maldonado-Gómez et al., “Stable Engraftment of Bifidobacterium longum AH1206 in the Human Gut Depends on Individualized Features of the Resident Microbiome,” Cell Host & Microbe 20, no. 4 (2016), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2016.09.001.

12. Kim H et al., “Oral Administration of Limosilactobacillus reuteri KBL346 Ameliorates Influenza Virus A/PR8 Infection in MouseLimosilactobacillus reuteri KBL346 Regulates Immune Responses During Influenza Virus Infection in Mice,” Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins (2024), https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-024-10301-8.

13. Yang SJLee H et al., “Limosilactobacillus reuteri DS0384 Promotes Intestinal Development via Postbiotic Effects in Human Intestinal Organoids and Infant Mice,” Gut MicrobesNat Commun. (2022);143:21215805244. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2022.212158010.1038/s41467-022-32974-4.

14. Ivashkin V et al., “Efficacy and Safety of Postbiotic Contained Inactivated Lactobacillus reuteri ( Limosilactobacillus reuteri ) DSM 17648 as Adjuvant Therapy in the Eradication of Helicobacter pylori in Adults With Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial,” Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2024;15(9):e1. https://doi.org10.14309/ctg.0000000000000750Choi HJ et al., “Postbiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17648 Improves Helicobacter pylori Eradication and Reduces Therapy-Related Side Effects: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 15, no. 9 (2024), https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000941.

Additional Resources: International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP)

1. What are prebiotics?

2. What are probiotics?

3. Postbiotics Infographic