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> Prebiotic vs Probiotic
> Intestinal bacteria: the good and the bad¹
> An important part of your daily nutrition
> Inulin: a soluble dietary fibre with amazing properties
> Daily Consumption of Inulin
> Scientific References
Prebiotic vs Probiotic
You may have heard more about probiotics than prebiotics.
Probiotic cultures are live micro-organisms that, when consumed in sufficient quantities, can provide health benefits to the host. These cultures survive the digestion process intact and deliver good bacteria to the large intestine, where they can contribute to the well-being of the digestive system. Probiotics are commonly found in yogurt and milk.
On the other hand, prebiotic (inulin) is a soluble dietary fibre which is not digested in the stomach or small intestine and reaches the large intestine intact. Prebiotics are non digestible carbohydrates that stimulate the growth and metabolic activity of certain bacteria that are useful to the intestinal flora, thereby providing good digestive health.
Eaten together on a daily basis, probiotics and prebiotics act symbiotically to optimize digestive health, contributing to overall health and —ultimately—to one’s wellness and vitality.
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Intestinal bacteria: the good and the bad¹
There are 400-500 different types of live bacterial species that exist in your intestinal tract. Many of these are beneficial and occur naturally in the large intestine. These bacteria contribute to numerous biological functions in the body, including:
- Formation of a protective barrier against pathogenic agents
- Regulation of intestinal transit
- Fermentation of non-digestible fibres
- Absorption of certain nutrients like calcium
- Stimulation of the intestinal immune system
- Production of vitamins and growth factors of the intestinal cells
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An important part of your daily nutrition
Maintaining proper digestive health is crucial to your inner health. Eating foods containing prebiotic fibre on a regular basis can eventually help increase the proportion of good bacteria as compared to potentially unhealthy bacteria in your large intestine. Bon Matin® GrainsEntiers™ Prébiotique bread is made with an all natural prebiotic fibre derived from the chicory root.
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Inulin: a soluble dietary fibre with amazing properties
Inulin is a soluble dietary fibre from vegetable origin. At the molecular level, it is composed of fructose units that are linked together by β(2-1) bridges. In addition to resisting the process of human intestinal enzyme hydrolysis, it can also resist the baking process.
Once ingested, inulin passes directly through the colon without being digested or absorbed3. It is then selectively fermented by the endogenous microflora; the bacteria that colonize our large intestine.
Both bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are bacterial strains that are particularly beneficial to intestinal health. These two strains especially enjoy feeding on inulin. The by-products that result from the bacterial fermentation of inulin have extremely positive metabolic effects:
- 40% of the starting inulin is converted into biomass (increase in the number of intestinal bacteria);
- 10% is converted into gases (H2, CO2, CH4);
- 50% is converted into short chain fatty acids and lactic acid, therefore considerably reducing the pH in the colon.
Inulin can help increase the absorption of calcium
Our body can only absorb a third of the calcium we ingest in a day; the remaining, in the form of insoluble complexes, is excreted. Inulin improves substantially dietary calcium absorption. The low pH that results from the fermentation of inulin is able to dissolve these insoluble complexes, making calcium more bioavailable.
Inulin can help achieve better regularity
The considerable increase in intestinal biomass favours the increase in the weight and frequency of stools. This allows for better regularity even in subjects suffering from chronic constipation.
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Daily Consumption of Inulin
One slice of Bon Matin® GrainsEntiers™ Prébiotique bread contains 1 g of inulin. It should be consumed every day, as the benefits from prebiotic fibre are dose-dependant4. The more you eat it, the more you will benefit from it!
Although chicory is probably one of the foods with the highest, most accessible inulin concentration, other plants can contribute to a daily inulin intake5:
- Artichoke (contains 2% to 6% inulin);
- Asparagus (contains 2% to 3% inulin);
- Banana (contains 0.3% to 0.7% inulin)
- Garlic (contains 9% to 16% inulin);
- Leek (contains 3% to 10% inulin);
- Onion (contains 2% to 6% inulin);
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Scientific References
Abrams, S.A.; Griffin, I.J.; Hawthorne, K.M.; Gunn, S.K.; Darlington, G.; Ellis, K.J. (2005) A combination of prebiotic short- and long-chain inulin-type frucans enhances calcium absorption and bone mineralisation in young adolescents. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 82: 471-476.
Beneo™, Nutritional benefits of Beneo™ (2007).
Beylot M. (2005) Effects of inulin-type fructans on lipid metabolism in man and in animal models. Br J Nutr. 93 (suppl.1):S163-S168.
Delzenne, N.; Aertssens, J.; Verplaetse, N.; Roccaro, M.; Roberfroid, M. (1995) Effect of fermentable fructooligosaccharides on energy and nutrients absorption in the rat. Life Sci. 57 (17): 1579-1587.
