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| Prebiotics |
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The word prebiotic was just coined in 1995. A prebiotic is not a probiotic, which is a beneficial bacteria such as has always been in yogurt, other dairy products and now pills. Prebiotics are different. They are certain types of very specialized plant fibers that the healthy bacteria in your gut use for food. These good bacteria, then, provide many health benefits to the colon and body.
How the Gut Works
The stomach is the reservoir that collects food and liquid we eat and drink. It grinds up the food and ejects it in little amounts out the end of the stomach. Digestion, then, occurs in the small bowel. The stomach makes a very potent acid called hydrochloric acid that can kill most any bacteria it comes in contact with. The small bowel is over 20 feet long and receives digestive juices and enzymes from the liver and pancreas. The food is digested in the small intestine. This means that the calories, minerals and vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids and fats are absorbed into the blood stream and carried throughout the body.
The colon, about five feet long, is where the residue from this process ends. This is where fiber enters the picture. Fiber comes from plant material. It is mostly unused by the small intestine and is not digested. It enters the colon pretty much as it left the stomach. In the past, we knew the colon was packed with bacteria but did not understand it very well. The colon was viewed simply as a waste depot, as this last residue moved to the rectum and was evacuated.
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 The Top 10
Benefits of Prebiotics |
10. Improved bowel regularity
9. Increase colon good bacteria
8. Decrease bad colon bacteria
7. Control appetite and weight
6. Reduce allergies-infants and children
5. Produce vitamins B12 and K
4. Reduce triglyceride level
3. Increase colon immunity factors
2. Increase calcium absorption
1. Increase bone density
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The History of Fiber
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At one time before farming occurred and animals were domesticated, our ancestors wandered around, mostly eating berries, fruits, root type vegetables and any plant that promised to have some nutrition. The diet contained 50-100 grams of fiber a day, all of it from plant material. Interestingly, one of the best studied prebiotics fibers, inulin, has been found in over 36,000 plants, so these people were eating a lot of this beneficial fiber.
Then came villages, farming, the growing of grains and the raising of livestock. Fiber intake gradually diminished. Furthermore, in Westernized countries, fiber was removed from the grains as it was felt to be useless. Suddenly, we have white bread, removing all the fiber and many of the minerals and vitamins. The food industries further began boxing and packaging food products in ways that required further changes in basic foods and adding many substances that, while helpful in adding shelf life and taste, did not much contribute to health as far as we knew. High fructose corn syrup was found to be as sweet as sugar and replaced it in many drinks and foods, as it was much cheaper. This corn derivative and other sweeteners flooded the market in many products and have resulted in or are associated with the epidemic of obesity we now see in our society. Food fiber was side-lined as an important factor in the diet.
Fiber Now
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Fiber has made a comeback, however. By its very definition, fiber is not digested and broken down in the small intestine. Rather, it moves on down into the colon. In the 1970s and 80s, we learned that there were two major types of fiber - insoluble fiber and soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is not acted on or fermented in the colon. It provides no nutrition to the bacteria there. It does, however, hold lots of water and, in so doing, helps to get a softer, more regular bowel movement. Soluble fiber, on the other hand, is used by colon bacteria as a food source.
Another major development has been an understanding of the dramatic and major role that bacteria within the colon play in maintaining good health. In short, we benefit enormously from the bacteria in our colon and what goes on there. The soluble fibers are a key part of this story. The ones that provide the most benefits are called prebiotics. These are health fibers. While there are likely many prebiotics fibers, just a few have been studied to the extent that researchers and physician understand just what they can do and can feel confident in recommending foods that contain them as well as certain prebiotic supplements. Please see A Wonderful Colon for a full essay.
