Inulin: The Key to Probiotics and Weight Loss

There is no magic answer for someone wondering how to lose weight. Everyone’s wellness journey is unique; but if you want to know how to lose weight naturally, there are two things you will have to change up. Exercise and diet. Sure, we all have some ideas about which exercises to do. Knowing what are weight loss friendly foods? That’s the tricky part!

There is such a strong correlation between gut health and obesity.

Your weight supplements should nourish probiotic bacteria. That is why you should choose weight loss remedies like inulin.

Did you know you can increase your chances of losing weight by adding this prebiotic fiber to your routine? Let’s learn more about losing weight with inulin.

What is Inulin?

Inulin is a dietary fiber source. This fiber is considered soluble because its sugars draw water from surrounding areas of the body.

These fibers suck in the water to create a bile-like substance that has a gel-like texture. This gelatinous material comes with many benefits for the system. Let’s take a deeper look.

Benefits of Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber is essential for our system to run smoothly. It helps grease up our gut motility and also puts on the brakes for us when we’re over-eating. If only it did the same we overshare on social media. But, we digress! Here are the many benefits of soluble fiber.

Decreases Cholesterol

When we consume foods, our body breaks them down for energy and nutrients. Therefore, if we consume foods high in LDL cholesterol, our fat tissues will absorb the access cholesterol when our body finally breaks the compounds down. That is…if our bodies break these compounds down.

Studies find that 30 grams of soluble fiber every day can decrease LDL cholesterol levels up to 18%. That’s because soluble fiber prevents different types of dietary of cholesterol from being broken down in the first place. Even better for those using inulin for weight loss, soluble fiber doesn’t seem to have a noticeable impact on HDL cholesterol levels!

Alters Fat Absorption

This is one of the key reasons inulin for weight loss is becoming a wellness trend. When the soluble fibers that comprise inulin create a gelatinous substance, the gel spreads out.

Think of pushing crazy glue out of a bottle and into a crevice. That crevice will quickly fill up with goop. No, not we’re not talking the Gwenyth Paltrow type.

When that gel takes up space, it leaves little room for fat cells. Therefore, the fat doesn’t get stored in adipose tissue to be broken down later. Instead, it’s burned up or shipped out.

Regulates Blood Glucose Levels

Since inulin fibers make a hammock out of your digestive system, it doesn’t just block fats from coming in. It stops glucose in its tracks too.

Seeing as soluble fiber plans on staying a while, it slows down the digestion process. This halt also goes for carbohydrates. Therefore, breaking down soluble fiber is less likely to trigger a spike in blood sugar levels.

Inulin and Gut Health

Now that you understand the benefits of inulin, let’s discuss how these dietary fibers can transform your gut health. Our body is an intricate ecosystem of microbes. We’re talking trillions.

When all things are rosy inside, then your microbiome is rich with probiotic bacteria. Unfortunately, our systems get clogged up due to a lifetime of refined sugars, fatty foods, and synthetic ingredients.

As these ingredients create plaques in our arteries, this causes cells and tissues to die. In these moments, inflammations and free radicals spring up, compromising our health and causing us to gain weight.

Inflammations and free radicals create acidic environments that make it helpful for harmful bacteria to survive. This hostile takeover makes it almost impossible for beneficial bacteria to thrive. Therefore, we need to feed them foods that they will help probiotics go stronger. Inulin is this food.

What is Inulin Probiotic Foods Good For?

Probiotics feast on inulin. Inulin is classified as a fructan. It is comprised of a chain of fructose molecules. Due to its genetic makeup, links of fructans can’t pass through the small intestines.

Once your probiotics break down the inulin, they convert these fibers into short-chain fatty acids. These little building blocks of life play a critical role in controlling inflammation.

Inulin fibers reach down into the left descending section of the colon. They are known to promote healthier colon cells in the distal area.

Inulin is what wellness circles call prebiotics. Prebiotics are dietary fibers that our bodies can’t break down. However, they are healthy food choices for our probiotic bacteria.

Consuming prebiotics helps probiotics grow stronger and eventually, replicate. As probiotics grow, they alter the pH balance in our microbiome. This change in the environment makes it harder for inflammations, free radicals, and harmful bacteria to survive. As a result, you will start to lose excess weight that has gathered around your gut lining.

Inulin and Appetite

While altering your microbiome is a great step in losing weight, there’s more to inulin that makes it such a viable weight loss supplement. A study with overweight adults saw them take 21 g of oligofructose for 12 weeks. To get even more meta, oligofructose is an insoluble fiber inside of inulin.

After 12 weeks of oligofructose supplementation, the human studies showed decreased levels of the hormone, ghrelin. Ghrelin is our hunger hormone and is responsible for regulating our appetite. When levels of ghrelin rise, cue the hanger.

Consequently, the same subjects saw an increase in peptide YY. When we consume foods, it triggers peptide YY production. Peptide YY lets out body know that it is satisfied. This hedonic influence makes this protein an anorectic. Therefore, inulin decreases our hunger pings while letting us know we are substantiated.

Foods High in Inulin and Oligofructose

If you are on an inulin weight loss diet, you want to make sure there are plenty of these foods in your menu plan.

While inulin in itself is great for your bacteria, as we said, it only reaches the left side of your colon. That is why you want to make sure you eat the above foods. They are also high in oligofructose.

Oligofructose moves into the right side of your colon. Here it ferments. Fermented oligofructose is a breeding ground for probiotic bacteria.

Inulin as a Weight Loss Supplement

Let’s face it. Foods high in inulin and oligofructose aren’t the top choices for your dinner plate. Luckily, you can take inulin fiber as a weight loss supplement.

Inulin supplements are typically derived from chicory or dandelion root.

All you need to do is add a heap into a smoothie, juice, or coffee. However, be sure to consume inulin with healthy fats. Healthy fats act as a shield for inulin as it reaches your gut. This allows for better absorption, more efficient use of energy, and ultimately–weight loss!