Prebiotics

[TAPrice]

A local pizza chain is preaching the wonders of prebiotics. It's supposed to make you body absorb calcium, make your pipes work better, and just generally promote good health

Yeah, I'm dubious. Food is not medicine. But honestly, I've got no facts on my side. I can say that eating pizza dough loaded with prebiotics gave me gas and made me run to the bathroom more than normal. Perhaps, though, this is a good effect.

Anybody heard of this? Anybody know anything about it? A man named Jeff Leach seems to be promoting the idea.

[cathrynapple]

Do you perhaps mean probiotics? Natural bacteria that occur during fermentation, especially in foods like yogurt, that increase the "good" bacteria in your intestines.

It's what all those new yogurts are now claiming to have, although yogurt contains these bacteria by its very nature.

[torakris]

I also thought he was referring to probiotics as well, then I found this.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can be found in various foods. When you eat probiotics, you will add these healthy bacteria to your intestinal tract. Common strains include Lactobacillis and Bifidobacterium families of bacteria.

Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that make their way through our digestive system and help good bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics keep beneficial bacteria healthy.

I guess they sort of work together. So if you eat prebiotics but no probiotics do you get any benefits?

[Wild Mountain Girl]

Todd,

Checked it out and it is just another name for dietary fiber. It isn't exactly the miracle food but it is essential for good nutrition. Prebiotics are non-digestible which explains the lower digestive tract activity you experienced.

Wild Mountain Girl

[Chris Hennes]

Checked it out and it is just another name for dietary fiber. It isn't exactly the miracle food but it is essential for good nutrition. Prebiotics are non-digestible which explains the lower digestive tract activity you experienced.

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Dietary fiber is the most prevalent type of prebiotic, but not actually the only one. "Prebiotic" is the name given to a broad category of non-digestible substances that contribute to the growth of probiotic bacteria. The effects are still under examination, but at least some studies have linked prebiotic intake with improved health, though the studies were not particularly conclusive, as far as I can tell. (For those looking for more detail: I believe the concept of the prebiotic was first forwarded by Gibson and Roberfroid, Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. J. Nutr. 125(6):1401-1412).

[TAPrice]

Is there any reason to think that eating a well-balance diet with a decent amount of fiber provides sufficient prebiotics? Other than fiber, what are we talking about? What foods naturally have a high lever of prebiotics?

[mizducky]

Interesting. I hadn't heard that term "prebiotic" before either. Wikipedia offers a little more help: clickie

One tidbit from the Wikipedia article:

Traditional dietary sources of prebiotics include soybeans, Jerusalem artichokes (which contain inulin), jicama (also containing inulin), chicory root (inulin source), raw oats, unrefined wheat and unrefined barley.

It's neat to know a little more about what this stuff does, but yeah, I think one would only need to go out of one's way to supplement this stuff in one's diet if that diet were severely lacking in produce and complex carbs ...

I've been known to do the probiotic thing--eat good yogurt--after a cycle of antibiotics. Next time I might try fixing some Jerusalem artichokes too.

(I wonder if konnyaku is the right kind of soluble fiber to play this game? )

[Chris Hennes]

Is there any reason to think that eating a well-balance diet with a decent amount of fiber provides sufficient prebiotics? Other than fiber, what are we talking about? What foods naturally have a high lever of prebiotics?

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It's hard to say for sure: the studies I read last night were mostly focused on the development of the fetal and infant immune system, as transmitted to them through their mothers. Taking additional prebiotics increased the beneficial bacterial activity in the mothers, but this was not reflected as a healthier immune system in the child. Granted, this is only a single study and did not focus on the mothers' health, but as usual with the sorts of health claims we see today, my feeling is that there is probably a small grain of truth surrounded by a great deal of hyperbole. My vote is to eat a balanced diet of food that tastes good. For me, that includes both fiber and yogurt, so I guess I'm covered!