Design
Each participant had a baseline visit and a follow-up visit after 10 days of the prebiotic intervention. Participants consumed the prebiotics in the form of a bar containing resistant starch, rice brain, resistant maltodextrin, and inulin for 10 days (one bar = 10 g fiber). One bar was consumed daily during the first three days, and then one bar twice a day for an additional seven days. Participants were instructed to consume the prebiotic bar in the morning for the first three days, then in the morning and afternoon for the following week (they were not instructed to take it separately from meals). The prebiotic mixture was a proprietary formula developed by Drs. Keshavarzian, Hamaker, and Cantu-Jungles. The prebiotic bar was created by Drs. Keshavarzian, Hamaker, Cantu-Jungles, Sedghi, and Rasmussen and was produced by a licensed packing company: Gramercy Bakery, LLC. Ingredients of the bar were organic, generally recognized as safe, food-grade ingredients.