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Xylooligosaccharides (XOS):

The Prebiotic You’ve Never Heard Of

What is Xylooligosaccharides (XOS)?

When your gut microbes are in trouble, it’s XOS you really want!

We’re talking about Xylooligosaccharides—unique prebiotic that feeds the friendly bacteria living in your large intestine.

Xylooligosaccharides are just starting to gain some serious traction in the health world. With recent advances in technology, XOS has become easier to make commercially available, which is probably why you’re just starting to hear more about it.

Several studies have been done on XOS, and while we’ll get into some of the specifics later, for now, we’ll just say this:

Xylooligosaccharides aren’t your ordinary prebiotics.

Let’s take a closer look to see what makes these special prebiotics stand out from all the others.

What is a Prebiotic?

Before we dive into XOS, let’s take a second to talk about prebiotics in general.

Recently, we took a deep dive into the differences between prebiotics and probiotics, but here’s a quick refresher.

Probiotics plant beneficial bacteria in the gut.

This is important because your friendly gut bacteria is under constant attack. Things like poor diet, too little sleep, stress, and antibiotic use can lessen the number of good bacteria in the gut. This leaves you susceptible to signs of an unhealthy gut (like occasional bloating and gas). Using probiotics helps keep the balance of microbes in the gut working in your favor.

Prebiotics, meanwhile, provide “food” for this beneficial bacteria.

Think of them as a fertilizer that helps beneficial bacteria to grow. You’ll hear us talk about “prebiotic fibers,” but don’t equate prebiotics with the fiber you hear about in other foods. Not all fibers are classified as prebiotic, and not all prebiotics are fibers, but as a general rule, most prebiotics are fibers.

There are several different types of prebiotics:

Inulin
Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)
Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS)
Isomalto-oligosaccharides (IOS)

What’s important to know is that prebiotic fibers are a special class of carbohydrates that our digestive system can’t break down for our bodies to absorb.

This means that they can survive the rough journey through the digestive tract, making it safely into the colon, supplying much needed nutrients to your resident gut microbes.

Other types of carbohydrates never make it that far, as they are digested (broken apart and/or destroyed) by your stomach acid and pancreatic enzymes, so they’re long gone when dinner time rolls around for your friendly little gut bugs.²

Essentially, prebiotics are important because they can survive long enough to give your good gut bacteria what it needs to thrive. Now, not all fibers are prebiotic. Though they are also an important part of our diets to support digestive regularity, insoluble fibers like cellulose are not fermented by our gut microbes much at all.

Researchers have known about prebiotic fibers for decades, and they’ve recently stepped smack dab into the spotlight.³

There are plenty of natural sources of prebiotics, including:

Onions (fructans)
Konjac root (glucomannan)
Garlic (fructans)
Chicory Root (fructans)
Oats and Barley (B-glucan)
Bananas (resistant starch – when unripe)
Leeks (fructans)
Apples (pectin)

How can prebiotics help me lose weight?

Prebiotics help the good bacteria in your gut to thrive, but do they have any impact that you’ll notice?

They might.

To understand how, let’s zoom out and look at how the microbiome as a whole is related to weight management.

Your gut microbes have an impact on how your body handles the food you eat. More specifically, these microbes play a role in determining what nutrients you’re able to get from your food and how much energy you’ll be able to harvest from it.¹³ In other words, your microbiome impacts your metabolism.

Creating a microbiome environment that promotes a healthy metabolism could, then, help lead to weight loss. In fact, this study found that certain microbial environments hindered weight loss, and this one directly linked the use of “gut microbiome-modulating agents” (including probiotics and prebiotics) to “significant decreases in BMI, weight, and fat mass.

To put it simply, prebiotics create a healthy environment for beneficial gut bacteria to thrive. When that bacteria is thriving, your metabolism is functioning well. And for most people, that (along with a healthy diet and regular exercise) can help them drop the pounds.

What are the benefits of Xylooligosaccharides (XOS)?

One of the primary benefits of XOS is its ability to target beneficial bacteria using a lower serving than other prebiotics.

In fact, servings as low as one gram have been shown to benefit the gut microbiome significantly, resulting in an increase of beneficial bacteria and a decrease of the unwanted.^♢*

This is one of the main reasons everyone is so excited about XOS.

Its effect on your microbiome can contribute to significant health benefits, and it only takes a teeny bit to be effective. In other words, more bang for your gut!⁵

Another benefit of XOS is that it has selective growth-boosting properties of beneficial bacteria species and a unique ability to be used only by those bacteria types. In other words, it feeds the good stuff, without also feeding the unwanted stuff.

In fact, some studies suggest good strains of bacteria, like Bifidobacteria, actually prefer XOS to other forms of prebiotics.^6,7,8^♢*

Pro Tip: If you’re not sure which microbes are friends and which are foes, get to know the eight strains of healthy gut bacteria that have your back.

What’s the best Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) supplement?

The xylose polymers that XOS is derived from are mainly in the woody parts of plants, and don’t make for particularly appetizing (or even edible) food options, so supplements are your best option to get XOS in your diet.

A great way to get a serving of XOS is to drink your Plexus Slim^® Microbiome Activating!

We recognized the awesomeness of XOS from the very beginning, and you know we’re committed to using only the best ingredients.

That’s why we used XOS to make Slim even better!

Slim has been clinically demonstrated to help you lose weight. But did you know it can also help promote the growth of good gut microbes?^♢*

In an in vitro human gut simulator study, the prebiotic blend of XOS and chlorogenic acid rich green coffee in Slim was shown to:

Increase Lactobacillus up to 365 times^♢*
Increase Bifidobacterium up to 290 times^♢*
Increase Akkermansia up to 250 times^♢*

These are all friendly strains of bacteria that help keep your microbiome balanced.*

So, sip away–and take care of your gut! Getting more XOS into your diet promotes the growth of beneficial gut microbes, which contribute great things to your overall health.¹²^♢*

What are other types of Prebiotics?

XOS is definitely a powerful prebiotic, but there are other types of prebiotics as well, including:

Fructooligosaccharide (FOS): Sometimes used as a sweetener, this prebiotic can be found in many fruits and vegetables, including bananas, onions, garlic, and artichokes.¹⁴ (Oh, and you can find it in Plexus Lean™ Vegetarian, along with XOS and GOS.
Galactooligosaccharide (GOS): These prebiotics are produced commercially by treating lactose sugar with natural probiotic derived enzymes. They resemble an important component of human milk, and are studied for their possible use for relieving constipation.¹⁵
Isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO): These are sometimes used as sweeteners that also have some nutritional benefit.¹⁶
Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG): This is a prebiotic that can be added to foods as a source of dietary fiber, and has been studied for various nutritional benefits.¹⁷ (You can find it in Lean Whey—along with protein, vitamins, and minerals—but with Lean Whey’s smooth Vanilla or Chocolate flavors, you won’t even guess that what you’re drinking is good for you.)

When was your last gut check?

Every year, you check your health. There’s the annual physical, and even those personal diet and fitness goals you’ve set for yourself. But when was the last time you checked in on your microbial neighbors downstairs?

If you’re not sure, then it’s time for a gut check.

Your microbiome can use all the love it can get. Our diets and hectic schedules often make it difficult for our little gut gardens to flourish.

References

Disclaimers:

^♢The results of an in vitro human gut simulator study suggest that Slim’s formula may have several beneficial effects. Further research, including research conducted in humans, is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS):

The Prebiotic You’ve Never Heard Of

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