The Benefits of Prebiotics in Your Diet

Welcome to Let’s Talk Tuesday! Today, we’re talking about the benefits of prebiotics and how they help our health.

You’ve likely heard a ton about probiotics lately, but have you heard about PREbiotics? Today, I’ll get into the details about what prebiotics are, what their benefits are, and some of the diseases and conditions they may help.

what are prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a special type of fiber, which are found in carbohydrate-containing foods. They can’t be digested or absorbed by the human digestive system, and they are defined by having a beneficial effect on the host (us).

Prebiotics are essentially food for probiotics, which are our healthy gut bacteria. Our probiotics consume and ferment prebiotics, which keeps our microbiome thriving and growing.

If you take probiotic supplements, or eat probiotic-containing foods, but don’t have any prebiotics around in your gut, the healthy bacteria won’t be able to stick around for long. The healthy bacteria will soon die off without a constant supply of prebiotic food to eat.

what foods contain prebiotics?

• Jerusalem artichoke (also called sunchokes; these aren’t “regular” artichokes)
• Unripe (greenish) bananas
• Plantains
• Cooked-then-cooled potatoes or white rice (Check out last week’s potato salad recipe post for more information on this)
• Leeks
• Garlic
• Onions
• Chicory root
• Asparagus
• Apples
• Jicama
• Beans
• Seaweed

what types of fiber are prebiotics?

As you can see above, many foods contain prebiotics. But, what exactly are prebiotics made out of?

There are many types of fiber that are prebiotics. The most common types in these foods are inulin, pectin, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), resistant starch, beta-glucan, partially hydrolyzed guar gum, and cellulose. Many more are constantly being discovering, too!

what are the health benefits of prebiotics?

Prebiotics are beneficial to health because they are not digested by our guts, but instead travel to the colon (large intestine) intact. In the colon, our gut bacteria start to ferment the prebiotic fibers, which is their way of ‘eating’ the prebiotics.

The prebiotics get fermented into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA’s). The main SCFA’s are butyrate, propionate, and acetate. The SCFA’s are beneficial for gut health and immune health, as well as being anti-inflammatory. SCFA’s may also reduce risk of obesity, metabolic disease, and colon cancer. Important little guys!

Butyrate is the main SCFA that affects our gut health, because it is metabolized by our colon cells. Our colon cells like to eat, so this helps to strengthen the mucus lining of our gut barrier, which helps to prevent ‘leaky gut’.

benefits of prebiotics with inflammatory bowel disease

Of course, I’m interested in the research behind how prebiotics can affect inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Feel free to read my story about dealing with ulcerative colitis here.

While a lot of studies have been done with probiotics and IBD, not that many studies with prebiotics have come out yet. Studies with prebiotics generally would have people consume a prebiotic supplement, rather than prebiotic-containing foods, because it’s easier to measure the amounts of prebiotics in supplements.

One study found that people with IBD who took a fructan supplement showed improvements in their gut microbiota diversity, but this didn’t translate to improvement in their disease symptoms.

Another paper looked at the results from 17 studies involving prebiotics and IBD. They found that 6 of those studies showed results of clinically improving ulcerative colitis symptoms. However, the authors conclude that while prebiotics are promising for helping with ulcerative colitis, more research is needed.

So, moral of the story with prebiotics and IBD is that prebiotic supplements may or may not work, but eating foods containing prebiotics (AKA fiber) is usually a good idea! The only caveat is that some people may have trouble digesting prebiotic foods, such as people with IBS who need low FODMAP diets. However, most people could do well with gradually increasing their fiber (and prebiotic) intake day by day.

Any questions?! Let me know!