Related Posts

View Entries

Feed your gut right: The surprising benefits of prebiotics

The world of gut health is ever evolving with an abundance of information  on how we can support a happy gut. At Love Your Gut, we want to simplify the science and cut through the confusion.

When it comes to supporting gut health, you may have heard the term ‘prebiotics’. They’ve become one piece of the gut health puzzle, with more research showing how they can contribute to a flourishing ecosystem within the gut.

Global Prebiotics Week (3-9 November 2024) is all about raising awareness of how prebiotics can benefit health and keep our gut bugs happy! In honour of this exciting week, we will dive into all things prebiotics including what they actually are, what they do and how you can pack more of their goodness into your diet!

 

What are prebiotics?

Prebiotics ‘feed’ our good gut bugs, helping them to thrive. 1 An easy way to think about them is to imagine your gut bugs as the plants in a garden and prebiotics as a fertiliser. Prebiotics help your gut ecosystem to flourish, just as a fertiliser helps a garden to do the same. They fuel our good gut bugs, helping them to perform all their functions including supporting our digestion as well as our immune system and mental health. 2,3

What can prebiotics do for our health?

Prebiotics are a food source for our gut bugs and help them to work optimally, but what does this actually mean?

Our gut bugs play a crucial role in how the body processes food and nutrients. When they are balanced and happy, this contributes to good digestion, efficient nutrient absorption, a healthy immune systemand can even help to support brain health. However, when they are imbalanced and unhappy, this can contribute to digestive disorders and a weakened immune system. 2 This is where prebiotics are important. Feeding the good gut bugs with prebiotics helps them to grow and increases their presence in the gut. This helps foster a happy and balanced environment within the gut, therefore contributing to overall health and wellbeing. 2

 

What do the guidelines say about prebiotics in the diet?

There are currently no official guidelines on the quantity of prebiotics to include in your diet.4 As most prebiotics are a type of fibre, instead it can be easier for us to aim to include more fibre in our diet, rather than a specific amount of prebiotics in isolation. Bumping up our fibre intake can lead to an increase in prebiotic intake since many fibre containing foods also include prebiotics 5. Adults are recommended to have 30g of fibre a day.6 That may seem like a lot but here are some examples of what this could look like across a day:

To find out more about fibre, including some handy top tips, click here .

Prebiotic-rich foods:

You may already have a diet packed with prebiotics without even knowing, since these helpful compounds are in a lot of everyday fibre rich foods. However, if you would like to boost your intake, ghere are other tasty  examples of prebiotic-rich foods that you can start adding to your diet:

  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Leeks
  • Asparagus
  • Bananas
  • Oats
  • Barley
  • Apples
  • Avocado
  • Beans
  • Berries

 

How can you celebrate Global Prebiotics Week?

  • Try some new ingredients: Challenge yourself to include a new prebiotic-rich food in your diet this week. That could be adding garlic to your dinner recipe or having a banana as a mid-morning snack. Your gut bugs will thank you for it!
  • Tell a friend: Share this blog with someone you know. Spreading the word on how to support our gut health can help us all to make more gut healthy choices! Read up on gut health: If you found this blog interesting, check out some of our other blogs on all things gut health. From the gut-skin axis (there is lots to learn!

References:

  1. Davani-Davari D, Negahdaripour M, Karimzadeh I, Seifan M, Mohkam M, Masoumi SJ, Berenjian A, Ghasemi Y. Prebiotics: definition, types, sources, mechanisms, and clinical applications. Foods. 2019 Mar 9;8(3):92. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/8/3/92

 

  1. Jovel J, Dieleman LA, Kao D, Mason AL, Wine E. The human gut microbiome in health and disease. Metagenomics. 2018 Jan 1:197-213. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081022689000100

 

  1. Davani-Davari D, Negahdaripour M, Karimzadeh I, Seifan M, Mohkam M, Masoumi SJ, Berenjian A, Ghasemi Y. Prebiotics: definition, types, sources, mechanisms, and clinical applications. Foods. 2019 Mar 9;8(3):92. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6463098/

 

  1. Prebiotics. ISAPP. 2024. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://isappscience.org/for-scientists/resources/prebiotics/

 

  1. Lockyer S, Stanner S. Prebiotics–an added benefit of some fibre types. Nutrition Bulletin. 2019 Mar;44(1):74-91. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12366

 

  1. British Nutrition Foundation. Fibre. British Nutrition Foundation. 2024. [Accessed 3rd October 2024] Available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritional-information/fibre/