Differences between prebiotics and probiotics

What are prebiotics?

Most prebiotics are vegetable fibres that the organism can’t digest, either via the stomach or the small intestine. These fibres arrive intact in the large intestine where they’re fermented by the intestinal flora, which are friendly bacteria that are beneficial to your dog’s health. So the incorporation of prebiotics in his diet will promote the growth of these friendly bacteria.

What are prebiotics for?

The addition of prebiotics to food supports the workings of the digestive system regardless of the dog’s age: puppy, adult or senior.

And it's in the intestinal flora that we find microorganisms that help to:

combat toxins

synthesise and absorb nutrients

improve digestion

The development of beneficial intestinal flora boosts your dog’s natural defences. Furthermore, a healthy intestine can help to regulate the efficiency of the animal's immune system. There are various factors that can negatively affect your dog’s intestinal flora, such as poor nutrition or stress. How are probiotics different from prebiotics?

The main difference between probiotics and prebiotics is that the former contain living microorganisms, whereas the latter are mostly vegetable fibres which benefit the bacteria already present in the intestine. Both are good for dogs and also for cats, as they improve the balance of intestinal flora.

Prebiotics in food

Food contains prebiotics that arrive intact in the large intestine, where they are then fermented by the intestinal flora, and so have beneficial effects.

With the aim of helping your dog’s digestive system to stay healthy, and to promote the development of friendly bacteria, at Ultima we’ve updated all our recipes, which now contain prebiotics. We use inulin, a prebiotic found in chicory root which has a high inulin content.

A diet that includes prebiotics in an ongoing way helps your dog to maintain his intestinal flora, and so boosts his natural defences. In fact 70% of those defences are found precisely here, in the intestine. If you want to help your dog to stay strong and healthy, to support his natural defences and to keep his digestive system in good order, try the new Ultima recipe with prebiotics.

Diet with prebiotics

The fact that the food contains prebiotics, which reach the large intestine intact, allows the intestinal flora to ferment them producing their beneficial effects.

With the intention of supporting a healthy digestion of your dog and a correct development of its intestinal flora, in Ultima we have improved all our recipes to contain prebiotics. Specifically, we use inulin, a prebiotic found in chicory root, a plant that has a high content of this prebiotic, inulin.

A diet with prebiotics on a continuous basis helps your dog to maintain the balance of its intestinal flora, favoring its natural defenses. In fact, 70% of defenses are found precisely in the intestine. Do you want to help your dog stay vital, promote its natural defenses and a healthy digestive system? Try Ultima and its new recipe with prebiotics.