There is a food ingredient that I have seen listed on at least three different products recently called inulin. I first noticed it when I was reading the nutrition facts on a tub of Trader Joes plain yogurt and saw that it contained fiber. How in the heck does a yogurt get fiber. I looked at the ingredients and the only thing I didn't recognize was inulin.

Just a couple days after that I was reading the ingredients of a Luna bar and it contained inulin. Tonight I was reading the ingredients in our Healthy Life bread and, can you guess? Inulin?

I did a little web searching and inulin can be derived from a number of sources but the most common seems to be chicory.

It is a good source of water soluble fiber.

It has a slightly sweet taste, but no calories.

It can help your body increase calcium absorption by 20%.

It somehow helps yogurt cultures live longer, better, etc.

It is supposed to "feed" the good beneficial bacteria that live in your intestines.

I did read one web site that says inulin is bad because not only does it feed the good bacteria in your gut, it will feed the bad bacteria as well and cause your system to go out of balance.

For now I like the idea of being able to get a little extra fiber in my yogurt. Fiber is wonderful for diabetics for a couple of reasons. One is it fills you up faster so you don't eat as much and feel satisfied. The other, and probably more important reason, is that it slows the absorption of food into your system thereby helping you avoid blood sugar spikes.