The Benefits of Complex Carbohydrates, Dietary Fibre, and Prebiotics

You might have been told before that fibre is an essential component of a healthy gut and a healthy body, but for most North Americans, the message must not have stuck. This is evidenced by how incredibly deficient we are in our average fibre intake. Less than 3% of Americans get the minimum recommended intake of fibre and most Canadians get about half of their minimum recommended intake of fibre. With all the health benefits of fibre, we’re taking a major risk not getting enough.

Dietary fibre comes from plants and often called roughage or bulk. It is a type of carbohydrate that  is not broken down in our Gastrointestinal tract. When fibre passes through our GI tract, it stays intact but the work it does on its journey through our insides is powerful.  The best sources of fibre on the planet are complex carbohydrates — found in fruits, vegetables, and grains, making them one of the best vehicles to get your fibre intake The complexity of fibre and nutrients that comes from whole food, in the form of micronutrients, vitamins, trace minerals and phytonutrients, as well as the soluble or insoluble fibre is like a goldmine of nutrition and has far reaching effects beyond gut health. Unfortunately, many of us don’t eat enough of a whole food diet that includes the variety and abundance of plant based foods needed to nourish our gut, microbiome, and the rest of our body. 

We tend to reach for something fibrous when we feel constipated or bloated, but a daily and regular intake of adequate fibre is so much more. Fibre is essential for preventing the onset of many chronic illnesses, including heart disease and stroke, as well as for managing blood sugar, metabolic conditions, and a number of gastrointestinal diseases. Among plants that are high in dietary fibre and complex carbohydrates sits the sugarcane plant, where NutriFoods™’ happiGut™ whole food fibre supplement draws much of its prebiotic fibre power and goodness. 

Complex Prebiotic Fibre

The health benefits of dietary fibre are wide ranging, and much of it comes from their prebiotic nature. Prebiotics are derived from the fibres in complex carbohydrates to feed the probiotics in your gut, making the overall amount of probiotics in your gut more abundant, so you have more good bacteria to fight pathogens and protect your health.

There are two main types of fibre : soluble and insoluble. These are what form the structure in our plant foods — fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Both fibres do different things and are equally important.

1. ​Soluble fibre dissolves in water, forming a gel that helps slow the passage of food from our stomach to our intestine, keeping us fuller longer. This type of fiber also helps control cholesterol and blood sugars.
2. ​Insoluble fibre​ (aka roughage) helps create softer, bulkier stool for improved bowel movements.

All fibres are not the same, and within the ecology of fibre there are also prebiotic fibres — prebiotic fibres help fuel probiotics by providing food for good bacteria and thus maintaining a healthy gut. When it comes to fibre, we should aim to meet the daily recommendations by choosing whole foods and supplementing with a complex whole food fibre. 

happiGut™ is 100% sugarcane fibre without the sugar. It is <87% fibre and the other 13% is natural waxes, minerals, vitamins, plant sterols and antioxidants. It contains both soluble and insoluble fibre, providing the whole prebiotic fibre benefits of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and the nutrients that come with them. In fact, happiGut™ contains as much fibre as one to two servings of fruit or vegetables, but without the sugar. 

Getting enough fibre means eating more fruits, grains, and vegetables. When the perfect diet is simply not available or manageable, happiGut™ can provide the benefits of a whole food fibre, taken like a supplement, it is easy to use daily, well tolerated, and ideal for all ages and stages of life. What are some ways to incorporate complex fibre and prebiotics into our day? 

Here are just a few:

• Add Chia seeds to your diet — Chia seeds are one of the most fibre and nutrient dense foods there is. They can easily be added to smoothies or a number of baking recipes.
• Eat more soups — Many soups are rich in dietary fibre because of the vegetable and grain content. It’s a compact way to get lots of fibre without snacking on raw or unseasoned vegetables. If you really struggle to get your family to eat vegetables, chili is a great example of a food that entices meat eaters and yet provides a high amount of fibre.
• Complement your daily snack and meals with an additional fruit or vegetable on the go. Throw in a banana into your lunch bag, chopped fresh vegetables to snack on, or pack as much as you can into your morning smoothie. 
• Eat fiber-rich whole foods, such as wheat bran, beans, and legumes, pears, soybeans, chia seeds, and raspberries — and reap all the benefits that fiber can provide

While you may reach for a nutrition bar to fill your tummy and daily nutrient goals, whole foods are a better bet to provide more of your overall dietary needs. With whole food you get a mix of nutrients that give greater benefits than packaged food loaded with sugars and unhealthy additives.

There are a thousand ways to add fibre to your diet. While we know that food is medicine and the best line of defence for a healthy gut and a healthy body, our busy and stressful lifestyles don’t always make it realistic for us to eat right. To get the prebiotic benefits of fibre, supplementing with a prebiotic fibre like happiGut™ is an easy way to make sure that your gut is being cleaned by the fibre and also feeding probiotics to support your gut microbiome and making  the nutrients needed to help prevent and combat disease, and in turn supporting your immune health, lowering your risk of heart disease, and providing aid to a range of digestive issues. 

Get the Health Benefits of Complex Prebiotic Fibre With happiGut™
If you’re having gastrointestinal issues and are seeking a way to get the benefits of a healthy heart, weight and reduce the risk of chronic conditions, are at, then supplementing your diet with a prebiotic food fibre like happiGut™ can help. Shop now or visit the NutriFoods™ website to see everything happiGut™ can do for you.