Promote Metabolic Health with Prebiotics

Prebiotics are compounds that help to promote “good bacteria” (probiotics) in the gastrointestinal tract, with which a wide variety of beneficial health effects are associated.   Nuria Salazar, from the Universite Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and colleagues enrolled 30 obese women to a study in which subjects received a prebiotic supplement (inulin-type fructans, 16 g/day) or placebo (maltodextrin), for 3 months. At the end of the study period, levels of Bifidobacterium and two other probiotics in the GI tract were increased among the prebiotic group.  As well, levels of short chain fatty acids – a potential marker of metabolic dysfunction – were reduced and correlated with BMI.  The prebiotic group also displayed reductions in insulin levels and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) – two markers of metabolic syndrome.  Positing that: [prebiotics] modulate Bifidobacterium spp. and decrease fecal [short chain fatty acids] concentration in obese women,” the study authors submit that: “[prebiotics] could lessen metabolic risk factors associated with higher fecal [short chain fatty acids] concentration in obese individuals.”