Saw a probiotic at the weekend that has pectin in - can anyone explain what the benefits of pectin in a probiotic would have - I know it is a fibre but would that not bloat you and negate the effects of the probiotic unbloating you?
It's probably just used as a thickener rather than an active ingredient.
All Love and Reiki Hugs
Pectin is a very useful substance in the diet. It is a soluble fibre, similar to mucilages and hydrocolloids found in fruits and vegetables, particularly apples and oranges, and is used as a gelling agent for setting jams and jellies, plus many other functions in the food industry.
In medicine, pectin increases viscosity and volume of stool so that it is used against both constipation and diarrhoea. It has been used as an over-the-counter medicine for childrens gut problems for many decades. It is also useful for lowering cholesterol by binding to cholesterol and bile acids in the gut and promoting their excretion.
Pectin is up to 90% digestible by bacterial enzymes and provides food for them in the absence of other suitable foods, so with probiotics it will help those bacteria increase more rapidly.
All natural - useful indeed.
Worth giving it a go do you think - it won't bloat me out ?
Does jam cause you bloat?
No but sugar does
Put simply, sugar feeds 'bad' bacteria, pectin feeds beneficial bacteria. So if 'bad' bacteria feast on sugar, causing incrreased gas production, then you might feel bloated. I would not expect pectin (if you don't react to it) to cause bloat - it softens stools.
Thanks Caroline