Prebiotic Foods: You Should Know These

Prebiotic foods with oligosaccharides

The most important group of prebiotics is the oligosaccharides. These include, for example, oligofructose and inulin.

• You can find oligosaccharides in muesli, dairy products, baked goods, and juices. In most cases, however, they do not come from processed food but are added separately. These usually also contain additives.
• You should avoid foods with added oligosaccharides, as these can cause symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It can also cause bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
• But some foods already contain oligosaccharides in their natural state. These include, for example, chicory, garlic, asparagus, leeks, onions, legumes, and artichokes. So if you want to get oligosaccharides, you should cook with these foods.

Resistant starch prebiotics

Resistant starch differs from ordinary starch in that it cannot be broken down by human digestive enzymes.

• Resistant starch is formed when food that has been previously cooked and contained conventional starch is cooled. When cooling, the food must be in closed containers or covered in the refrigerator. The temperature must not exceed 5 degrees.
• You can obtain resistant starch in potatoes by boiling the potatoes in their skins for about 30 minutes until soft and then cooling them completely. You can then process them either warm or cold.
• Cook the noodles according to the package instructions before letting them cool in the fridge. You can then reheat the pasta or use it cold for cooking.
• To get resistant starch in rice, you need to cook it according to package directions but add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the water.
• Then cool the rice in the fridge for 12 hours and then process it further.