Gut Health: Importance of Prebiotics

Role of prebiotics in gut health

In gut health, prebiotics have an important role. Prebiotics are classified as non-digestible foods. These are foods that probiotics can feed off. But many of us are asking, “Are prebiotics really important?”

What are prebiotics?

The fact is, prebiotics play a significant role in our body. They increase the population of healthy bacteria in our gut. It also helps enhance the production of important vitamins and helps aid digestion.

The good bacteria that prebiotics support, helps to regulate your immunity. It also reduces the growth of disease causing bacteria and helps with digestion.

Where can I get prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a special form of dietary fiber that acts as a “fertilizer” for the good bacteria. They are carbohydrates that your body can’t digest.

While all prebiotics are fibers, not all fibers are prebiotics. Generally, prebiotics are well known to be in the form of nutritional supplements. But in reality, the major source of prebiotics is dietary fibre. Dietary fibre can be naturally found in fruits and vegetables. But, the common form present in majority of plant-based foods, are less fermented by the bacteria in the gut. This means it lacks some of the health benefits demonstrated by prebiotics.

Here are some known natural sources of prebiotics:

Green Bananas
Leaks
Onions
Artichokes
Garlic
Chicory Root
Asparagus
Wheat flour

Want to find more prebiotic foods? Check out my list

PREBIOTIC AND FERMENTED FOOD LIST

What are the advantages of taking prebiotics for my gut health?

Prebiotics are resistant to the body’s enzymes and gastric acids. This means that they travel through your digestive system undigested or destroyed, unlike many probiotics.

We already know that we also have the option to take prebiotics in form of supplements. This means that it can also be added to almost every type of food or drink. On top of that, you can consume it along with other types of supplements without compromising their effectiveness.

Gut health: How does prebiotics help you lose weight?

Prebiotics reduce body fat by altering your gut microbiota. We already know that prebiotics help the growth of good bacteria in our gut. And, there are two main families of good bacteria, the bacteroidetes and firmicutes. The body weight may be related to the balance of the two families of bacteria.

Overall, the fact is that 80-90% of serotonin is fabricated in the gut and 70-80% of the immune system sits in the gut. With this fact, it is imperative that we take care of our gut and taking more prebiotics which helps our gut.

If you are unsure on what is best for your gut, you can consult an expert or try a group coaching!

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