Improve Your Gut Health with These Foods

Prebiotic foods

You’ve probably heard of probiotics (the good bacteria that lives in your gut). You can get those guys from fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and in capsule form. 

BUT DID YOU KNOW, probiotics aren’t actually the best thing you can do for your gut?

When it comes to your gut, BOTH quality and quantity matter. But the best way to get a good variety of healthy bugs in your gut is not necessarily to add more from outside sources but to feed the good guys who already live there. 

Some of the best gut healthy prebiotic foods that are known to be especially beneficial gut bacteria include: 

• Onion

• Peas

• Quinoa

• Rye

• Seaweeds and microalgae

• Soybean (organic non-GMO only)

• Sunroot

• Tomato

• Whole ancient grain wheat (like spelt or farro)

• Asparagus

• Banana (when greenish)

• Barley

• Beans

• Sugar beet

• Chicory

• Jicama (one of the best ones!)

• Garlic

• Honey

• Goat milk Kefir

The Science (credit to IFM research summary):

Adding one or more prebiotic foods to a diet plan can have significant health benefits. In a 2015 randomized controlled trial, participants replaced refined wheat with whole grain wheat in their diet and noted a significant increase in ferulic acid, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, as well as an increase in its metabolite dihyiroferulic acid.

In 2019, a small, single-group design trial evaluated health impacts in healthy individuals after the daily consumption of vegetables rich in inulin-type fructans (ITF). During the two-week intervention period, participants followed a controlled diet that was based on ITF-rich vegetables and included an intake of 15 grams of ITF per day. At the end of treatment, one primary microbial modification included an increased proportion of the health-promoting Bifidobacterium genus.10,11 In addition, participants demonstrated the following:

Greater satiety.

• A reduced desire to eat sweet, salty, and fatty food.

• An increased positive attitude toward some inulin-rich vegetables.

• Decreased intestinal discomfort by the end of the intervention.

  What you need to know:

• Getting at least 1 prebiotic food in your diet daily can have significant health benefits

• Focus more on feeding the bacteria you have rather than adding more

• Eating probiotic foods daily is also good. Get em in your body, then feed them
  

Ready to learn more and heal your gut? Book a free consult with one of our Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coaches.

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