Keeping a good balance of bacteria in your gut is so important to your health. Including plenty of probiotics in your diet can help you improve your overall gut health, but did you know it’s just as important to be eating the right amount of prebiotics?

What are prebiotics?

Prebiotics are a non-digestible dietary fiber that feeds the friendly bacteria in your gut. Growing more beneficial bacteria in the gut helps producing more nutrients for the body, resulting in a healthier digestive system. This is because the health of the gut is linked to many other bodily functions.

What’s the difference between prebiotics and probiotics?

You’ve most likely already heard of probiotics, but it’s important not to confuse the two. Probiotics are the friendly bacteria in the gut themselves, while prebiotics are the food that feeds the probiotic bacteria. Therefore, eating a healthy balance of foods (or supplements) containing probiotics and prebiotics will help to improve your overall health.

What are the benefits of prebiotics

Because gut health has a flow on effect to other systems of the body, there are many health benefits resulting from a higher intake of prebiotics, including:

• improved digestive health
• boosted immune system
• reduced inflammation
• lower risk of cardiovascular disease
• improved digestion
• reduced risk of obesity
• improved cholesterol levels

Foods containing prebiotics

So, how can we make sure we consume more prebiotics? Well, there are plenty of foods that are high in prebiotics. There are also some foods that can be harmful. Foods that are high in sugar and fat can cause harmful species of bacteria to overgrow, negatively impacting your gut’s health.

To help improve your gut health, try to include some of these high prebiotic foods in your diet:

1. Garlic

Garlic promotes the growth of beneficial Bifidobacteria in the gut and helps reduce the risk of heart disease. It also helps prevent harmful bacteria from growing. You can include garlic in your diet by using it in marinades, spreads, salad dressings, and roasts.

2. Jerusalem artichoke

Sometimes called the ‘earth apple’, jerusalem artichokes provide around 2 grams of dietary fibre per 100 grams and help to increase the friendly bacteria in the colon and strengthen the immune system. It can be eaten raw in antipasto plates and salads or cooked in soups, roasts, dips and casseroles.

3. Asparagus

Full of fibre and antioxidants, asparagus not only promotes friendly bacteria in the gut, but also has anti-inflammatory benefits. You can eat more asparagus by including it in pasta dishes, omelettes and salads.

4. Leek

Coming from the same family as garlic, leeks contain up to 16% insulin fibre which helps to break down fat in the gut. Leeks bring a distinct flavour to many meals including bakes, risotto, soups and casseroles.

5. Banana

We all know bananas for being high in potassium, but did you know they’re also rich in minerals, vitamins and fibre? The prebiotic fibre of bananas, in particular unripe bananas, can reduce bloating and increase healthy gut bacteria. If you dislike eating bananas raw, you can include them in your diet by cutting them up and putting them in a smoothie or bake them in muffins or breads.

6. Dandelion greens

Dandelion greens contain roughly 4 grams of fibre per 100 grams which assists the body to reduce constipation, increase the number of friendly bacteria in the gut, and boosts the immune system. They are best eaten raw. You can finely chop them and add them to side dishes and salads.

7. Onion

Again, as a member of the same family as garlic and leeks, onions are made up of fibre that helps break down fat and boosts the immune system. Onions are extremely versatile and you probably already use them regularly in your cooking. Onions go best in pasta, stir fries, soups, or grilled on the barbeque.

8. Oats

The prebiotic benefit of oats comes from the large amounts of beta-glucan fibre they contain. Thie fibre not only improves the level of healthy bacteria in the gut, it also helps to lower LDL cholesterol and leads to better blood sugar levels. You can use oats to make tasty dishes like porridge, muffins, and cookies.

9. Apples

The old adage, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ holds true when it comes to gut health. The pectin found in apples has prebiotic benefits as it increases butyrate, which feeds to beneficial bacteria in the gut, while also decreasing the number of harmful bacteria. You can eat apples as a healthy afternoon snack or include them meals like in salads, smoothies or muffins.

Start eating more prebiotics

Now that you understand the importance of prebiotics to not only your gut, but overall health, see how you can include more into your diet. There are plenty of foods that are high in prebiotics so get cooking. Or if you’re looking for prebiotic or probiotic supplements to help you along the way, check out Catalo.