I trust that, by now, you’ve gotten a hefty dose of microbiome knowledge from all of us here at Thorne, as well as just about any health source you can find online, in magazines, or from the mouths of persons you trust. We have also discussed the difference between probiotics, prebiotics, and support of your microbiome here. In this article, we take a closer look at prebiotics and introduce you to a paradigm shift in microbiome support with Thorne’s newest prebiotic offering: Prebiotic +.

A quick review: What is a prebiotic?

A prebiotic is a “food” for gut bacteria. Prebiotics function to support the beneficial microorganisms in the gut.* Most often, a prebiotic is comprised of fiber. There are various types of fiber that serve multiple functions in human health. You can read all about the goodness of fiber here.

There are certain types of fiber that are particularly beneficial to the bacteria in your gut, which help these bacteria grow and thrive.* Fiber functions as amazing prebiotics, although it is not uncommon for fiber-based prebiotics to cause mild side effects like gas and bloating. And, unfortunately, some fibers in prebiotics can take days to begin working. Just part of the price we pay for a healthy microbiome, right?

Let me introduce you to Prebiotic +.

Prebiotic + is unlike any prebiotic on the market for so many reasons! Thorne has engineered a one-of-a-kind formulation, a delivery mechanism like you’ve never seen, and a packaging system to rock your world, while helping to preserve it for all of us.

Our Prebiotic + formula utilizes a unique combination of bacteriophages, plus green tea, pomegranate, and blueberry polyphenols, to optimize the balance of the bacteria in your gut and boost the powers of the microbiome, benefit gut health, and support metabolism.* A bacterio-what, you ask?

Bacteriophage basics

Bacteriophages are the natural enemies of bacteria. The bacteriophages in Prebiotic + target specific bacteria in the gut to help balance the functional aspects of your gut population.* Bacteriophages are harmless to humans, animals, and plants, but they can really give specific strains of bacteria a difficult time. A bacteriophage only targets specific types of bacteria, and here’s why that’s important. There are three general categories of bacteria in your gut, and you want a bacteriophage to be choosy about which ones they target.

The “good” bacteria in your gut help your body absorb nutrients; synthesize enzymes, vitamins, and neurotransmitters; support your immune system; regulate digestion; and much more. Good bacteria are what we take when we supplement with a probiotic.

The “bad” bacteria are types of bacteria that have no place in a healthy gut environment and cause issues all over the body when their growth takes over the gut. Bad bacteria can cause a range of symptoms, such as digestive disturbance, mood issues, and disrupted immune function.

Not everyone has a bad bacteria component in their gut, but without specific testing of your gut microbiota, it can be difficult to know. If you’re curious about the population of all the species that inhabit your gut, then check out Thorne's Gut Health Test, and wonder no more!

The “opportunistic” bacteria in your gut don’t serve any positive function, but they don’t necessarily cause any issues either. They are essentially space-hogging bacteria that affect the balance of the gut by taking up space the good bacteria need to grow and flourish.

Prebiotic + utilizes the unique ingredient PreforPro® as the bacteriophage component of its formula. PreforPro is a novel bacteriophage that breaks down both the “bad” and the “opportunistic” bacteria to create space in the colonic environment and provide food and support for the growth of the “good” bacteria.*

This makes PreforPro a double hitter for the health of the microbiome, because it reduces the unwanted components of the microbiota and assists the good components to flourish.* And PreforPro goes to work balancing the bacteria in your gut within hours, not days. There’s no amount of yogurt you could ingest that could go toe-to-toe with PreforPro.

Did we stop there? Of course not! We formulated Prebiotic + with a spectrum of polyphenols as a supporting cast to the benefits of PreforPro. Increasing research demonstrates the positive effects that polyphenols have on the beneficial bacteria of the gut microbiome.*

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are natural compounds found in fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices that offer a multitude of health benefits, including support of the gut biome. Polyphenols act as potent antioxidants – combating physical stressors to cells, which we call “aging.”* They also promote healthy brain function, help balance blood sugar levels, and support good digestion.*

Thorne included three stellar polyphenols in Prebiotic + to bring this formula to the next level. These polyphenols change the microbial composition in the gut by activating the excretion of short-chain fatty acids and supporting the gut’s immune function.* When your gut goes to work on polyphenols, the byproducts produced and absorbed into your system exert their effects at target sites throughout your body, thus expanding the benefits of Prebiotic + beyond GI health.*

Greenselect® is an optimally absorbed green tea extract. Green tea comes from the leaves and buds of the Camellia sinensis plant that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process. In addition to acting as potent antioxidants, the polyphenols in green tea promote an optimized microbiome and balanced blood sugar, and assist with modulating metabolism to help maintain a healthy weight.* The same green tea polyphenols in Prebiotic + are also offered as phytosomes in Thorne’s stand-alone product Green Tea Phytosome and in PolyResveratrol-SR®.

Prebiotic + contains a concentrated pomegranate extract that contains high levels of polyphenols, including elagitannins and ellagic acid, which the gut microbiome metabolizes to produce antioxidative effects that benefit healthy aging and support a healthy inflammatory response.* Pomegranate polyphenols provide support for gut barrier function,* which if impaired can be involved in several digestive dysfunctions. Pomegranate ellagitannins also assist in suppressing the growth of the “bad” and “opportunistic” bacterial species in the gut.*

AuroraBlue® is a proprietary complex of blueberry species hand-picked from Alaskan rainforests and tundra. Due to the growing conditions where these species grow, AuroraBlue has up to 10 times the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity measured in products made with wild and cultivated blueberries from lower latitudes.*

Blueberry polyphenols have been shown to benefit healthy aging and brain/mood function.* More recently, clinical studies indicate that supplementation with blueberry polyphenols can influence gut microbiota to promote beneficial bacteria that influence balanced blood sugar levels and maintenance of healthy weight.*

A delivery mechanism like you’ve never seen

Prebiotic + packs the goodness of PreforPro and polyphenols into the wonder of a dissolvable disc. Our team takes the innovation, quality, purity, and potency standards you expect in every Thorne supplement and produces a “printed” delivery mechanism that turns any beverage into a wellness solution.

It is delivered in a quick-dissolving disc that allows the Prebiotic + formula to be easily mixed into water or your preferred liquid for an easy to consume, packable, and sugar-free beverage. Prebiotic + is a lightly sweetened, pomegranate-berry flavored disc. Mix your disc and drink it down at home, or toss the disc in your bag for use at the office, on your lunch break, at the gym, or any other place you can find some water and a passion to maximize your gut health! So, everywhere!

A healthier you and a healthier planet

These dissolvable discs come in 100% plastic free packaging and in the future, will use internationally certified biodegradable materials. Prebiotic + is designed to make a massive impact on your gut health, but a minimal impact on the environment.

Prebiotic + is the only supplement on the market that combines the power of PreforPro with the support of polyphenols, the ease of a disc delivery system, and the minimal carbon footprint of plastic-free packaging, for a responsible and impactful effect on the health of your body and the planet.