Raw Food and Plant Based Prebiotics for Health  By Dr. Karin
Dina, D.C.  Kraut-in-glass-crockThere has been a lot of talk
about the importance of probiotics for health in the media
recently. As a result, there are now numerous products on the
market that are supplemented with probiotics. It’s important to
understand not only the health benefits of probiotics, but how
to keep them alive once they are in the intestinal tract.  Fiber
Provides Food for Probiotics  Probiotics need food to survive,
and once in our intestinal tract, probiotics can stay alive on
the foods we ingest. Just like people, probiotics thrive on
specific types of foods, especially certain types of fiber.
Fiber is not digestible by humans, but is fermentable by
probiotics. Fiber that can provide food for probiotics is
referred to as a prebiotic. Most types of fiber are composed of
glucose molecules hooked together by chemical bonds; but the
types of fiber that probiotics prefer as a source of food are
composed of fructose molecules hooked tog