Understanding Inulin Fiber

By Author: Jesse Mooreland
Total Articles: 48
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One of the most common health complaints among adults today is that they constantly struggle with issues of indigestion. Either certain foods give them heartburn or abdominal pain, or they're finding it difficult to remain on a regular bowel movement schedule. Although there are many fancy tests and medications that can work to alleviate these problems, the simple explanation is that many people today simply don't get enough inulin fiber. When ingested on a daily basis, inulin benefits include better digestion and healthier bowels.

What Is Inulin Fiber and Where Does It Come From?

We've all heard that certain leafy greens and whole grains contain fiber that's important for our digestive health, but if you're scratching your head when it comes to inulin fiber, you might be surprised to learn that it's more common than you think. Also referred to as chicory inulin, this fiber is both a highly soluble fiber and a sugar. Just to be clear, neither soluble nor insoluble fibers can be absorbed by the digestive tract. The difference between inulin fiber and an insoluble fiber is simply that inulin fiber is able to be dissolved ...
... in water.

The easiest place to find inulin fiber is in particular non-starchy vegetables at your grocery store. Some plants that are known for containing inulin fiber include:

- Burdock roots
- Jerusalem artichokes
- onions
- garlic
- Chicory root

Taking Advantage of Inulin Benefits

Although it sounds healthy and productive, you might wonder why it's important to add inulin fiber to your diet when you're already careful about eating lots of fibrous veggies and grains. The reason that so many health food products are starting to use chicory inulin in their list of ingredients is that it can act as a fat and sugar substitute, while still providing all the inulin benefits of a soluble fiber. Other interesting inulin benefits include:

- boosting bone strength
- help controlling blood sugar levels
- reduced cholesterol

How to Make Chicory Inulin a Part of Your Diet

Although you might be interested in all the benefits that inulin fiber can bring to your diet, you might be a little skeptical of adding foods like burdock roots or Jerusalem artichokes to your weekly shopping list. That's why natural health supplements like probiotics can be so useful. Inulin benefits help encourage better digestion and absorption of nutrients from the health foods you're eating. Inulin also serves as food for the probiotic bacteria to help it survive, grow and colonize inside your intestinal gut while passing through the acids of your stomach.

Made up of a proprietary formula of beneficial bacteria and fibers like chicory inulin, this supplement will help you feel better, and gain the most energy from the healthy foods that you're already eating.

Risks Associated With Probiotics

Many people are skeptical of taking probiotic supplements with inulin benefits. That's why it's so important to choose a trusted brand of probiotics. Probiotics have temporary side effects like gas and bloating, but tend to go away shortly. This is due to taking probiotics for the first time as part of your daily probiotic regime program.

Jesse Mooreland is a researcher of probiotics health and probiotic supplements and regularly contributes to BestProbioticReviews.com. She is a leading authority on nutrition and digestive health.