Prebiotic Basics

Most of you have probably already heard about probiotics and that they add good microbes to your gut to help improve your digestive health. Well today I’m not going to talk about probiotics. I’m going to delve into the world of prebiotics instead!

Now, raise your hand if you know what a prebiotic is? Considering I can’t see anyone as I’m writing this, I’m going to assume that no one knows what I’m talking about and hopefully teach you something useful!

Prebiotics were first defined by Glenn Gibson and Marcel Roberfroid as “a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon, and thus improves host health”. While this is certainly a comprehensive definition, the world of science has since defined prebiotics differently. As of 2008 the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP” defined prebiotics as “a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon host health”. Okay, so this is a pretty good definition but, I’m sure not everyone followed every bit of it so I’m going to break it down further!

Prebiotics are like the food for the probiotics. The food for the microbes living in you gut. Your microbiota! Your microbiota is the combination of all the bacteria that live in your digestive tract and also on your skin - approx. 100,000 billion! Dr. Nigel Plumber estimates that this collective can weight about 1.5 kgs! That sounds like a lot of little mouths to feed! So what do they feed on? What makes up a prebiotic?

Prebiotics are generally carbohydrates that our body can’t digest. If we lack the enzymes to break things down then they are indigestible but, for your resident microbes, this means lunch! However, not every microbe can break down every indigestible. Some break down some of them, while others break down others. Some even break some down and then that broken-down bit feeds others who then break it down further – this is call cross feeding and is part of the reason why the original definition no longer fits accurately! If that was confusing, what I’m basically saying is that the microbes break down the stuff we can’t and that’s how they eat!

So, we’ve established that they eat the indigestible carbohydrates and fiber but, what happens when they eat these things? Animals produce waste when they eat, do microbes do the same? The answer is yes – but what is one person’s trash, is another person’s treasure!

Many of the microbes, in addition to producing gas, produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). One example of SCFAs is butyrate. Butyrate serves as a fuel for the cells that create and line the walls of our intestines. SCFAs like butyrate has also been researched to show benefit for ameliorating the integrity of the intestinal wall, decreasing systemic inflammation, and stimulating the immune system. The improvement in the integrity of the intestinal wall can lead to a decrease in leaky gut, which on its own can help with allergies, inflammation, and overall well-being. The far-reaching effects of butyrate are possible because it can cross into our blood stream from the gut. This means that the product of a prebiotic can possibly have a systemic effect on the body for the good.

This systemic effect is even linked to our brain. The gut-brain axis is a major connection between our gut and the brain, meaning that the health of one will impact the other. So, if you are feeding the microbes in your gut, and they are possibly helping improve the overall health of the gut, then you are sending good vibes to the brain as well! This has translated to researched results of improved immediate memory recall, improved, mood, and improved recognition. Research has also shown that consumption of prebiotics can help with our eating behaviours via this gut-brain axis. They have illustrated that the consumption can improve satiety (the feeling of being satisfied or full after a meal) which means you are less likely to crave salt and sugar through the day to fill the time in between meals – leading to a n overall reduction in overeating. Prebiotics are therefore not only potentially helping improve things physically but also mentally, an important balancer in the quest for healthy living!

Okay, so I’ve covered what prebiotics are in a general sense, what they feed on, what they create when they feed, and what those products can do for us. I did not however provide any example of what an indigestible might be – a specific example of a prebiotic. Without further ado, an example of a prebiotic is inulin. Not insulin, inulin. Before you google what inulin is, I’ll do my best to explain. Inulin is part of the fructan family, meaning it is a long chain of fructose molecules all linked together! This long chain of sugar is something we can’t break down and so it is the bacteria in the gut that do this for us! Inulin can be found naturally in chicory, oats, soybeans, leeks, onions and many more; however, the levels of prebiotics found naturally in these food sources can be lower than an effective dose – meaning you really have to try to incorporate enough of these into your diet every single day in order to show benefit – something not always feasible.

ALL of this considered, prebiotics are sounding neat and like a possible way you can encourage good gut health and eating behaviours. If you want to check a particular product out, Pascoe Canada has a prebiotic powder – Markofruct! This product contains inulin sourced from chicory as its main prebiotic as well as some dry chamomile extract to help flavour and possibly soothe. This powder can be taken like a tea once or twice daily to possible help improve your gut health as well as your overall well being as I’ve outlined above.

As always do your research and ask a health care provider before starting anything new. You can check out the links above or in my links section for the Pascoe Canada’s Markofruct and the research articles below if you want to learn more about Prebiotics and their awesome power.

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Cani PD, Lecourt E, Dewulf EM, et al. Gut microbiota fermentation of prebiotics increases satietogenic and incretin gut peptide production with consequences for appetite sensation and glucose response after a meal. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(5):1236-1243. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28095

Carlson JL, Erickson JM, Lloyd BB, Slavin JL. Health Effects and Sources of Prebiotic Dietary Fiber. Curr Dev Nutr. 2018;2(3):nzy005. Published 2018 Jan 29. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzy005

Davani-Davari D, Negahdaripour M, Karimzadeh I, et al. Prebiotics: Definition, Types, Sources, Mechanisms, and Clinical Applications. Foods. 2019;8(3):92. Published 2019 Mar 9. doi:10.3390/foods8030092

Hiel S, Bindels LB, Pachikian BD, et al. Effects of a diet based on inulin-rich vegetables on gut health and nutritional behavior in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;109(6):1683-1695. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqz001