PREBIOTICS
- What are prebiotics?
- How do prebiotics contribute to our health and wellbeing?
- How can you increase your intake of prebiotics?
- Want to know more?
What are prebiotics?
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients. Classed as dietary fibre, they are found in foods such as leeks, onions, garlic, bananas, asparagus, chicory and wholegrains (including wheat, rye, barley and oats)1. Because prebiotics are fermentable fibres, they help maintain gut functions1.
Most importantly, prebiotics remain undigested until they reach the colon where they become an important food source for the ‘good’ bacteria in our gut, helping them to flourish and grow in numbers1.
How do prebiotics contribute to our health and wellbeing?
Beneficial bacteria in our bodies help to defend it against potentially ‘harmful’ bacteria by competing for food and space and by changing the environment to a lower pH. The lower pH reduces the probability that ‘harmful’ bacteria will be able to reach sufficient numbers to cause illness as they cannot survive in this new environment.
The balance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria in our gut can be affected by many factors which include a poor diet, medication, stress, aging and adverse living conditions. These can lead to digestive problems which can affect our quality of life and may compromise bowel health.
It is important to consume prebiotics everyday to help maintain a healthy balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria in our digestive system.
How can you increase your intake of prebiotics?
To increase your intake of prebiotics:
- Choose high fibre wholegrain breads such as Bürgen® Rye Bread
- Choose foods with added inulin (a prebiotic dietary fibre);
- Cook with garlic, onion and leeks.
1 Gibson, g.r., & roberfroid, m.b., 1995. Dietary modulation of human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. J nutrition 125:1401-1412.