Buddha bowls supply your body with necessary probiotics and prebiotics (what probiotics eat) as well as looking good (winking not guaranteed)
Healthy bacteria is setting the beauty world abuzz, and for good reason. Not only do probiotics and prebiotics benefit your general well-being, they might just be the answer to great skin, sans makeup.
‘Our good gut flora, known as probiotics, help hormone production and regulation, immune function, nutrient absorption, digestion and vitamin synthesis. If we don’t look after our gut flora, we end up with an imbalance of healthy bacteria and bad bacteria, which leaves us exposed to all sorts of environmental and dietary toxins wreaking havoc on the body — and one of the first things in our body to be affected is our skin,’ shares dietitian Alexandra Hardie.
Prebiotics vs probiotics
To fix this, we need to populate our gut with both probiotics — ‘good’ bacteria that rebalance the stomach — and prebiotics, i.e. fibre that feeds those probiotics. Natural probiotics include yogurt, kimchi and kombucha, and prebiotics are found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, including apples, asparagus, cabbage, leeks, chickpeas and lentils.
Here, we share three ways to boost your probiotics and prebiotics, pronto — because it’s a new year, and what better beauty resolution could there be than one that starts from within?