Taking care of your gut is essential for your ultimate health and well-being, and consuming enough prebiotics, health experts inform us, is vital for healthy aging.
We checked in with registered nutritionists, dietitians and other gut health aficionados to learn more about three sources of prebiotics to add more of to your diet for smoother digestion and more energy. Read on for tips, suggestions and insight from Jessica Siegel, RD, registered dietitian at Gelson’s Kitchen and Elizabeth Arensberg, MS, RD, functional health registered dietitian.
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3 Healthy Prebiotics
Before we get into the best ways to add more prebiotics to your daily intake, Siegel helps explain how they differ from probiotics. "When educating someone on prebiotics vs. probiotics and the importance of how they go hand-in-hand, it’s important to break it down— no pun intended— and keep it simple," she says.
Let’s start with the difference between prebiotics and probiotics. "Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria needed for a healthy gut, and prebiotics is the food that provides nutrients to the probiotics," she adds, noting that an important step to promote healthy probiotics is to "eat the appropriate prebiotics and create a balance."
1. Cooked & Cooled Potatoes
By cooking then cooling your potatoes, Arensberg explains, "you increase the natural production of resistant starches." These are "specific prebiotics that make it all the way to the colon undigested." In the colon, she adds, the starches are "broken down" and are essential to "feed and nourish the cells in the colon." Ultimately, this helps to "keep a healthy colon," she stresses.
2. Asparagus
Another tried-and-true (and gut healthy) veggie is asparagus, which Arensberg says is "rich in inulin," which is a prebiotic. This prebiotic is "super beneficial because it helps feed and diversify the gut microbiome," she adds. Arensberg also points out that "the more diverse" your gut bacteria is, the "better this will be for long-term health."
3. Oats
Fiber-rich oats may already be on your radar when it comes to healthy breakfast food, but did you know that your fave morning dish also can help increase good gut bacteria growth? "Research has found that [oats] can stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria levels," Arensberg says, citing this 2018 study. "This specific bacteria can help reduce inflammation in the body," she concludes. Noted!
