A forgotten but very important partner in keeping a heathy and happy gut.
We are all too familiar about the importance of probiotics in maintaining the health and wellness of the digestive system. But equally important are prebiotics, the food probiotics feed off. These Prebiotics are nothing but the indigestible fibers from food that ferment in the gut and provide fuel to the millions of healthy microorganisms residing in our colon.
Let’s take a closer look into understanding prebiotics, their relation to probiotics, the best food sources and how much we need to consume daily.
The Relationship between Prebiotics and Probiotics:
Probiotics as well all know are the friendly micro-organisms that reside in the human gut. They serve numerous benefits to the body especially in maintaining a clean, healthy and functional digestive system. They are also believed to play a major role in regulating the immune system, warding off pathogenic microbes and enhances digestion of food.
And like any living microorganisms, probiotics too need food to survive and thrive. Here is where prebiotics serve their main purpose as food for probiotics to feed off. Yes, prebiotics are meant to be eaten by the live probiotic cultures in our colon.
Where can I get my probiotics from?
Simply put prebiotics are fibers present in the food we eat. The prebiotic fibers are the indigestible part of plant- based foods that feed probiotics. Most likely we’ve been ingesting prebiotics for some time now not even realizing it.
Knowing now that prebiotic foods are fibers from plants, the higher the fiber content the more prebiotic they become. Right? In a sense, yes, but not all fiber is fermentable in the colon. Which is why some fiber rich foods are considered more prebiotic than others.
High Prebiotic Foods
Eating Prebiotic Raw or Cooked: Which is better?
Cooking does change the composition of food when exposed to heat. Foods change, i.e. they no longer are in their natural occurring state. This holds true for prebiotic fibers too and cooking them can cause some loss of this precious fiber. It is not yet known how much prebiotic fiber is lost in cooking and thus it is recommend to consume them raw. Throw them in to a salad or dressing to get them in raw and retain all benefits.
What is our Prebiotic requirement?
Suggested intake is 5gms of prebiotic fibers daily. And since it is difficult to accurately measure this, we advise you include more than one food source of prebiotic fibers at every meal. This will help overcome any of the numerous factors that may interfere and impact the actual consumption.
More prebiotic fibers mean more food for our friendly bacteria. This ensures healthy more efficient probiotic cultures in your large intestine.
Right Prebiotics, Happy Probiotics, Healthy Digestion, Right Balance