Revealed: The five foods that are key to maintaining good gut health

Garlic, leeks, onions, dandelion greens and Jerusalem artichokes are probably the most prebiotic-rich meals obtainable and will assist enhance intestine well being.

Prebiotics are a sort of fibre that capabilities as a meals supply for probiotics – micro organism that assist to keep up a wholesome group of microbes within the gastrointestinal tract, which has been linked to the well being of the immune system and even safety towards some medical circumstances.

To uncover the richest prebiotic meals sources, Cassandra Boyd at San José State University, California, and her colleague John Gieng combed via 70 scientific papers on prebiotics in meals, 9 of which contained a ample quantity of knowledge to be included of their evaluation. From these, they analysed the prebiotic content material of 8690 kinds of meals.

The researchers discovered that the highest 5 prebiotic-containing meals have been, in descending order: dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, leeks and onions, every of which comprise between 100 and 240 milligrams of prebiotics per gram, as introduced at Nutrition 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts, the annual assembly of the American Society for Nutrition.

The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, in California, recommends a each day prebiotic consumption of round 5 grams a day. This could possibly be achieved by consuming simply half a small onion, mentioned Boyd in a press release.

Other wealthy prebiotic sources embrace meals that comprise these greens, equivalent to onion rings and creamed onions, in addition to asparagus and black-eyed beans, also referred to as cowpeas. But about 37 per cent of the meals analysed comprise no prebiotics, with low scorers together with wheat, dairy, eggs, oils and meats.

As nicely as doubtlessly benefiting intestine well being, prebiotics are additionally a sort of dietary fibre, which is sweet for digestion. Data reveals fibre intakes are inadequate throughout each area of the world. “By consuming more prebiotic fibre, one is also consuming more fibre in general,” says Boyd.