Hi everyone, Mike Stuchiner, Master Herbalist here with Z Natural Foods, and today's video is going to be on the topic of the functional food known as inulin from the agave plant. But before we get started, two quick things: If you'd like more information about me or want to see more of my videos, you can go to my YouTube channel, "A Master Herbalist's Perspective." Also, if you'd like more videos about natural food products or if you'd like to read the many articles and practical options I've written, please go to ZNaturalFoods.com. Next is our medical disclaimer: The information you're about to receive is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, prescribe, or diagnose any general or specific medical conditions. It is also not to be used as a substitute for your primary healthcare provider's diagnosis, treatment plan, or medical information. With that said, let's get rolling. So, what exactly is this functional food known as inulin? It's actually multiple things. It's a nutritive sweetener, a prebiotic soluble fiber, and a naturally occurring short-chain polysaccharide found in many plants. What the hell's a short-chain polysaccharide? Well, it's a carbohydrate whose molecules consist of many sugar molecules bound together. According to the Department of Agriculture, a nutritive sweetener is a caloric sweetener that provides energy in the form of carbohydrates. Some foods containing inulin are agave, chicory, artichoke, onions, garlic, leeks, dandelion roots, and bananas. More specifically, inulin belongs to what is known as a fructan group of polysaccharides, serving as a form of carbohydrate storage in plants. Inulin is known to reduce the energy or caloric density of foods and is used as a functional food to enrich foods with fiber to replace the sugar and fat content. It is a type of fructooligosaccharide, or what you might also have heard of as FOS, composed of indigestible, short fructose chains. Eating inulin-rich foods may also support the diversity of the gut microbiome and provide fuel to make essential substances like fatty acids and vitamins. So there are several different areas surrounding this whole topic of inulin in general, and that's what I'm going to go into now. First is the idea of resistant starches. Okay, so to kind of go over what resistant starch is: Most starches we eat are quickly digested in the small intestines, and only a fraction survives moving along to the large intestines. Resistant starches are dietary starches that don't break down into sugar. They resist digestion in the small intestine and pass through most of the digestive system unchanged, ending up in the colon fermenting and feeding the good bacteria or the gut microbiome. Resistant starches are formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and then cooled. And this happens when the amylose and amylopectin chains in cooked gelatinized starch realign themselves as they cool down. Cooling these foods in the refrigerator overnight or for several days has actually been stated to increase starch-resisting content. While not explicitly confirmed, it is generally accepted that reheating resistant starches under 140 degrees Fahrenheit is believed not to destroy their prebiotic qualities. It's also generally agreed upon that there are three types of resistant starches: resistant starch number one, our seeds, beans, and grains, which all fall into this category, and your small intestines have trouble digesting the starch with resistant starch number two. This category generally tends to include green bananas, raw potatoes, and specific types of corn. And resistant starch three is a type that is cooked in water until fully hydrated, and the starch moves to the water and reforms into structures that are difficult to digest after they have been cooled down. This category includes specific bread types, cooked potatoes, and many processed foods. A review titled "Resistant Starches for the Management of Metabolic Disease" looked at preliminary animal studies and human clinical trials, discussing the effects of resistant starches on specific metabolic conditions, and the following data was summarized: Data from both models supported the role of resistant starches in improving various metabolic issues, although more research is needed regarding the specific intrinsic pieces of this puzzle. Therefore, it was concluded that studies presented in this review offer great insight into the potential pathways by which resistant starches enhance metabolic health, including modulation of the gut microbiome, gut peptide, circulating inflammatory mediators, and innate immune cells. So, in simple terms, while inulin may act very similar to resistant starches in the gut, it is actually not a resistant starch. Much like resistant starches, inulin bypasses the small intestine and begins to ferment in the large intestine to feed the good bacteria in the colon. There are intrinsic differences between the two that disqualify inulin from being considered a true resistant starch. Remember, resistance does not mean indigestible; it's a slower process because it resists digestion. To make this a bit more clear, let's compare inulin to an actual resistant starch like green bananas to understand these intrinsic differences. An important fact to keep in