ZBiotics Sugar-to-Fiber: Bridging the Fiber Gap With Bacteria

You may already know and love ZBiotics for its hangover-preventing Pre-Alcohol Probiotic (we certainly do!). Now, the innovative brand has released a second product designed to address another common problem: fiber intake (or lack thereof).

ZBiotics Sugar-to-Fiber is a probiotic bacteria called Bacillus subtilis ZB423™ that has been genetically engineered to convert some of the sugar you eat into prebiotics. 

Prebiotics are a type of fiber that our healthy gut bacteria consume for energy. Put simply, prebiotics are fuel that probiotics need to grow and thrive in the gut. Rather than be digested by us and our digestive tract, they are consumed and fermented by various microbes in the colon (large intestine). Prebiotics have many beneficial health effects, including supporting a diverse gut microbiome and contributing to immune, cardiovascular, and cognitive health.

While this all sounds great, there’s one problem: we have to actually eat enough fiber to see these benefits, which most Americans are sorely lacking in. In fact, 95% of us fall short of the recommended daily fiber intake.¹

ZBiotics Sugar-to-Fiber aims to address part of this problem by engineering a probiotic called Bacillus subtilis (the same one found in Pre-Alcohol) to produce more of an enzyme called levansucrase. 

Levansucrase converts sucrose into glucose and fructose. The fructose is used to create a fiber prebiotics called levan. Sucrose, or table sugar, is found in sugary products like brown sugar, honey, dates, and maple syrup, and it is added to many processed foods.

You may wonder if this is better than a regular old fiber powder or if you can mix up some Metamucil instead. Unlike fiber supplement powders that unload a large amount of pre-manufactured fiber all at once, ZBiotics Sugar-to-Fiber is designed to use sugar from the food you’re already eating to make an entirely new fiber in the gut. Plus, it provides a gradual delivery of fiber throughout the day to benefit your healthy gut bugs more than if they just received the dose all at once. 

Essentially, the levansucrase helps you make your own fermentable prebiotic fibers, delivering up to 10g of soluble fiber per day. As the average American eats about 10-15 grams per day, doubling this amount could prove highly beneficial. Analyses have found that $12.7 billion in direct healthcare costs related to constipation alone could be saved if Americans increased their fiber intake by just 9 grams per day.¹ 

More fermentable fiber is also linked to a better microbiome and short-chain fatty acid production, which supports healthier digestion, immune function, mental health, cardiovascular health, and more. 

According to research published in Molecules in 2023, levan fiber significantly increases short-chain fatty acid levels, protects against pathogens like Salmonella and E.coli, and exhibits immunomodulatory activity.² 

However, while this levan-producing bacteria does gobble up some sucrose you consume, ZBiotics is quick to mention that the product is unlikely to break down enough sugar to significantly impact things like blood glucose or body weight.

It should also be mentioned that this product is not a substitute for eating real fiber! Although it can help to bolster your fiber intake for the day, please still try to include nutritious and fibrous plant foods (like beans, lentils, berries, peas, chia seeds, and avocados) in your daily diet.

Overall, Sugar-to-Fiber appears to be another well-crafted and innovative product from the ZBiotics team, with potential wide-reaching benefits for anyone struggling to meet their fiber goals.