FIND
?
Vegetables - including as wide an array as possible is your best move . Include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli , brussels sprouts , cauliflower and cabbage , robust leafy greens such as spinach , rocket , silverbeet and Asian greens , asparagus , capsicums , root veggies , onions , garlic and leeks .
Legumes , meaning lentils , beans and chickpeas .
By consuming a range of prebiotics , you help to create a diverse , healthy microbiome with lots of different species of microorganisms and no one group dominating .
POLY – WHAT ?
There is another reason to eat an abundance of plant foods and that is for their polyphenols . These are a large group of compounds that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects throughout the body , but for us to optimally benefit we need the involvement of our gut microbiome .
That ’ s because most polyphenols are not absorbed directly by us , but rather , they become nutrients for our friendly gut bugs . They have a prebiotic effect in that they boost the growth of those good bugs , and in the process , they are turned into more bioactive compounds . These bioactive compounds exert their benefit in the gut or are absorbed and have positive effects elsewhere in the body , including the brain .
© Dietitian Connection 29 Infuse | February 2022