What Are Prebiotics?
Do you know the difference between Prebiotics and Probiotics?
Basically, a prebiotic is soluble fiber. The fiber is found in foods like chicory, garlic, and Jerusalem artichokes.
Here’s why prebiotics are so powerful:
The good bacteria in your gut thrive on this specific type of soluble fiber. That means, when you take prebiotics, you selectively help the good bacteria in your gut thrive — and — without helping the harmful bacteria.
Essentially, when you take probiotics, you’re giving your gut “more good bacteria.”
Prebiotics, on the other hand, are not bacteria, but “food for your existing good bacteria.”
Here’s why prebiotics are critical
(even if you don’t have digestive discomfort)
There has been more research on the human microbiota (i.e. the microorganisms that inhabit our gastro-intestinal system) in the past 5 years than the prior 50 years.
With the completion of a massive scientific undertaking called the Human Microbiome Project, we now have a completely new understanding of how our 100 trillion gut bacteria contribute to both health and disease.
The study proved to be quite a shock. It disrupted all that we thought we knew about how to maintain a healthy ecosystem in our gut to make the good bacteria that we were born with, stay healthy and thrive.
Did you know that your gut houses between 500 and 1000 different species of microorganisms?
It turns out, it’s not simply having an abundance of a few species of bacteria that make you healthier, it’s more about having many different species cooperating together that make the difference. In other words, the more diversity of good bacteria you have, the healthier you are. That’s where prebiotics come in.
Prebiotics are the perfect fertilizer for the good bacteria in your gut… including any probiotic you’re taking.
By selectively feeding your beneficial microbes, their diversity increases, their numbers increase, and the bad microbes lose their stronghold. This sets up the ideal healing environment. even if you don’t take a probiotic supplement.
PHGG: The highest quality prebiotic fiber
The best prebiotic is partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG).
This supplement is basically like eating guar beans and getting a ton of soluble fiber that your good bacteria love.
The process of hydrolyzation makes PHGG slightly more expensive, but far easier for your good bacteria to feed on.
That’s because PHGG is broken down with natural enzymes into the ideal molecular size–perfect food for your beneficial microbes.
As a result, PHGG prebiotics are far more effective than inulin or FOS. When you take PHGG, this soluble fiber selectively feeds the diverse populations of your beneficial bacteria, which alters the ratio of good to bad microbes in your favor.
All the negative, inflammatory consequences of the bad microbes are controlled as you nurture and feed the many populations of good microbes.
Further Reading on Prebiotics
- Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum Intake Ameliorates Constipation, Improves Nutritional Status And Reduces Indoxylsulfuric Acid In Dialysis Patients.
- Improvement of colonic healing by preoperative oral partially hydrolyzed guar gum in rats which underwent preoperative radiotherapy.
- Effect of cryoprotectants, prebiotics and microencapsulation on survival of probiotic organisms in yoghurt and freeze-dried yoghurt
- Partially hydrolyzed guar gum affects the expression of genes involved in host defense functions and cholesterol absorption in colonic mucosa of db/db male mice.
- Partially hydrolyzed guar gum
- Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum–Supplemented Oral Rehydration Solution in the Treatment of Acute Diarrhea in Children