A balanced gut flora helps to promote healthy absorption and digestion, and significantly improves and regulates your immune function. What many people do not know is that FOS, or 'prebiotics', can help to naturally increase your production of 'healthy bacteria', no live cells required.
What Are Prebiotics?
Prebiotics are defined based on 3 criteria
1) The (food)source must be non-digestable and resistant to gastric acidity, hydrolysis by intestinal digestive enzymes, and gastrointestinal absorption.
2) It must be fermentable.
3) It should, in a selective way, stimulate growth and/or metabolic activity of intestinal bacteria, which it does at the expense of pathogenic bacteria.
Top Prebiotics: FOS, Inulin & Oligofructose
Two specific fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin and oligofructose, are considered by Marcel Roberfroid, the man who both discovered and named prebiotics in 1995, to be the only sources to fully meet his definition of prebiotics.
What Foods Contain Prebiotics?
Although a food cannot be considered a prebiotic, certain foods can be a rich source of prebiotics or have higher prebiotic potential.
Foods with a high inulin content, for example include Jerusalem artichoke, onion, garlic, and chicory root. These foods are said to selectively increase the production of both the lactic acid producing bacteria (Lactobacillus species) and the bifidobacterium species of 'beneficial' bacteria.
FOS prebiotics are a form of fibre, meaning it also has the added benefit of being able to regulate blood sugar, applicable not only to individuals with diabetes or who are prediabetic, but helpful for those looking to control cravings and weight gain. Fibre has also been shown to help to lower cholesterol.
Adding More FOS Prebiotics To You Diet For Improved Gut Health
A synbiotic diet is one that is high in both prebiotic and probiotic foods/supplements. Pre and probiotics when taken together enhance each others' effects. This is why many companies are now including prebiotic fibre/FOS/inulin in with the live cells of a probiotic. Prebiotics can be taken this way, in capsule form, or in powder. Some companies are now combining these rich prebiotic substances with protein, multi mineral combinations and greens to increased overall health.
