Benefiber review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Benefiber. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition, uses and flavour of this popular fibre supplement.
Benefiber is widely available around the globe, including in Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada.
What is a fibre supplement?
A fibre supplement helps support gut health when you are not getting enough fibre in your diet. It works by acting as a prebiotic which feeds the beneficial microbes in your gut and helps them multiply and create a healthy microbiome.
If you are eating a diverse diet including lots of vegetables and other great foods for gut health, you won’t need a fibre supplement (but these can come in handy at times of poor eating).
However, considering only around 5% of Americans get enough fibre (and probably a similar number elsewhere) - it’s probably a safe bet you could do with more fibre in your diet!
Ingredients of Benefiber
Benefiber is extremely simple and only contains wheat dextrin - which is a soluble fibre.
Dextrin is a type of carbohydrate produced by breaking down starch. It can be also be used as a thickener in foods.
Even though it is made from wheat, Benefiber claims to be gluten free on their US website as it only contains 20 parts per million of gluten. (The packaging in Australia doesn’t make this claim though.)
Benefits of Benefiber
The benefit of Benefiber is simply that it provides an easy way to get prebiotic fibre in your diet which will feed the good bacteria in your gut and help create a healthy microbiome.
It’s important to note that Benefiber has only one type of prebiotic - wheat dextrin. And since different prebiotics favour different types of beneficial gut bacteria, Benefiber is not as useful as fibre supplements which contain various prebiotic fibres.
Appearance
Benefiber is a very fine white powder which most resembles milk powder or very fine sugar.
Flavour of Benefiber
The flavour of Benefiber is tricky to review because one of its main selling points is that it is taste-free! And it really does achieve this.
The aroma is non-existent as far as I can tell.
The taste is also almost entirely absent. Even if you put in straight in your mouth (not advised by the way), you can barely detect a taste beyond a very slight sweetness. If you put two teaspoons in a cup of water you will only maybe just get a slight sweetness from it also.
In summary, it’s fantastically nothing!
Uses
Benefiber suggests you put it in coffee, juice, baked goods or on yoghurt. But in reality its uses go far beyond this.
Because of its undetectability, you could add it to almost any drink or dish and you wouldn’t notice it. They do not advise putting it in a soda or soft drink as it will cause the carbonation to release (like any powder would).
Benefiber would also come in handy at certain times when you might not be eating as well as usual. This could be when travelling, staying with friends or family, around Christmas time or any time when your regular dieting habits are disrupted.
Cost of Benefiber
In Australia, you can buy a 155g jar for $12.50 from Coles.
In the UK, USA and Canada, you can buy Benefiber from Amazon (and many other stores), however the size and packaging may vary.
Summary
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5.
Verdict: Benefiber is an almost tasteless fibre supplement which makes increasing your fibre intake very easy. However, it has only one type of prebiotic fibre.
Pros
basically tasteless
makes it very easy to boost your fibre intake
one of the most hassle-free things to take for improved gut health
Cons
just one type of prebiotic fibre
you will likely be able to find cheaper wheat dextrin products
Your reviewer
This hands-on review was written by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut-health enthusiast, science nerd and passionate kombucha maker of over 10 years!
Related articles
