Prebiotics for Weight Loss

Proteins, carbohydrates, fats - naturally, because they’re macros, we tend to focus on macronutrients in our discussions on health, fitness, and weight loss.

Next in line are the micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc., that we generally recognize as important to our overall health.

However, even more micro than micronutrients, yet arguably just as important, are the living microbes in our digestive systems. Namely all the beneficial bacteria we need to fully digest our foods.

After all, what’s the point of all those macros and micros if our body can’t even fully digest and utilize them?

Granted, it’s not all foods that our bodies can’t digest without the assistance of our gut bacteria. Rather it’s a specific category of fibrous foods that we call prebiotics, as opposed to probiotics which are the bacteria themselves.

But to understand the role of prebiotics in sustaining our gut health and regulating our weight, we need to first go over the different types of prebiotics.

Types of Prebiotics

Let’s start here with the definition of prebiotics, as the concept of “prebiotics” was initially introduced in 1995 by Gibson and Roberfroid:

“prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon, and thus attempt to improve host health.”

If probiotics are the beneficial bacteria in the gut, prebiotics are the food that selectively nourish your beneficial bacteria (i.e., the probiotics already present in your gut).

Fermentation of prebiotics by your gut microbiota (let’s call them your “probiotics”) produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as lactic acid, butyric acid, and propionic acid, which have a number of benefits on the body.

Of course, you may improve your prebiotic intake by adding more prebiotic-rich foods to your diet, such as chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion greens, garlic, onions, and more. However, below we’ll dive into the best prebiotics for weight loss, as well as an analysis on the best prebiotic supplement for the job: Performance Lab® Prebiotic.

But before we do let’s get back to the main question at hand:

How Do Prebiotics Help You Lose Weight/Fat?

Virtually all aspects of your health and fitness begin with a healthy gut.

Anyone who’s experienced digestive issues can attest to the frustration of eating healthy, working out daily, and getting plenty of sleep...only to perpetually feel bloated and overweight.

What’s the deal here? I’m doing everything right, so why do I still feel so meh? Do I need to resort to amputation to lose these extra pounds?!

Though our overall metabolism is complex, involving various overlapping systems, what’s often overlooked is the central importance of our gut biome to our metabolic performance. Especially where fat storage and energy production are concerned.

Read “What is the Difference Between Prebiotics and Probiotics?” here.

Prebiotics encourage the health of the gut biome—this is true.

But here’s a more detailed breakdown on how prebiotics can help you lose weight and burn fat:

1. Blocks Hunger Hormone Ghrelin

Ever heard that eating fiber can help cleanse the colon? Prebiotic fibers accomplish this by absorbing water in the gut to form a gel that, as it passes through the GI tract, makes for healthier, easier waste removal. Additionally, prebiotic fibers’ ability to absorb water helps “fill” the stomach more readily, which in turn blocks the hunger hormone ghrelin for greater appetite control.

2. Reduces Calorie Intake

Animal research has observed a dose-dependent decrease in calorie intake with prebiotic supplementation, noting that prebiotics’ effects on satiety hormones and gut microbiota may play a significant role on the decrease in excess calorie consumption. This highlights the usefulness of prebiotic supplements during calorie restriction or intermittent fasting.

3. Lowers Triglyceride Levels

Both animal and human research have identified positive effects of prebiotic supplementation on lipid (fat) levels. Taking prebiotics has been suggested to help reduce triglycerides, the building block molecules of fatty tissues associated with unhealthy weight gain and cardiometabolic issues. Likewise, prebiotics may help lower LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) levels by a modest amount (7% reduction).

4. Slows Food Transit Time in the Gut

Slower eating is often recommended as a “free and easy” weight loss trick. The reasoning behind this is two-fold: (1) eating too fast may result in overeating before the release of your satiety (“I feel full”) hormones, and (2) overeating as a result of eating too fast may expand your stomach, requiring you to overeat in the future to achieve the satisfying feeling of satiety. Not to mention that a quick rush of food energy, amplifying glycemic load and blood sugar spikes. By slowing food transit in the gut, prebiotics may help reduce glycemic load and regulate blood sugar balance.

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Best Prebiotics for Weight Loss

Asparagus, apple skins, leeks—there are many prebiotic food options available that you can easily add to your diet to increase your prebiotic intake.

However, for prebiotic supplementation, you don’t just want any ol’ prebiotic.

Of the various prebiotic types, the best prebiotic supplement supplies only the most effective prebiotic fiber extracted from a natural, well-researched source.

This is why the best prebiotics for weight loss come from:

Chicory Root

An herb with bright, blue flowers belonging to the dandelion family, chicory root is a well-known source of fiber that’s commonly used as a coffee alternative, thanks to chicory root’s similar taste and color, as well as a gut support supplement.

This plant is a natural source of the two best prebiotics for weight loss:

• Inulin – a long-chain soluble fiber that selectively nourishes Bifidobacteria in the gut while forming a gel-like substance to aid in digestive health and weight loss.
• FOS – or fructooligosaccharide, another bifidogenic fiber that’s functionally similar to inulin, though with a shorter, simpler chain structure.

Both inulin and FOS contribute to greater gut health and an overall healthier gut biome composition, thanks in large part to their selective promotion of Bifidobacterium probiotic strains already present in the gut. Bifidobacterium is the ideal probiotic for gut health for its highly competitive nature, meaning that this beneficial bacteria’s superior metabolic performance outcompetes “bad” bacteria more efficiently than other probiotic strains.

Of course, in supplement form, getting enough inulin-FOS can be tricky, considering the limited space in supplement servings. Additionally, a resilient form of inulin-FOS is ideal, considering that many prebiotic sources are easily denatured by heat, cold, light, and stomach acid.

