Prebiotics are not digested by the human body but they serve as a source of food for the intestinal bacteria that reside there and thus contribute to the good health of the microbiota.
One hundred trillion bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea live in the intestines of humans and form the microbiota whose role in health is increasingly investigated. Suspected of modulating the immune response, participating in good cardiovascular health or even affecting our mood, these organisms, also called probiotics, need to feed themselves, this is the role of prebiotics provided by food. At the congress of the American Society for Nutrition, which is being held in Boston (USA) from July 22 to 25, 2023, Cassandra Boyd from the State University of San José presented a meta-analysis reviewing the content of 8690 foods in order to determine the richest in prebiotics.
The best foods to nourish your microbiota
The results indicate that dandelion greens (which can be eaten in salads or cooked) contain the most. Just behind, we find Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, leek and onion, with for these five quantities varying between 100 and 240 mg of prebiotics per gram. Even if it is in last place in this ranking, the onion seems to be the most interesting food since all its raw and cooked derivatives such as "Onion ring" or cream still contain good amounts of prebiotics (between 50 and 60 mg per gram).
So do asparagus, cowpea (a legume eaten in sub-Saharan Africa), and some fiber-enriched breakfast cereals. Based on these data, it appears that the daily consumption of half an onion provides five grams of prebiotics, which is the amount recommended by the authors of the analysis. As for the foods least rich in prebiotics, we find those made from wheat, dairy products, oils, eggs and meats.
The researchers hope their work will provide a foundation to help other scientists assess the health effects of prebiotics in order to promulgate better public health recommendations. They caution, however, that more research is needed to better understand the impact of cooking on prebiotic content and to assess foods with multiple ingredients.
undigested food
For prebiotics to fulfill their role as "fuel" for intestinal bacteria, they must reach the large intestine without being digested by human enzymes. This is mainly the case of complex carbohydrates contained in dietary fibers such as polysaccharides or oligosaccharides. Arrived in the colon, they are this time digested by the bacteria of the microbiota which degrade them into short-chain fatty acids which have beneficial properties for the body.
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