From what I understand probiotics can be good for gut health, especially when consumed through fermented foods like kimchi or fermented veggies. Pre-biotics from my understanding are the fiber that probiotics eat ex. onions, jicama etc. I don’t get how these sodas I see in grocery stores could be pre-biotic. Is this legit or are just another marketing ploy at “health drink”?
It’s obviously better to get prebiotic fiber from whole plant sources, but Olipop in particular does have a decent amount of fiber from some of the most potent (and hard to find) natural sources of particular prebiotic fibers like inulin from chicory root, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and galaxtooligosaccharides (GOS) from Jerusalem artichoke, resistant starch from cassava root, etc. It also doesn’t have a lot of sugar or a potentially upsetting high level of carbonation. I tried each flavor once out of curiosity but haven’t had them since. My favorites were the strawberry vanilla and orange cream, not to be confused with orange squeeze.
It seems like they’re legitimately trying to get something healthy into something the average person might regularly consume as a better alternative to regular soda. It would be better to actually buy something like Jerusalem artichokes, but I actually called every natural foods store and high-end grocer in my city and couldn’t find it. Let me know if you find a source.
Certain herbs/spices also have a slight prebiotic effect on the microbiome. Most likely they’re adding certain starches/sugars with prebiotic potential.
However, ultra-processed ultra-fine prebiotic fibers may be less helpful in regulating the microbiome vs. prebiotic fibers from whole/minimally processed foods.
If you wanted to try a ‘gut-healthy’ soda, try Kombucha, Water Kefir (Tibicos), or Tepache.