You Need To Know About Prebiotics; Here’s Why

Much research has been coming out over the past few years about gut health and the human microbiome. Supplement companies have taken this opportunity to create a 61 billion dollar industry producing probiotics, but are they truly helpful? Recently researchers have discovered a person’s gut flora or microbiome, the mixture of bacteria that are in their gut, is set by the time a person is two or three years old. In other words, probiotics don’t actually replace the bacteria in your gut. What they can do is communicate positive messages with your gut which can result in healthy genetic changes. So how do you improve your gut health if you can’t replace the bacteria that’s already established? The answer is to incorporate prebiotic foods into your diet on a daily basis. Prebiotics are foods which your body cannot break down without the assistance of beneficial bacteria. Breastmilk is full of prebiotics to set up a child with a healthy gut.

What are examples of prebiotic foods?

The most healing prebiotic foods are garlic, onions, asparagus, artichokes, dandelion, leeks, seaweed, almonds, chicory, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama and mushrooms. In addition, oats, carrots, dark leafy greens, non-starchy squash (such as zucchini, summer, and spaghetti), plantains, green bananas, avocado, mango, pistachios, hazelnuts, sweet potatoes, and kiwi. Cooked and then cooled rice or potatoes include resistant starch which is a prebiotic food. Fiber rich foods boost gut health. These include both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is found in foods such as nuts, oat bran, chia seeds, barley, seeds, beans, lentils, Brussel sprouts, collards, kale, parsnip, parsley, psyllium husk, beets, sweet potato, and broccoli . Insoluble fiber, which doesn’t dissolve in water, is found in foods such as wheat bran, peppers, apples with skin, pumpkin, blueberries, celery, cucumber, eggplant, radish, raspberry, spinach, strawberry, brown rice, flax, quinoa, and buckwheat groats. Incorporate some of these foods into at least two of your three meals per day.

What are examples of probiotic foods?

Probiotic foods contain live and active bacteria. It’s beneficial to include small amounts of prebiotic foods in your diet such as kefir, yogurt (check the label to ensure it includes live cultures), cheese, especially hard cheeses like cheddar and parmesan, pickles if they’re lacto-fermented and require refrigeration (Clausen’s is a good brand), kimchi, and lacto-fermented sauerkraut (check the ingredients, it should require refrigeration and not be made with vinegar). Probiotic drinks include kombucha, beet kvass, and water kefir. Read the labels because sometimes those drinks have high amounts of sugar. Another way to incorporate probiotic foods is to make salad dressings with raw vinegars or mocktails with a teaspoon of vinegar. Any type of raw vinegar works. Keep in mind that balsamic vinegar can be very high in sugar.

What about herbs and supplements?

If you’ve completed a course of antibiotics in the past few years or are struggling with chronic illness, insulin resistance, chronic yeast infections, diabetes, or autoimmune disease, you may need to incorporate additional herbs and supplements for gut healing. These may include minerals such as selenium (found in Brazil nuts), zinc carnosine, chromium, and iodine. Herbal teas such as ginger, spearmint, lemon balm, lavender, cinnamon, turmeric, fennel, licorice and thyme help to heal the gut. Green tea can help with blood sugar regulation. Gruels can be made with deglycinated licorice root powder and slippery elm bark powder which soothe the mucous membranes in the gut.

Should I still take a probiotic?

If you’re incorporating the prebiotic foods in your diet and using the herbal teas and still struggling with health issues, you can try a probiotic supplement. The most evidence-based effective probiotics I’ve seen on the market recently are Microbiome labs, especially their megaspore probiotic complete, or Orthomolecular products.

You can order minerals, herbs, and Microbiome labs or Orthomolecular products from our wholesale account through Wellevate here:

https://wellevate.me/cincinnatibirthcenter