kate hendy the balanced gut
Prebiotics
A prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit upon host health or in other words, a type of non-digestible fibre, found in plant foods that acts as a fertiliser for beneficial gut bacteria that selectively stimulates their growth and activity to improve gut health and overall well-being.
Prebiotics feed the 'good' microbes, helping them flourish and produce beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids that strengthen the gut lining and support the immune system. Common food sources include onions, garlic, bananas, oats and whole grains. There are different groups of prebiotics mainly from carbohydrates subsets like oligosaccharides, two of which are Fructo-oligosaccharides and Galacto-oligosaccharides. Unfortunately due to the low amounts found in food sources to have prebiotic effects, it is likely that you will need to supplement these to reap the health rewards especially early on in your health journey when introducing fibre maybe problematic. I personally take a powder form of FOS and GOS on a daily basis. Inulin a Fructan, can be found in onions, garlic, chicory, asparagus and leeks and is good at feeding lactic acid bacteria. Resistant starches can promote health by producing high amounts of butyrate which is a short-chain fatty acid which confer huge benefits to health and something which I am hugely excited about. A new hot topic in the gut health world. Resistant starch is resistant to the upper gut digestion and can be found in green bananas and cooked and cooled starches like rice and potatoes. Pectin is another prebiotic found in apples and citrus fruits. There are many studies to show how supplementation of prebiotics like FOS can elevate the population of Bifidobacterium improving conditions like Crohn's and IBS.