Prebiotics to achieve relief for constipation


With the popular use of probiotics to cure a variety of ailments, it is important to understand how crucial prebiotics are to support any probiotic supplementation. When properly used prebiotics provide relief for constipation, reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and can fight cancer.


What is a prebiotic?

Firstly prebiotics are soluble fibers, which means they are not digestible – they do not get absorbed into the blood stream. They form a gel-like substance when mixed with liquid. But not all soluble fibers are prebiotics. To be a prebiotic, the fiber must also promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the stomach to achieve a healthier intestinal balance against harmful flora.


There are several types of prebiotics:


  • Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) - found naturally in foods like bananas and asparagus, FOS is not digested by the human digestive tract at all. This makes it perfect for being fermented in the large intestines, where it helps promote the growth of bifidobacterium – crucial probiotics for providing relief for constipation and for blocking other disease causing microbes in the gut.

  • Lactulose - a prescription prebiotic due to the fact that it is synthetic . It is a double-sugar made up of galactose and fructose. It provides relief for constipation because when broken down by probiotics in the colon, it releases acids that are not absorbed by the colon. This acidic environment increases water retention and causes peristalsis.

  • Glucomannan - among the best of the prebiotics, glucomannan (derived from the roots of a Japanese plant) is the most viscous of the soluble fibers, meaning it has the highest water holding capacity. This means that glucomannan absorbs water as it travels your intestines and becomes an expanding broom that sweeps and cleans the colon. As it moves through the colon it is the perfect food for bifidobacterium. And because it slows the absorption and digestion of sugars it is useful for lowering blood sugar levels in diabetics.

    • Using Probitoics & Prebiotics: Relief for Constipation

    Using probiotics and prebiotics together provides the ultimate constipation treatment. The probiotics you introduce into your system help lower the colon’s ph and make the intestinal environment more conducive to peristalsis (intestinal contractions). Combine that with the prebiotics mentioned above and you are providing food for the beneficial flora already in your stomach as well as the probiotics you take in supplement form. Combined, you can shake the hold that harmful bacteria and microbes have on your colon and get real constipation relief.


    To learn more about the various benefits of the prebiotics you read about in this article, see the article “Prebiotics - Constipation Cure and More!”