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Prebiotics is a relatively new word in our vocabulary, first coined no more than 20 years ago in the early to mid 1990's. Foods that are prebiotics however, are not anything new at all. Generally speaking, prebiotics are specific and special nutrients found mostly in one of our main food groups, the carbohydrates. Carbs are whole-grains which include things like rice, barley, pasta, bread, legumes and beans, nuts and seeds. Also raw vegetables and fresh fruits. With all the studies going on today about how probiotics and prebiotics are giving us some amazing digestive health benefits, much attention has been on the role prebiotics play in all this. What are these health benefits? Researchers have linked some amazing benefits to a properly, well-balanced digestive system which means the amounts of probiotics (good bacteria) and prebiotic nutrients they get. By the way, here's a little clarification: Prebiotics - food nutrients that support probiotics Probiotics - the group of beneficial bacteria living in our intestinal tract. Consuming prebiotics can improve; cholesterol levels immune system inflammatory bowel disease bowel regularity intestinal infections There are even more but one of the most amazing connection made with what prebiotics do in the colon is believed to greatly reduce the risk of getting colon cancer. Her's how it works; Prebiotic nutrients get eaten up by bacteria in the small intestine and those that don't eventually end up in the large intestine, also known as the colon. Once there they start a fermentation process which produces molecules known as shot-chained fatty acids. These acids can stop dangerous pathogens from sticking and forming cell on the intestine wall. This is important because these cells can grow to become polyps and it's then these that can form into colon cancer. Diet is everything The problem people have been having with taking probiotic supplements isn't that they aren't good for us to take in order to increase their numbers, the problem is that along with taking probiotic supplements you must also have a large intake of prebiotics, because that's what probiotics feed on. Our terrible low quality western diet is to blame. We feed ourselves refined junk food containing hardly any quality nutrients and therefore many of us suffer all kinds of digestive symptoms and disease. How many times have we all heard the experts advice on the importance of eating more high quality foods such as whole-grains, more raw veggies and a variety of fresh fruits? Hey, have you ever noticed that what they recommend is also the foods that are prebiotics? It's these nutrients that feed the helpful bacteria and it's the sugary and high fat junk that the bad or dangerous bacteria thrives on. The good news is we can control who gets what by what we eat. It seems simple and should be but as we all know, diets are not always easily changed, at least not enough to make a dramatic difference. Take advantage of our research with prebiotics and foods that are prebiotics and how you can easily get all those needed nutrients working toward your digestive health, naturally - visit http://natural-digestion.com
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Foods That Are Prebiotics,
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