Den Hond, E.; Geypens, B.; Ghoos, Y. (2000) Effect of high performance chicory inulin on constipation. Nutr. Res. 20 (5): 731-736.
Djouzi, Z., Andrieux, C. Compared effects of three oligosaccharides on metabolism of intestinal microflora in rats inoculated with a human faecal flora British Journal of Nutrition, Volume 78, Number 2, August 1997, pp. 313-324(12).
Ellegård, L.; Andersson, H.; Bosaeus, I. (1997) Inulin and oligofructose do not influence the absorption of cholesterol, or the excretion of cholesterol, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, or bile acids but increase energy excretion in ileostomy subjects. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 51: 1-5.
Gay-Crosier F, Schreiber G, Hauser C. Anaphylaxis from inulin in vegetables and processed food. N Engl J Med. 2000 May 4;342(18):1372.
Gibson, G.R.; Wang, X. (1994) Regulatory effects of bifidobacteria on the growth of other colonic bacteria. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 77: 412-420.
Gibson, G.R.; Beatty, E.R.; Wang, X.; Cummings, J.H. (1995) Selective stimulation of bifidobacteria in the human colon by oligofructose and inulin. Gastroenterology 108: 975-982.
Gibson G. R., Roberfroid M. B. Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. J. Nutr. 1995;125:1401-1412.
Griffin, I.J.; Hicks, P.M.D.; Heaney, R.P.; Abrams, S.A. (2003) Enriched chicory inulin increases calcium absorption mainly in girls with lower calcium absorption. Nutr. Res. 23: 901-909.
Kleessen, B.; Sykura, B.; Zunft, H.J.; Blaut M. (1997) Effect of inulin and lactose on faecal microflora, microbial activity, and bowel habit in elderly constipated persons. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 65: 1397-1402.
Kolida S., Meyer D.and Gibson G.R. (2007) A double-blind placebo-controlled study to establish the bifidogenic dose of inulin in healthy humans. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Advance online publication; doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602636.
Langlands, S.J., Hopkins, M.J.; Coleman, N.; Cummings, J.H. (2004) Prebiotic carbohydrates modify the mucosa associated microflora of the human large bowel. Gut 53: 1610-1616.
Passeport Santé, www.passeportsanté.net : website visited on February 9, 2007.
Rafter J., Bennett M., Caderni G., Clune Y., Hughes R., Karlsson P.C., Klinder A., O'Riordan M., O'Sullivan G.C., Pool-Zobel B., Rechkemmer G., Roller M., Rowland I., Salvadori M., Thijs H., Van Loo J., Watzl B., Collins J.K. (2007) Dietary synbiotics reduce cancer risk factors in polypectomized and colon cancer patients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Volume 85, Pages 488-496.
Rao, V. (2001) The prebiotic properties of oligofructose at low intake levels. Nutr. Res. 21: 843-848.
Roberfroid, M.; Van Loo, J.; Gibson, G. (1998) The bifidogenic nature of chicory inulin and its hydrolysis products. J. Nutr. 128 (1): 11-19.
Roberfroid, M.; Cumps, J.; Devogelaer, J.P. (2002) Dietary chicory inulin increases whole-body bone mineral density in growing male rats. J. Nutr. 132: 3599-3602.
Scholz-Ahrens, K.; Açil, Y.; Schrezenmeir, J. (2002) Effect of oligofructose or dietary calcium on repeated calcium and phosphorus balances, bone mineralization and trabecular structure in ovariectomized rats. Brit. J. Nutr. 88: 365-377.
Tuohy, K.; Finlay, R.; Wynne, A.; Gibson, G. (2001) A human volunteer study on the prebiotic effects of HP-inulin – faecal bacteria enumerated using fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). Anaerobe 7: 113-118.
Van den Heuvel, E.; Muys, T.; van Dokkum, W.; Schaafsma, G. (1999) Oligofructose stimulates calcium absorption in adolescents. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69: 544-548.
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1 Beneo™, Nutritional benefits of Beneo™ (2007).
2 Gibson and Roberfroid (Journal of Nutrition 125:1401-1412, 1995).
3 Ellegård et al. (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51:1-5, 1997), Gibson and Roberfroid (Journal of Nutrition 125:1401-1412, 1995).
4 Rao (Nutrition Research 21:843-848, 2001), Gay-Crosier F, Schreiber G, Hauser C. Anaphylaxis from inulin in vegetables and processed food. N Engl J Med. 2000 May 4;342(18):1372.
5 Beneo™, Nutritional benefits of Beneo™ (2007).
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