Best Prebiotic Supplements According to a Dietitian 

“Best Prebiotic Supplements According to a Dietitian” was written by Meghan Novoshielski, MS, RDN & edited/reviewed by Aly Bouzek, MS, RDN. 

If you’re looking to improve your digestive health, then you may be curious about the many popular gut health supplements. 

Maybe you’ve heard of the benefits of probiotics for gut and immune health, but what about prebiotics? 

This article will introduce you to the health benefits of prebiotics and why you need them in your diet to achieve a healthy and happy digestive system. 

We’ll cover what they are, where to find them, and how to get more of them – including the best prebiotic supplements – so that you can enjoy the benefits of a healthy digestive system at any stage of life. 

What are Prebiotics? 

Prebiotics are a type of dietary fiber that can help promote the growth and activity of helpful bacteria in your gut. 

This is important because these good bacteria carry out essential functions for good digestive, metabolic, and immune health. They are part of a community of other microbes in your digestive tract, collectively known as your gut microbiome.

A healthy microbiome is linked to overall good health. 

Prebiotics are in plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, and grains. They cannot be digested by your body and instead travel to your lower intestine, where they act as food for healthy bacteria. 

By helping your good gut bacteria thrive, prebiotics can help improve digestion, boost immunity, and even reduce the risk of certain diseases. 

Prebiotics vs. Probiotics 

What’s the difference between prebiotics and probiotics?

Do you really need both? 

While prebiotics are not as well-known as probiotics, they play an equally important role in maintaining and improving gut health.

Here’s how they work together. 

Probiotics are live bacteria strains like the healthy bacteria found naturally in your intestines.

They can be in supplements and foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and miso. Consuming probiotics helps add to the population of helpful bacteria in your digestive tract. 

Prebiotics are nutrients that support the growth and activity of healthy bacteria already in your gut. They are in supplements and foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. 

If you think of your GI tract as a garden, probiotics are the seeds and prebiotics are the fertilizers that help the seeds grow. You must have enough of both for the garden to thrive. 

How Exactly Does the Gut Microbiome Support Health? 

A healthy gut microbiome that is rich in diverse types of helpful bacteria has been shown to:

• Protect your digestive system from viruses and diseases like IBS, Crohn’s disease, and colon cancer. (1)
• Improve your immune system response to viruses and reduce inflammation. (2)
• Improve nutrient absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium. (3)

In contrast, a dysfunctional gut microbiome that has become overrun by harmful bacteria (known as dysbiosis) has been linked to obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disease, frailty, and cognitive decline. (4)

Age-related changes in our GI tract increase the risk for gut dysbiosis. The good news is that your diet strongly impacts your gut microbiome. A diet rich in prebiotics can keep your gut microbiome thriving and help support a healthy aging process. 

Benefits of Including Prebiotics in Your Diet

By increasing the growth and activity of helpful gut bacteria, a diet rich in prebiotics has been shown to: 

• Improve GI function. A 2020 review found that prebiotic intake provided relief from chronic constipation. Study participants treated with prebiotics had an increased frequency of bowel movements and had decreased bloating. (3)
• Improve metabolic health. Multiple studies have found that treatment with inulin prebiotics helped reduce blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. (5)
• Reduce Inflammation. A 2017 review found that over half of the prebiotic studies analyzed showed a significant decline in one of the markers of systemic inflammation. (6) Chronic inflammation is thought to be the root cause of many debilitating diseases, so treating this condition could have wide-reaching positive effects on your health.   

Research is ongoing about the potential for prebiotics to positively impact bone health, obesity, diabetes, allergies, and more. 

Where Can You Find Prebiotics? 

Most prebiotics are special types of fibers that resist digestion and can only be used by the helpful bacteria in your body (i.e., they are not compatible with the harmful microbes in your system).

Prebiotics are mostly in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, beans, and legumes. 

You can also find them on a food label listed as: 

• Inulin
• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
• Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)
• Oligofructose (OF)
• Chicory fiber
• Resistant Starches/Dextrins (i.e., wheat dextrin, green banana dextrin) 
• Guar Gums and Galactomannan 

Recent research has also identified non-fiber sources of prebiotics in the form of polyphenol antioxidants found in foods like blueberries and dark chocolate. (7)

How Much Do You Need?

There is no standard recommendation for prebiotic intake. Though, research suggests that consuming at least 3-5 grams of prebiotics daily can support overall health. 

You can achieve this by meeting the recommended total fiber intake of 25-38 grams daily. However, if you’re like most adults, you’re probably only getting about 15 grams of fiber per day, so it’s worth looking at ways to increase your fiber intake.  

A word of caution, it’s important to increase your fiber intake slowly. Too much, too fast, can lead to painful bloating and gas. Increase your water intake as you adjust your diet to help your digestive system process all the extra fiber.

Above all else, listen to your body and modify your intake based on how you feel. 

Increasing Your Intake of Prebiotics From Food

Getting prebiotics from food is your best bet. Not only do you get the benefits of prebiotics, but you also get all the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that are part of these foods. Here are ten great food sources of prebiotics. 

Top 11 Foods with Prebiotics 

Prebiotics can be found in most whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Though certain foods are excellent sources, including: 

• Apples
• Asparagus
• Bananas
• Barley
• Chicory root (inulin)
• Dandelion greens
• Flaxseed
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Onions
• Whole oats

5 Ideas to Increase Prebiotic Intake

You can easily boost your prebiotic intake with a few tweaks to your usual snacks and meals. Try these ideas: 

• Cook with lots of garlic and onion 
• Mix asparagus into your pasta or stir-fry dishes 
• Snack on apples or bananas with peanut butter
• Swap out meat in your main dishes for beans and legumes a few times per week
• Top smoothies, yogurts, or cereals with flaxseeds 

Increasing Your Intake Using the Best Prebiotic Supplements  

While whole food sources are best, adding a prebiotic supplement to your routine can provide reassurance that you’re getting enough to benefit your gut health. 

