What Are Prebiotics and Why You Should Be Making an Effort to Eat Them

You may have heard of probiotics…but what about prebiotics?

You may know that probiotics are a kind of live bacteria or yeasts that are actually beneficial to digestion and bowel function. Probiotics are naturally occurring in fermented foods. Examples of foods with probiotics include: yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, sourdough bread, kimchi and pickles to name a few. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), there are seven core strains of probiotics including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Escherichia, and Bacillus. Probiotics are currently a huge topic of research and study as they may potentially offer an array of health benefits including treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, atopic dermatitis, and pediatric acute infectious diarrhea.

Prebiotics are usually complex carbohydrates and high in fiber. Prebiotics are foods which feed the good bacteria that already live in your gut; your gut bacteria will eat and ferment these probiotics to survive. When the microorganisms in your gut eat and break-down prebiotics, depending on the type of prebiotic are variety of short-chain fatty acids are made. Flatulence is also a by-product of probiotics breaking-down prebiotic fiber. These different short-chain fatty acids do various things such as providing energy to your the cells of your colon, aid in production of mucus and help with inflammation and immunity. Prebiotics are naturally found in plant-based foods. Examples of prebiotic foods include: whole grains, nuts and seeds, fruits, vegetables, and beans. There are three different kinds of prebiotics, including resistant starches, inulin, and pectin. Different plant-based foods have different prebiotics and their availability can differ depending on how you prepare them. Resistant starches can be found in barley, beans, green bananas, legumes, oats, potatoes and rice. Inulin can be found in asparagus, burdock root, chicory root, dandelion greens, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, soybeans, and yams. Pectin can be found in fruits and some veggies including: apples, apricots, carrots, green beans, peaches, raspberries, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Commercial products which contain both prebiotics and probiotic organisms are typically called synbiotics. If you’re going to add prebiotics to your diet, you should do so slowly to avoid being super bloated or gassy. For guidance on adding prebiotics and probiotics into your diet, speak with your primary care physician or a registered dietitian nutritionist like myself.