Prebiotics, probiotics, and dietary fiber in gastrointestinal disease

Microecology of the gastrointestinal tract is the physiologic basis for the effect of dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics on the host. The ecology consists of die gastrointestinal tract, primarily the intestines, the foods that are fed into the tract, and die flora living within. Within this ecology, normal flora and probiotics, ferment dietary fiber and prebiotics to produce short chain fatty acids and substances that are absorbed and effect die host at the intestinal level and systemically. In