…help with appetite control including decreasing hunger and increasing the feeling of fullness. “Prebiotics also help to stop the slow creeping weight gain that happens to most adults as we move through the decades of our life,” says Reimer. Prebiotics added to foods also help reduce calories. Partially replacing sugars and carbohydrates or fats in a food with inulin and/or oligofructose, can reduce calories because chicory root fiber provides only 1-1.5 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram of sugars and carbohydrates and nine calories per gram for fats.
How Much Prebiotic Is Recommended?
There are no evidenced-based recommendations for a daily amount of prebiotics. However, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend women aim for at least 25 grams of fiber per day and men should aim for 38 grams of fiber daily. Most Americans fall short of these recommendations putting them at risk for weight gain and poor blood sugar control. Eating natural food sources of prebiotics and including foods with inulin and oligofructose added, can help you get the prebiotics you need to promote weight loss and help manage diabetes.
Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN is a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, national speaker and author of The African American Guide to Living Well with Diabetes. She is a Dannon One Yogurt Every Day Nutrition Advisor.