What Are Postbiotics and How Can They Help Your Gut?

Functional foods have exploded in popularity thanks to their health benefits. Probiotics and prebiotics get a lot of attention. But new research is shedding light on the benefits of postbiotics, too. Postbiotics offer many of the same benefits as probiotics and they may also be a safer option for some people. Here’s everything you need to know about postbiotics.

What are postbiotics?

Postbiotics are helpful substances that form when probiotics (“good” bacteria) break down prebiotics. Examples of postbiotics include:

• Certain vitamins

• Amino acids

• Short-chain fatty acids 

In humans, postbiotics help keep the gut microbiome balanced by allowing “helpful” bacteria to thrive and keeping harmful bacteria in check. An unbalanced gut microbiome can lead to uncomfortable stomach symptoms like nausea, bloating, and trouble digesting certain foods. It can also impact your overall health and mood. 

Probiotic supplements and foods naturally contain postbiotics. But they also contain live bacteria. 

Postbiotic supplements don’t contain live bacteria. That’s the reason postbiotics may be safer than probiotics for people with weakened immune systems. When you take postbiotic supplements, you’re cutting out the bacteria and only ingesting the nutrients bacteria leave behind. 

Positibotics are also called:

• Parabiotics

• Nonviable probiotics

• Heat-killed probiotics

Postbiotic supplements are typically safer, more stable, and easier to store than probiotics because the bacteria in them is no longer alive. 

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What are the health benefits of postbiotics?

Postbiotics and probiotics have similar health benefits because they both help balance your gut microbiome. Postbiotics have been linked to the following benefits.

A healthier immune system

Postbiotics can help strengthen your immune system and help your body fight off infections.

There’s research suggesting that postbiotics may help ease symptoms from viral respiratory infections. They may also be helpful for people with some allergic conditions like asthma, eczema, and food allergies. Researchers are studying whether postbiotics can help support the immune system so people don’t develop these conditions. 

Improved gut health

Postbiotics can help gut health by creating an environment that makes it easier for good gut bacteria to thrive. Like probiotics, postbiotics also keep the gut lining strong and healthy. This keeps toxins and harmful bugs from entering the body via the gut.

Some early research suggests that postbiotics may help ease symptoms related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and infectious diarrhea. There’s strong evidence that probiotics help with these issues, too. But some people can’t take probiotics and miss out on these benefits. Now, these people may be able to reap the same gut health benefits by taking postbiotics. 

Better metabolic health

There’s research suggesting that postbiotics can improve insulin sensitivity and lower cholesterol levels. 

Some research also suggests that postbiotics may change the way the body stores and uses energy. This means that postbiotics may be helpful for people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. But more research is needed to know if postbiotics can help treat these conditions. 

Support recovery during cancer treatment

Postbiotics have also been studied as part of cancer treatment. Some research suggests that people who received postbiotics in addition to traditional cancer therapy had stronger immune systems. This can help people recover during chemotherapy treatment.

Many people receiving cancer treatment have weakened immune systems and can’t take probiotics. But they may be able to safely take postbiotics. 

What are the side effects of taking postbiotics?

Postbiotics are considered safe for most people. They may be safer than probiotics for people with weakened immune systems because they don’t contain live bacteria. They may also be safer for people with certain gastrointestinal conditions, like Crohn’s disease and celiac disease.

Also, postbiotics aren’t known to cause antibiotic resistance, which can happen when people take probiotics. 

But it’s important to know that there’s not a lot of research on the side effects or potential risks of postbiotics. It’s best to talk with your healthcare team before taking postbiotic supplements or adding postbiotic foods to your daily diet, especially if you have a condition that affects your gut or immune system. Your team can help you determine if postbiotics are safe for you. 

What should you look for when choosing postbiotic supplements?

The FDA doesn’t regulate postbiotic supplements. This means that the FDA hasn’t checked postbiotic supplements to make sure they are safe or that they work for most people. There’s also no oversight on how these supplements are made, stored, and marketed. 

So it’s important to choose brands that are well-established and have a history of providing high quality and safe products. Some manufacturers provide information on how their products are made and voluntarily send their products for safety checks.

It’s also a good idea to read the label and packaging materials to verify the ingredients in supplements before taking them. 

What are the best postbiotic foods?

If you’re nervous about taking supplements, you don’t have to write off postbiotics. You can still get all the benefits of postbiotics from eating certain foods.

Foods made through fermentation can contain both probiotics and postbiotics. Some examples include:

• Buttermilk

• Cottage cheese

• Fermented pickles and vegetables, like kimchi

• Kefir

• Kombucha

• Sauerkraut

• Sourdough bread

• Tempeh

• Yogurt

Some fermented foods are processed so that they no longer have live bacteria in them. But these foods still contain helpful postbiotics. If you need to avoid probiotics, you can eat these types of fermented foods and get the benefits of postbiotics.

Always check food labels to know for sure whether foods contain live bacteria. Foods that contain probiotics should be labeled as containing “live and active cultures.” Fermented foods that have been pasteurized, heat-treated, or filtered to inactivate and remove bacteria will contain postbiotics but not live bacteria.

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Written by:

Jonathan Santana, DO

Jonathan Santana, DO, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatrician, with board certification in primary-care sports medicine. He has been in academic practice for 8 years as an assistant professor in orthopedics.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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