mind is that the human body produces specific enzymes that are capable of breaking down what are known as monosaccharides or polysaccharides. They're made of different types of sugars bound together, like fructose and glucose but are incapable of breaking down a bond with two different sugar molecules bound together like a fructose-fructose bond. Green bananas are long-chain polysaccharides primarily made up of glucose that contains insoluble fiber. Although it's a slow process, a resistant starch like green banana can be partially broken down because we produce the enzyme amylase, which is capable of breaking down glucose. On the other hand, because inulin is an indigestible short-chain polysaccharide containing soluble fiber and again is a fructose-fructose bound sugar molecule, we don't have the enzymes, or I shouldn't say, we don't naturally produce the enzymes to break them down. Therefore, in the end, inulin is not considered a resistant starch. The critical factor here is whether our body has the resources and specific enzymes to break these down, as I just mentioned. Next is discussing the concept of the microbiome and specifically prebiotics. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics defines prebiotics as, and I quote, "a substrate that is selectively utilized by a host of microorganisms conferring a health benefit." In simple terms, they are selectively fermented carbohydrates that bring specific changes in composition and activity to the gut microflora, resulting in health benefits to a host, that's us. For something to be considered a prebiotic, dietary carbohydrate must do three things: 1) resist gastric acidity, gastrointestinal enzymes, and absorption, 2) get fermented by the intestinal probiotic microflora; and 3) selectively stimulate the growth and activity of probiotics. The human gut microbiome contains more than 10 trillion microorganisms with more than 1,000 species of bacteria. Prebiotics are identified based on the composition of their fiber content. Some types of bacteria that feed on inulin fiber turn it into a substance called butyrate, which is the primary fuel source for the gut lining, while other probiotic microbes like bifidobacteria feeding on inulin-rich foods are known to perform many valuable jobs for your gut. Some of those valuable jobs are maintaining a healthy gut through the production of lactate and acetate, feeding other bad bacteria, deterring pathogens, supporting a healthy immune system response, and producing B vitamins and the family of vitamin Ks. In a meta-analysis discussing the effects of inulin on gut microbiome composition, it was concluded that of the nine original articles reporting positive outcomes, the most consistent change was an increase in Bifidobacterium. Other resume results included a rise in other specific good bacteria like lactobacillus and a decrease in back bacteria. Once inulin supplementation was stopped, specific bifidobacteria levels decreased. In another randomized control trial looking at the safety and efficacy of inulin supplementation in infant formulas, it was concluded that 0.08 grams of supplemented baby formula during the first four months of life is safe and effective, promoting the gut microbiome. Most akin to that of breastfeeding, the trend towards higher Bifidobacteria was observed. Finally, inulin is actually a sweetener with a very novel component. Humans possess a unique quality compared to many of these other quality natural food-based sweeteners, allowing for greater versatility using inulin specifically. Or, in fact, can be used as a fat substitute in some cases. Regarding consistency and texture, I want to be very clear when I say this: it will not replace the nutritional qualities that fats provide to the human body. If you're looking for food that will create a thicker texture with the added benefit of a naturally sweet flavor, inulin may be a very good choice in this situation. As a functional food, it can often be seen in low-fat dairy products because when the fats are removed, they'll add inulin to keep the milk's thick, creamy texture. An interesting paper discussing the use of inulin as a fat substitute in sausages, affecting their overall texture, concluded that the reduction of fat content in different types of sausages, 6% to 18%, leads to a decrease in energy value in the product by up to 64%, respectively. In addition, inulin could be used as a proper replacement for fat in production without showing any significant changes in overall acceptability and taste. The main purpose for adding inulin is to provide extra fiber to meat products to enhance their digestibility. That's pretty interesting. So, in conclusion, guys, Z Natural Foods believes that the combination of tradition and science is a real match made in heaven. These are the principal fundamentals that Z Natural Food uses when searching far and wide for highly nourishing traditional foods used for thousands of years to create products that allow for optimal versatility and limitless applications. So if you'd like to do a little bit more research on inulin because this is what we consider a really interesting functional food with tremendous versatility, this is Mike Stuchiner, Master Herbalist, with Z Natural Foods, signing out. I'll see you next time.