When to Consider a Prebiotic Supplement 

Here are a couple of reasons why you might consider taking a prebiotic supplement:

• You have trouble eating enough fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. 

Whether it’s due to decreased appetite, medical issues, or trouble accessing these important foods, prebiotic supplements can help fill the gap in fiber intake. 

• You’ve recently taken antibiotics. 

Antibiotics take a broad-stroke approach to clear out bacteria in your body, wiping out the good and the bad bacteria. Prebiotic supplements with probiotics can help repopulate your GI system with friendly microbes. 

Of course, because everyone’s digestive system is unique, it’s a good idea to get a personalized recommendation from your healthcare provider on whether supplementation with prebiotics is right for you.

What to Look for in a Prebiotic Supplement

Supplements are more loosely regulated than conventional foods, so it’s important to know what to look for to get the biggest (and safest) health bang for your buck. 

First, you want to ensure that the supplement you choose has a known prebiotic. Look for FOS, GOS, resistant starches, dextrins, or guar gum on the label.  

Next, make sure there are enough prebiotics to make a difference. Remember, 3-5 grams is needed to support health. A supplement that only has a few hundred milligrams will not make an impact. 

Lastly, you want to find a product made by a company with a good reputation. Ideally, one that is third-party verified. This means that someone else, besides the manufacturer, is checking to ensure the products contain the ingredients they say they do. 

3 of the Best Prebiotic Supplements to Consider Adding to Your Diet

Here are a few choices, that meet these criteria, to get you started:

Affordable Prebiotic Supplements

Wheat dextrin prebiotic supplements, like the Benefiber Prebiotic Supplement Powder, are generally affordable. Plus, wheat dextrin blends well in almost anything (water, juice, coffee, etc.).

A 2-teaspoon serving has about 3 grams of fiber from wheat dextrin, which has been shown to increase the amount of healthy gut bacteria and may help reduce cholesterol. 

Prebiotics Supplements for Sensitive Stomachs

Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum (PHGG) is a type of fiber most people can tolerate. If you’re struggling with digestive issues, look for supplements that contain this prebiotic. Tomorrow’s Nutrition Sunfiber provides 7 grams of PHGG and is third-party certified.   

Combined Prebiotic and Probiotic Supplements

Synbiotic supplements contain both prebiotics and probiotics and are a convenient choice to boost your intake of both gut-healthy nutrients. Be aware that it’s common to see very small levels of prebiotics in these combo supplements.

Benefiber Advanced Digestion and Align Dualbiotic are both good choices with enough of these ingredients to support your health. 

How to Take Prebiotic Supplements 

The same rules apply when increasing your prebiotic intake using supplements as when increasing your intake from food. Start slowly, drink plenty of water, and listen to your body. 

You can take them anytime during the day that works for you and your body. Remember, it takes time to see the health benefits of dietary changes, so choose a time that you can consistently stick with.

Some people find that taking them in the evening helps minimize gastrointestinal side effects. 

You can also try “habit stacking” as a way to help you remember to consistently take your prebiotic supplement.

Habit stacking means combining a new habit with an old/established habit. 

For example, take your prebiotic in the evening right before you brush your teeth.

You’ve already built up a habit of brushing your teeth in the evening, so “stacking” a new habit here can be an easy transition. 

When Should You Avoid Prebiotic Supplements? 

Most people experience no or minimal side effects from prebiotic supplements when taken as directed. However, they are not for everyone. 

Prebiotics can worsen gastrointestinal symptoms like gas, diarrhea, and bloating in people with IBS or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). If you have either of these conditions, you should speak with your healthcare provider about taking prebiotic supplements. 

FAQS

Are you looking for more information about taking prebiotic supplements? Here are some answers to common questions. 

Is it Good to Take Prebiotic Supplements Every Day? 

Yes, consistency is key to reaping the health benefits of prebiotic supplements. However, you want to start slowly and take only the recommended dosage. Too fast can cause uncomfortable GI symptoms like cramping, gas, and diarrhea. 

What is the Most Effective Prebiotic? 

There are trillions of microbes in your digestive tract, and each type needs different nutrients (i.e., prebiotics) to thrive.  

Which type of prebiotic is most effective depends entirely on which kind of microbe you want to nurture.

We are just beginning to learn about the trillions of microbes in our digestive system. 

In the meantime, including a variety of fiber-rich foods in your diet will ensure you’re getting an array of helpful prebiotics to support a healthy and diverse microbiome. 

Can I Take Prebiotic Supplements with Probiotics? 

Yes. Prebiotic and probiotic supplements can be taken together. Pairing a probiotic with its preferred prebiotic may even help the probiotic strains make it through the digestive system to take root in your colon.

But even if they are not perfectly paired, they will not interfere with each other. 

How Long Does it Take for Prebiotic Supplements to Work? 

Taken consistently, many people begin to feel the benefits of increasing prebiotic intake within 2 to 3 weeks. However, it can take months to see significant changes in biomarkers like cholesterol and HbA1C. 

Key Takeaways

A diet rich in prebiotics feeds the good bacteria in your gut microbiome, promoting good digestive, immune, and nutritional health throughout your life. 

While you should strive to increase your intake of prebiotics from whole food sources like vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, and grains, prebiotic supplements can help fill gaps in your intake. 

Make sure you’re discussing any supplements you take with your healthcare provider.