What Is Prebiotic Fiber?

Prebiotic fiber helps nourish the growth of good bacteria that exist naturally in your gut by contributing to an environment that is optimal for good digestive health.** Let’s dive in.

Keep Your Gut Happy With Prebiotics

Your digestive system, or gut, is a marvelously intelligent and sensitive fuel system. It’s designed to break down foods and absorb their nutrients so that they can be converted into energy.¹

Being the central nutritional hub gives your gut a star role in your total well-being.² When in balance, your digestive system contributes to your health in several ways. To maintain this balance, it is important to keep “bad” bacteria from multiplying and overwhelming the gastrointestinal tract.³

Prebiotics Nourish the Good

Fiber with prebiotic effects (like the fiber in Benefiber) feeds and nourishes the good bacteria that exist naturally in your gut.**

When you consume fiber, it's fermented in the large intestine by the bacteria that live there. The process of fermentation produces byproducts and the environment that the bacteria need in order to proliferate.⁴

Prebiotics Feed Probiotics

Not only does prebiotic fiber strengthen and nourish the good bacteria, it helps suppress the bad bacteria, promoting an optimal environment for good digestive health.⁵

GUT CHECK

It’s recommended that you eat 25-38g per day based on the Adequate intake of fiber.⁶*

You can get prebiotic fiber or take probiotics in many forms. The two are different.

Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms that function like good bacteria in the gut.

Ingesting foods that contain them or taking probiotic supplements can help repopulate the beneficial bacteria, overwhelming the bad bacteria.

Probiotics are found in: yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, sauerkraut, kombucha, pickled vegetables, kimchi, miso, and tempeh.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are carbohydrates that act as food for beneficial bacteria in the gut.

These carbs travel undigested to the colon, where they ferment and produce small chain fatty acids that feed the gut flora.⁵ Not all plant foods function in this way, but those containing specific types of soluble fiber—including wheat dextrin—do.⁵

Prebiotics are found in: onions, garlic, leeks, soybeans, chicory root, honey, banana, Jerusalem artichoke, and Benefiber.

GUT CHECK

Bacteria outnumber the human cells in your body by about 10 to 1.³

And there are good guys and bad guys.

Good bacteria are awesome.

Your large intestine contains trillions of bacteria, and much of it is important for good digestive health.⁷ Bacteria helps you digest food, and absorb nutrients.⁸

Bad bacteria make you sick.

Sometimes, harmful bacteria proliferate out of control. This can cause gastrointestinal issues. Additionally, age, stress, poor diet, overall health, and environmental factors may play a role in disrupting the colonies of good bacteria, creating an imbalance in the gut flora.⁵

Probiotics help you stay balanced.

Probiotics are a type of good bacteria that can be consumed to improve the balance between good and bad bacteria in the large intestine.

Benefiber Prebiotic
Fiber Gummies

A convenient way to help you get daily prebiotic fiber in a great tasting format. Benefiber Prebiotic Fiber Gummies are easy to take on-the-go and nourish helpful bacteria in your gut.*

Learn More

^*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Use as directed.

^‡(Less than 20ppm)

^†Daily Value not established.

^#Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

*According to the Institute of Medicine, it is recommended that, in adults 50 or younger, women should consume 25 grams of fiber daily and men 38 grams. In adults 51 or older, women should consume 21 grams of fiber daily and men 30 grams.

**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Show References Hide References

"The Digestive System & How It Works." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web.https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/digestive-system-how-it-works.
"Fiber." MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Ed. Linda J. Vorvick and David Zieve. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Aug. 2014. Web. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002470.htm.
Bush, Larry M. "Overview of Bacteria." Merck Manuals Consumer Version. Web.http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/bacterial-infections/overview-of-bacteria.
Zeratsky, Katherine. "Do I Need to Include Probiotics and Prebiotics in My Diet?" Mayo Clinic. N.p., 15 Oct. 2014. Web.http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/probiotics/faq-20058065.
Slavin, Joanne. "Fiber and Prebiotics: Mechanisms and Health Benefits." Nutrients. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Apr. 2013. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705355/.
"Fiber: Daily Recommendations for Adults." Mayo Clinic. 22 Sept. 2015. Web. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983?pg=2.
"Probiotics Pros and Cons." Berkeley Wellness. University of California, Berkeley, 3 Mar. 2014. Web.http://www.berkeleywellness.com/supplements/other-supplements/article/probiotics-pros-and-cons.
Sobhani, Iradj, Aurelien Amiot, Yann Le Baleur, Michael Levy, Marie-Luce Auriault, Jeanne Tran Van Nhieu, and Jean Charles Delchier. "Microbial Dysbiosis and Colon Carcinogenesis: Could Colon Cancer Be Considered a Bacteria-related Disease?" Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. SAGE Publications, May 2013. Web.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3625019/.