The Prebiotic Benefits of Sustained Fibre on Gut Health

Used in all our products, our unique Sustained Fibre Formulation® is high in dietary fibre and acts as a prebiotic (food for good bacteria in the large intestine) for the gut. As the good bacteria consume the sustained fibre, a special combination of short-chain-fatty acids is produced. Extensive medical research shows that this combination of short-chain fatty acids has been found to optimally promote fluid absorption in the large intestine, which has a largely untapped potential to absorb up to an extra 5L of fluid per day.

Sustained fibre (or more commonly known as Resistant starch) is a slow-release carbohydrate, and most of the carbohydrates in your diet are starches. Resistant starches are long chains of glucose found in potatoes, rice, cereal and various foods.

Resistant starch is a type of starch that is “resistant” to digestion. Enzymes in your small intestine digest starches and turn them into sugar glucose. So this type of starch functions like soluble fibre. However, resistant starch moves through the stomach and small intestine undigested and arrives in the large intestine intact.

Prebiotics are what the good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut eat and promotes a healthy intestinal microbial balance. Prebiotics help increase the numbers of good bacteria while at the same time suppressing the growth of detrimental (or harmful) bacteria. Once it reaches the large intestine, the resistant starch, like the one in PREPD, can function as a prebiotic and provide numerous benefits for gut and immune health. In addition, stimulating the bacteria in the stomach by resistant starches can enhance the absorption of micro-nutrients, such as calcium. It can also improve energy recovery, a better immune system, nutrient utilisation and metabolism in the body.

PREBIOTIC BENEFITS OF RESISTANT STARCH

Resistant starches have been a standard component of people’s diets since we first began consuming cereals and grains. However, modern diets have tended to significantly reduce the amount of resistant starch consumed. During the past 40 years, considerable research has been undertaken to examine how resistant starches impact our health and well-being.

Resistant starch can been consumed in many ways to assist with various digestive conditions. Conditions such as constipation, ulcerative colitis and the reduction in toxins produced from “bad” bacteria can lead to “leaky gut syndrome”. Once resistant starch arrives in the large intestine, the good bacteria feed on the starch, producing short chain fatty acids, including butyrate. Butyrate in particular, can be very beneficial to your brain, immune and gut health. This process of “fermentation” also alters conditions in the bowel, such as controlling pH, which further helps create a healthy environment.

HOW TO INCREASE RESISTANT STARCH IN YOUR DIET

Resistant starch can be found in small quantities in commonly consumed foods such as cooked then cooled potatoes, pasta and rice, green bananas, legumes, cashews and raw oats. Alternatively, PREPD Prime and PREPD Recover are excellent sources of resistant starch. PREPD uses a special resistant starch to promote increased water and electrolyte absorption, via its' fermentation by the good bacteria in the gut. However, when PREPD is consumed regularly, the resistant starch in the drink will also act as a food source for the good bacteria in the stomach, providing a range of benefits linked to having a healthy gut.

You can browse the range of PREPD range here.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Professor Ian Brown FTSE, Sinead O’Connell and Professor Graeme Young (OAM) for contributing to this article.