Your daily prebiotic fix won’t just keep you feeling full,
improve your digestion and help you fight the latest bug going around your office, it may also just decrease your risk of getting colon cancer. Specifically, early stage cancer cells were found to be sensitive to
inulin. German researchers reported in the
British Journal of Nutrition that human colon cells in the early and late stages of cancer exposed to inulin
in vitro were more likely to die. These findings open the way to implications for possible prevention. (Munjal U. et al.
British Journal of Nutrition. September 2009, 102(5): 663-671.)
Inulin is a prebiotic, a compound found in many of the foods we eat that promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria by providing a medium, or "food" to help them flourish.
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: This study is preliminary but helps make the cause about why it is good to include these substance into your diet for digestive health. Past studies have found that inulin contributes to the healthy gut environment and this study supports this. Inulin has been shown to have many other health benefits, including improving bone health, boosting immunity and enhancing satiety and aiding in weight management, and is especially effective when combined with probiotics.