The Journal of Nutrition
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This above publication is the science publication of the American Society for Nutrition, one of the most prestigious and highly regarded nutrition journals in the world. It is peer reviewed, meaning each article is reviewed by experts in the field before it is published. This journal published two supplements in 2007.
| Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics |
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Marcel Roberfroid ; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 830S
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Katharina E. Scholz-Ahrens et al; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 838S
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Michael de Vrese, Philippe R. Marteau; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 803S
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More References...
| Inulin and Oligofructose: Health Benefits and Claims - A Critical Review |
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Sofia Kolida, Glenn R. Gibson; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 2503S
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Katharina E. Scholz-Ahrens, Jürgen Schrezenmeir ; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 2513S
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Stephanie Seifert and Bernhard Watzl; J Nutr. 2007; 137: 2563S
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More References...
These two reviews are the most up-to-date and best referenced materials on prebiotics. Abstracts are readily available online by clicking either of these sites.
Prebiotics - The Best Definition
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The experts in this field have gradually come to the conclusion that a prebiotic by valid experimental and research work do the following:
- They are not digested by the small bowel.
- They are fermented by the good bacteria in the colon.
- Most importantly, this fermentation is accompanied by beneficial and measurable good results in the colon and the body.
This is pretty simple but only the soluble prebiotics fibers, inulin, oligofructose and a mixture of the two, called oligofructose enriched inulin, are felt by some to have measured up to these three guidelines. Roberfroid in the first reference above speaks to this point in his article Prebiotics: The Concept Revisited. Roberfroid was the author, researcher and a father of the field of Prebiotics.
Oligofructose Enriched Inulin
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Inulin is present in high concentrations in chicory root, dandelions and others. It is present to a lesser extent in bananas, wheat, onions, asparagus, rye and barley. Indeed, it has been found in over 36,000 plants around the world. Oligofructose, also present in these foods, is a similar fiber. Very surprisingly, Americans get only about 2 grams/day of these fibers, 70% from wheat and 20% from onions. Europeans eat three times this amount. Somehow our food industries and our eating habits have simply bypassed this remarkable fiber. These soluble prebiotic fibers have by far the most science behind them. Much of the research in the science literature, in fact, has been done where inulin and oligofructose have been combined.
The mixture of these two fibers is called oligofructose enriched inulin. It seems to provide a synergy whereby the mixture of the two has been found to be more effective in producing beneficial results than either one by itself. The laboratory, animal and human studies reported in the medical literature are impressive. Our oligofructose enriched inulin product is called Prebiotin™.
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Food sources of inulin |
- wheat
- onions
- garlic
- bananas
- Jeruselem artichoke
- leeks
- chicory root
- jicama
- agave
- wild yam
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Prebiotics for the Healthy
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The colon is a health maintenance organ if its bacteria are fed properly. The specific areas of good health that science is beginning to uncover are:
- Improved bowel regularity
- Increased number of good colon bacteria species, especially the Bifidobacter and Lactobacillus species.
- Decreased number of presumed bad bacteria species, especially the Clostridium and Bacteroides species
- Increased absorption of calcium and magnesium. The data here is especially strong with young teenage girls increasing their bone mass 20% after one year of taking prebiotics
- Increased immune strength in the colon's own cells. Some of this experimental data is very impressive.
- Better glycemic and blood sugar control
- They have been found to modulate factors that could lead to colon polyps and cancer when studied in animals.
- Effect on aging, appetite and weight loss. The data on these is very early and nothing conclusive has been demonstrated. Still, good scientists are intensely studying these outcomes.
Health Benefits for Those with Colon Disorders
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The FDA does not allow anyone in the Dietary Supplement industry to make a claim that their products can prevent, cure or mitigate any disease. So, nothing specific can or will be claimed in this regard. At the same time, it is quite obvious to all of us in the gastroenterology field that a great amount of research is being done in these fields. You may go to the topics below for further discussions on these topics.
Summary
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Prebiotics food fibers are a very recent development in the medical, research and health fields. A large body of research information has been occurring at the same time that we in the medical field are getting a much better grasp of the function of the bacterial makeup within the colon. How these newly discovered prebiotics fibers and the colon's own bacteria interact in such a positive manner is a truly exciting new frontier in enhancing the health of the community and every person who understands and acts on this new information.
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