Name: Fact or Fiction: Are prebiotic sodas really good for you?
Uploaded: 2023-02-09
Duration: 4 min 32 s
Description: Sodas with prebiotics are all the rage right now—but just how good are they for you? Registered dietitian Maya Feller explains.

Sodas with prebiotics are all the rage right now—but just how good are they for you? Registered dietitian Maya Feller explains.

Fact or Fiction: Are prebiotic sodas really good for you?

Health

Sodas with prebiotics are all the rage right now—but just how good are they for you?

Are prebiotic sodas really good for you?

Registered dietitian Maya Feller explains.

Our prebiotic soda is good for everyone. Prebiotic sodas are kind of hot right now. This trend really started because manufacturers are looking for ways to make foods functional and a prebiotic soda is exactly that. It's got prebiotic fibers added to it so that it's mimicking the fibers that we're eating on a daily basis. Here's the thing. Many of the people living in this country don't actually take in fiber on a regular, In consistent basis. So that actually means that we're not meeting the recommendation for our intake of fruits and vegetables. There are recommendations for fiber intake that are based on sex assigned at birth. So the general recommendations are around 25g of fiber per day for women and about 35g of fiber per day for men. When we're talking about prebiotic sodas, what we see Being promoted as healthy is actually the high fiber content. Some of them actually have like 32% of the daily value for fiber. Now, here's the challenge is that amount of fiber is good for some people. However, it's not good for everyone. Also remember we're talking about liquid fiber going in the way that your body is absorbing. It is rather rapidly one Indyk later when we're thinking about, am I eating enough fiber is kind of what's going on with your digestion. So if your digestive system is functioning optimally, you will be excreting stool and that's a really good thing. If you're not, then maybe we want to think about increasing your fiber intake when we're thinking about the human microbiome. We are filled with millions of bugs bacteria. Probiotics are the non digestible carbohydrates that actually ferment further down in the colon and they act as nourishment for probiotics. So, prebiotic fibers, when we're thinking about where they're found in food, are found in things like Jerusalem, artichokes, dandelion greens, garlic, onion, the skins of almonds and other nuts also have plenty of prebiotic fibers. Probiotics are involved helping to increase the diversity of gut bacteria. And when we're thinking about overall health, specifically immune health, when there's a diverse set of gut bacteria, right? Lots of different good bugs. There tends to be better immune health expressions and that's why we really love prebiotic fibers because they're that nourishment for the probiotics. Probiotics are found in fermented dairy products. They're also found in pill supplement form. If you're taking a supplement, you want to make sure that it's from a safe and trusted source. Another thing that I like to remind people about probiotics and the colony forming units is that probiotics when taken too quickly and in excess can actually also cause gi distress. So we like to remind people that there are multiple strains and really you want to work with a qualified health care provider who can help you make the choice that fits your health and nutrition needs. So some of the things that people might want to think about when they're choosing a prebiotic soda is actually the quantity of added sugars. I like to remind everyone that four g of sugar is about one teaspoon. So if you're seeing a product that has multiple teaspoons of added sugar and perhaps that's not a choice that you want to make on a regular basis. Just because a product is marketed as good for you, doesn't mean that it's good for all. If you're a person that has a sensitive stomach, if you have a history of digestive distress or any kind of irritable bowel syndrome, a prebiotic soda may not be right for you. I always like to remind people that health trends are health trends, right? And sometimes we hear them when we think I've got to get on that trend and usually what I actually say is hold on one second, let's evaluate. I want you to think about where you stand right now with your pattern of eating. How do you feel about it? Our fruits and vegetables showing up? Are we seeing holy ancient grains, What does animal protein look like on your plate? I want to think about the full picture before you jump on that health trend and start adding supplementation. And let's think about what your base looks like and how you can really modify it to meet your individual needs.