Patriot Health Digest
When it comes to preventing disease and staying well, it is a good idea to pay close attention to your gut health. Up to 70 percent of your immune system is in your gut. It impacts everything from your body weight to your blood sugar, and even your mood.
And when it comes to helping your gut health, it’s a great idea to focus on both prebiotics and probiotics.
So what are prebiotics?
Many people know about probiotics, but fewer know that prebiotics are just as important.
Probiotics are living bacteria. Meanwhile, prebiotics are substances that your body cannot digest. The probiotics instead use these substances like food.
And as the beneficial probiotics consume the prebiotics, they give nutrients like short-chain fatty acids that can give health benefits in your digestive tract and elsewhere in your body.
So, which foods should you eat to get more prebiotics? Keep reading to find out:
1 — Green bananas
Although bananas give fiber, it is the unripe ones that are ideal for getting prebiotics.
Unripe bananas are a good source of resistant starch, and that behaves as soluble fiber going through your digestive system until it gets to your large intestine. Once there, it works as a fuel for the good gut bacteria that live there and helps lower inflammation and guard against colorectal cancer.
2 — Oats
Oats give a great source of fiber and whole grains, including a prebiotic fiber known as beta-glucan.
This beta-glucan has a cholesterol-lowering result and might also help your gut function.
And research has proven that this fiber can increase your immune system and guard against some types of cancers.
3 — Garlic
Garlic is filled with the prebiotic inulin which has been proven to benefit your digestion, diversify your gut microbiome, lower your fat accumulation, and help with appetite control.
Also, Garlic has also been shown to help stop diseases like cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
4 — Blueberries
Blueberries are a great prebiotic to always try to include in your daily diet since they not only help gut health, but also help your brain health.
The polyphenols inside blueberries work as prebiotic source, allowing them to give you anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular benefits, especially in people with metabolic syndromes.
Author: Blake Ambrose
