What exactly are prebiotics, and should you be having more of them? We look into the facts.
At Heights, we love probiotics. That’s no secret. But what about prebiotics? People often ask why we don’t include them, and whether they should be taking a prebiotic supplement. So we’re diving into the world of prebiotics—what they are, what they do, and the best ways to get the right amount of prebiotic fibre in your diet.
Prebiotics are special types of fibre. You’ll sometimes see them referred to as prebiotic fibre, or dietary fibre, particularly in Europe (where regulations prohibit using the word ‘prebiotic’ on labels).
What makes it special is that we can’t break them down at all. We lack the digestive enzymes, which means that, when they arrive in the gut, the sugars are still intact. But while we can’t break them down, our gut bacteria can, so the prebiotics act as food for our bacteria.
There are all sorts of fibres that could be considered prebiotic. Some of the most common are:
Lots of long, hard-to-pronounce names, but in effect, they’re complex sugars, found in plants.
Like every other living thing, our gut bacteria need nutrition. They need to eat. Indigestible fibres arrive in the gut still whole, ready to be broken down and digested by our gut flora (with carbon dioxide produced as a byproduct). Getting enough prebiotic fibre is important for the health of the gut microbiome—helping the bacteria stay healthy, strong, and effective.
On top of that, all fibre, prebiotic or not, is important for your digestive health. It adds bulk to stool, and helps maintain regularity.
Lots of supplements contain prebiotics (or dietary fibre), claiming that it will help with digestion, or gut flora, or survivability, or many other things. But it’s important to be sceptical of such claims.
According to Heights Head of Nutritional Reach Sophie Medlin, a meaningful dose of prebiotics needs to be at least 4 grams. Below that, it’s just not worth it. But a standard capsule can only contain less than 1 gram, and that’s as a maximum. There’s not really any point taking such a small amount—it won’t have an effect.
On top of that, you need to be aware that many of the symptoms associated with probiotic supplements actually come from prebiotic fibre. If you’ve ever eaten Jerusalem artichokes, you’ll know what that feels like.
So don’t bother with any supplement claiming to contain prebiotics or dietary fibre. But that doesn’t mean you should be ignoring them in your diet. At Heights, we advocate a food-first approach for prebiotics—it’s the best way to get a variety of different fibres to your gut bacteria in meaningful amounts. Plus you get the benefits of all the other vitamins, minerals and nutrients in the food.
That means eating plants—aim for up to 30 different plants a week. It sounds like a lot, but with a bit of creativity, you can incorporate those into your diet, and make sure your gut bacteria are getting all the inulin, GOS, FOS, and other prebiotics that it needs.
All sorts of plants contain some amounts of prebiotics, and variety is important. But if you’re looking for some foods that are particularly high in these fibres, this is where to start.
A balanced diet, with plenty of these foods, along with a variety of other plants, will give you all the prebiotic fibre your gut bacteria need, without any additional supplements.
Are all supplements useless, or can your diet sometimes use a little bit of help. There are lots of different opinions out there, so we cut through the noise to study the facts. Learn more now.