Supplements & functional ingredients
Prebiotics are typically complex carbohydrates found in plant-based foods.
Despite being only a letter different in spelling, prebiotics and probiotics are actually vastly different with distinct functions. While Shustina refers to them as “bugs”, the WHO defines probiotics as live microorganisms that live in the gut. These can be yeast or ‘good bacteria’ found naturally occurring in fermented foods or taken as supplements. In contrast, prebiotics are not living organisms, but they are non- digestible food ingredients that strategically support the ‘good bacteria’ already in the gut.
Dr Mastaneh Sharafi, vice-president of scientific and clinical affairs at Ritual, explains the difference using the analogy, “We like to think of the gut like a garden. Prebiotics are like the elements that help plants grow. In some cases, representing the soil, sun and water [or] like gardeners cutting back the weeds and creating space for new growth. Probiotics are like the plants that grow.” Prebiotics are a source of food for healthy bacteria and are typically found in complex carbohydrates. These are difficult for the digestive system to process, meaning they arrive largely intact in the colon where they act as nutrients for the beneficial bacteria that reside there.
A gut feeling
While historically prebiotics have been under- researched in comparison with probiotics, this has started to change in recent years with researchers now suggesting prebiotics may be just as important as probiotics in promoting gut health. Dr Megan Rossi, founder of The Gut Health Doctor, outlines the benefits of prebiotics, “There is sound scientific evidence for the benefits, including improving blood-sugar control, helping keep the gut microbiome healthy, appetite regulation, helping calcium absorption, therefore, supporting bone health, and some emerging trials suggesting they can help optimise immunity.”
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She continues in greater detail, “The main prebiotics include inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), which are found in over 35,000 plant species.” While prebiotics generally come from plant-based foods, there are some foods that are naturally higher in prebiotics, such as garlic, onions and leeks. However, Rossi advices that rather than fixating on eating specific high-prebiotic plants, “if you eat a diverse range of plant-based foods you’re likely getting sufficient prebiotics”.
While most people can get prebiotics by consuming the recommended daily intake of fibre, Rossi points out that not all fibres are prebiotics and that in order to gain prebiotic status, the food has to demonstrate its health benefits via scientific studies.
“We like to think of the gut like a garden. Prebiotics are like the elements that help plants grow. In some cases, representing the soil, sun and water... Probiotics are like the plants that grow.”
Dr Mastaneh Sharafi
Shustina is equally enthusiastic in support of a plant-based diet: “By eating a predominantly plant- based, whole and clean diet, you’re surely going to be getting enough prebiotics for a healthy, balanced person.” She advises anyone looking to increase prebiotics in their diet should start by looking at things that have plant-based fibre and naturally have prebiotics in them. However, she stresses there is no need to be granular when watching your prebiotics intake, advising, “I think the general recommendations [of fibre is] 25–35g, but I wouldn’t start it that way. I don’t think we need to go to that extreme. I think we can
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