To mitigate these issues, Orafti® Synergy1 supplies a resilient, effective source of supplementary inulin-FOS that you can take daily for safe, long-term gut support.

Orafti® Synergy1 Inulin-FOS

Some prebiotic supplements supply only inulin, others supply only FOS. Typically, these fibers are used as texturizing and sweetening agents. However, Orafti® Synergy1 combines both inulin and FOS for your gut health.

The nutritional advantages of Synergy1 are plenty:

• Digestive Health and Regularity: optimizes intestinal flora
• Blood Sugar: slows food transit and absorption
• Weight Control: reduces excess food cravings and calorie intake
• Bone Strength: increases calcium absorption

Superior to the standard probiotic supplements, which supply billions of live bacterial cultures that tend to denature before digestion, Orafti® Synergy1 offers a resilient inulin-FOS fiber that passes through stomach acids unharmed to nourish Bifidobacterium strains in the colon.

Not to say that taking Orafti® Synergy1 and probiotics is an either/or proposition: taking an Orafti® Synergy1 inulin-FOS supplement with a probiotic source may offer significant “synbiotic” (prebiotic + probiotic) advantages.

But if you had to choose one, go with the more reliable, more effective Orafti® Synergy1, as found in Performance Lab® Prebiotic, the best all-in-one prebiotic supplement for weight loss.

Additional Benefits of Prebiotics

The role of gut health isn’t simply to burn off excess fat but is instead involved in arguably all health systems.

With that in mind, in addition to weight loss, boosting your gut health with prebiotics may also come with the following health benefits:

Digestive Health

Probiotics, meaning the beneficial bacteria themselves, are key to your digestive and metabolic health—that much should be clear by now. By promoting the probiotics already present in your gut, namely Bifidobacteria, prebiotics encourage the efficient breakdown and utilization of food nutrients in the gut while also promoting enhanced digestive regularity with their “soluble fiber” structural advantages.

Heart Health

The complex interplay between gut microbiota, their metabolite byproducts, and their involvement in cardio health is worthy of an entire article on its own. Simply put, prebiotics may benefit cardiometabolic health by helping maintain cholesterol levels within a normal range, as well as by binding food cholesterol with bile to limit cholesterol absorption in the gut.

Immune Function

As a sort of first-barrier defense against pathogens, probiotics’ anti-pathogen bioactivities help support the overall immune system, while also enhancing the synthesis and proliferation of immune cells lymphocytes and macrophages. On that note, being “sick to your stomach” through gut-killing stress may eventually make you genuinely sick, as excess stress can be severely detrimental to gut bacteria.

Cognitive Performance

Via the gut-brain axis, a two-directional communication network between the central nervous system (brain and spine) and the enteric nervous system (the gut’s neural network), the health of the gut microbiome strongly correlates with cognitive health and performance. On the note of stress significantly impacting gut health, so, too, can poor gut health contribute to poor mental and emotional performance.

How Much Prebiotic Should I Take?

Many people could do better by increasing their dietary prebiotic fiber intake. However, there is such a thing as too much fiber, especially if you initially lack enough healthy bacteria to adequately ferment and digest these otherwise non-digestible fibers.

With that in mind, here are some directions to consider when supplementing prebiotics:

Optimal Dosage

On average, the recommended fiber intake for adults ranges from 25 grams to 38 grams per day. This may generally be accomplished by consuming more whole-grains, fruits, and vegetables.

For prebiotic supplement ingredients, such as Orafti® Synergy1, the optimal dosage is naturally much lower, given the heightened potency and purity of premium prebiotic fibers. In one serving (3 NutriCaps® capsules) of Performance Lab® Prebiotic, there’s a supply of 2g of Orafti® Synergy1 Inulin-FOS. Especially for beginners looking to get their gut biome back on track, this is a sufficient daily amount.

But as the gut acclimates to this increase in prebiotic intake, the optimal dosage may also increase to involve two daily servings (3 NutriCaps® x 2) taken separately, prior to two separate meals. Of course, your mileage may vary, but these guidelines seem to work best.

Can I Take Prebiotics Daily?

Yes. In fact, daily supplementation of prebiotic fibers is typically ideal for optimal gut health. With any prebiotic formula, you won’t notice improvements immediately (i.e., with the first serving). This is because your intestinal flora takes time to change, requiring ongoing attention to sustain long-term, ongoing optimization.

When Should I Take Prebiotics?

In general, it’s best to take prebiotics earlier in the day. For best results, take 3 capsules of Performance Lab® Prebiotic with your first meal of the day, and then another 3 capsules with your second meal.

Always take Prebiotic with at least 8 oz. of water. Remember: inulin-FOS absorbs water to form a gel-like substance to help keep the colon clean and the digestive system regular. Drinking water with prebiotic fibers ensures that the gel doesn’t get too “sticky” for the GI tract. (Plus, it’s almost always a good idea to drink more water …but you already knew that.)

Conclusion

Fat-burning strategies often emphasize what not to eat. But perhaps even more important than cutting out certain unhealthy foods (which many fad diets get wrong, anyways) is adding certain health foods to your diet.

Prebiotic fibers, if you haven’t gathered yet, are one of those certain health foods. And one of the best, easiest, and most efficient ways to nourish your gut health with prebiotic fibers is with a pure, potent prebiotic such as Performance Lab® Prebiotic.

Add more dietary fiber to grow better gut bacteria to burn more fat. Doesn’t get much simpler than that… (especially when you ignore the exercise, dieting, and sleeping aspects of weight loss).