Inulin is best known for its prebiotic effects on the gut microbiome, stimulating the growth of bacteria generally thought to be beneficial for health. Most consistently, inulin has been found to increase the absolute abundance of Bifidobacterium species. It may also increase levels of Lactobacillus species and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and decrease levels of Clostridium species (some of which are potentially pathogenic), although these effects are less consistently found.[1][2]
Regular supplementation with inulin may improve blood sugar regulation in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes),[3][4] reduce LDL cholesterol,[5] increase satiety,[1] improve bowel movement frequency and consistency,[6][7] increase the absorption of calcium and magnesium,[1] and, in people with overweight or obesity, reduce C-reactive protein.[8] While these are the effects most consistently observed in clinical trials, there is still a substantial amount of variability between studies, and the effects tend to be small in magnitude.