Introducing ZBiotics® Sugar-to-Fiber: The World’s Newest Genetically Engineered Probiotic
Key Takeaways
- ZBiotics® Sugar-to-Fiber is a genetically engineered probiotic that is designed to convert some of the sugar you consume into levan, a rare and beneficial prebiotic fiber, supporting a healthier gut microbiome.
- By incorporating levan—an uncommon fiber in most Western diets—Sugar-to-Fiber enhances the diversity of your fiber intake in a way that's hard to achieve through food alone or with fiber supplements.
- ZBiotics is pioneering a new approach to fiber intake with Sugar-to-Fiber, addressing modern dietary imbalances and empowering better nutrition and wellness through biotechnology-backed solutions.
At ZBiotics, we’re driven to solve the challenges of modern daily life. One challenge that we’re particularly passionate about is the widespread fiber deficiency that stems from ultra-processed modern diets. These diets often contain too much sugar and not enough fiber, making it difficult to maintain a healthy gut microbiome, which has large downstream implications for our overall health. To tackle this, our team of microbiologists set out to create an engineered probiotic, designed to address this dietary imbalance. That engineered probiotic is ZBiotics® Sugar-to-Fiber.
Sugar-to-Fiber is the world’s first probiotic genetically engineered to transform some of the sugar you consume into a rare, beneficial prebiotic fiber called levan. The result is unique: your microbiome gets more of what it needs and less of what it doesn’t, creating a path to gut health that wasn’t possible before Sugar-to-Fiber.
Why gut microbiome health matters
Our gut is home to a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome. This diverse community includes bacteria, fungi, archaea and viruses that play crucial roles in maintaining our overall health. A well-balanced gut microbiome supports mental health, immune function, and physical well-being by helping to digest food, absorb nutrients, protect against infections, and regulate various bodily functions.
Despite its importance, achieving and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome can be challenging. Factors like diet, stress, illness, and lifestyle can disrupt this balance, leading to various health implications beyond the gastrointestinal system (Gacesa, Kurilshikov, Vich Vila, 2022).
The importance of fiber
One way that we can actively choose to support the gut microbiome is through our diet, specifically by consuming more fiber. Fiber is a critical component of a healthy diet, known for its numerous health benefits. It helps regulate bowel movements, supports digestion, lowers cholesterol, and enhances nutrient absorption. However, it's not just about increasing fiber intake—it’s about incorporating a diversity of dietary fibers.
Dietary fibers come in various forms, each with unique benefits. While some fibers aid digestion as bulking agents, others, like fermentable fibers, feed the beneficial microbes in our gut. This diversity helps maintain a balanced gut microbiome and supports overall health.
Finding sources of rare fibers uncommon in a modern diet is one easy way to increase the diversity of your fiber intake. A good example of a rare fiber is levan, a prebiotic fiber not commonly found in Western diets. This is where Sugar-to-Fiber comes in.
How Sugar-to-Fiber works
Sugar-to-Fiber contains a genetically engineered probiotic that converts some of the sugar from the foods you eat every day into fiber. We used the same safe probiotic species, Bacillus subtilis, found in our Pre-Alcohol product and engineered it to produce more of an enzyme called levansucrase. This enzyme breaks down molecules of sucrose (or table sugar) and uses the components as building blocks to create a fiber called levan. By engineering B. subtilis to make levansucrase consistently, Sugar-to-Fiber can deliver a steady supply of fiber from the sugar in your diet.
What makes Sugar-to-Fiber different
While other fiber supplements often contain small, low-quality, highly-processed fiber molecules that have been shown to provide limited benefits, Sugar-to-Fiber is different. It doesn’t just dump a single large bolus of pre-manufactured fiber into your gut all at once—it is designed to use sugar from the food you are already eating to synthesize new fiber in a slow, steady release all day long directly in your gut. By making fermentable fibers in the gut, they are more likely to reach the gut microbiome intact, where they can have the biggest impact.
Additionally, by incorporating levan—an uncommon fiber in most diets—Sugar-to-Fiber enhances the diversity of your fiber intake, contributing to a healthier, more balanced gut microbiome. This approach not only helps meet your daily fiber needs but also provides benefits that are difficult to achieve with conventional fiber sources.
The benefits of a healthier microbiome for your body are innumerable: better digestion, immune health, gut-lining integrity, bowel function, microbiome diversity, nutrient absorption, and more.
Join us on our GMO journey
With the launch of Sugar-to-Fiber, our goal here at ZBiotics is to continue to elevate our understanding of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the transformative role they can play in our daily lives. We’re proud to offer a product that combines cutting-edge science with practical health benefits, empowering you to take control of your nutrition and wellness.
Whether you’re a long-time fan of Pre-Alcohol or trying a ZBiotics product for the first time, we’re excited for you to experience the benefits of Sugar-to-Fiber. As we continue to pioneer the genetically engineered probiotic industry, we remain dedicated to transparency, safety, and delivering real benefits to our customers.
Thank you for joining us on this journey toward enhanced daily living. Here’s to a future filled with innovative solutions and a healthier you.