Veggies like onions, garlic, leeks, and asparagus are a good source of prebiotics to boost gut health.

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Scientists have identified 5 of the healthiest foods for your gut — and some are probably already in your kitchen

Story by glandsverk@insider.com (Gabby Landsverk)

Prebiotics are a special type of plant fiber which supports healthy digestion and metabolism.
Good sources of prebiotics include garlic, onions, leeks, and bran cereal, a new study suggests.
Our bodies can’t digest prebiotics, but they feed colonies of helpful bacteria known as the gut microbiome.

You should be eating more prebiotic foods for better digestion, blood sugar control, and nutrient absorption, scientists say – and some of the best options may already be on your grocery list.

Prebiotics are a special type of plant fiber: carbohydrates that our bodies can’t digest, but which feed colonies of beneficial bacteria that live in the gut. While overall dietary fiber is important for health, prebiotics are especially good at helping friendly gut microbes to thrive.

Researchers from San José State University analyzed data on the nutrient content for more than 8,000 different foods to see which were the best sources of prebiotics. Their results were presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22–25 in Boston.

They found that about a third of the foods they studied contained some prebiotics. Foods with the highest concentration of prebiotics are dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichokes (root veggies also known as sunchokes,) leeks, garlic, and onions, providing between 100-240 milligrams of prebiotics per gram of food.

Other good sources of prebiotics in the study were bran cereal, asparagus, and black eyed peas (also called cowpeas), offering about 50-60 milligrams per gram.

Finding common ingredients with a prebiotic boost could help people improve gut health by eating more of foods they’re already familiar with, according to Cassandra Boyd, presenting author of the study and a master’s student at San José State University.

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“Eating in a way to promote microbiome wellness while eating more fiber may be more attainable and accessible than you think,” Boyd said in a press release.

The USDA dietary guidelines recommend about eating about 14 grams of fiber per day for every 1,000 calories you consume, but don’t suggest a specific amount of prebiotics for optimal health.

The current advice from scientists who specialize in the microbiome is to aim for about 5 grams of prebiotics per day — you’d need to eat the equivalent of about half a small onion each day, according to the researchers.

Don’t start chomping on raw onions or garlic just yet, though. The study also found that common prepared versions of these foods, like onion rings, are also a good source of prebiotics. Why people should drink apple cider vinegar daily.

The gut microbiome is crucial for healthy digestion, metabolism, and overall well being

Getting more pre- and probiotics in your diet can help keep the bacteria in your gut balanced and healthy, which can reduce the risk of serious illnesses like bowel cancer.

Eating for a healthy gut can also help you have better digestion and more steady energy throughout the day, thanks to stable blood sugar, dietitians previously told Insider.

Healthy microbes may also be useful for weight management, with evidence suggesting certain bacteria in the gut are linked to lower risk of obesity and related complications.

There’s even some evidence that the gut microbiome plays an important role in mental health, and could someday play a role in helping treat conditions like depression and anxiety. Scientists have identified 5 of the healthiest foods for your gut — and some are probably already in your kitchen (msn.com)

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There have been great advances in food preparation in the last century. These days, well over half of the foods that we can buy in a typical supermarket are pre packaged or prepared. They need either no or minimal preparation before being ready to eat. However, there is a dark side to this convenience. Most of the foods on our shelves also contain chemicals and additives that are known to harm either the human body or laboratory animals. If they harm animals, they can harm you too.

Most of the ingredients that you should avoid fall into one of three areas: food additives, artificial sweeteners and artificial colors. More and more experts are agreeing that it is wise to try to avoid as many chemicals in your foods as possible. By shopping in mostly the produce, dairy and meat sections of your grocery store, you can avoid many of the harmful food additives listed below.

However, all of us need to be on our guard, because some of these ingredients also are used in meats, dairy products and even produce. What does this have to do with Public health? The health of our country is determined by the things we consume. This ultimately adds massive costs to our healthcare system as more and more people experience disease from eating processed foods and additives.

Certainly! Here’s a summary of toxic food ingredients and artificial additives that are recommended to avoid:

Food Additives to Avoid:

Sodium nitrate: Often added to processed meats, it has been linked to cancer.
Sulfites: Can cause breathing difficulties in sensitive individuals.
Azodicarbonamide (ADA): Used in bagels and buns, it can cause asthma.
Potassium bromate: Added to breads, it’s linked to cancer.
Propyl gallate: Found in fat-containing products, it’s linked to cancer.
BHA/BHT: Preservatives that may lead to cancerous tumor growth.
Propylene glycol: Commonly found in dairy products and salad dressings 1.

Artificial Sweeteners to Avoid:

Saccharin: A carcinogen that has been found to cause bladder cancer in rats.
Aspartame: An excitotoxin that may be a carcinogen and cause headaches and dizziness 1.

Artificial Colors to Avoid:

Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3: These can affect development and cause behavioral difficulties in children 2.

It’s important to note that while some of these additives are recognized as safe by the FDA, there are growing concerns about their safety if consumed in large quantities. It’s wise to try to avoid as many chemicals in your foods as possible, and shopping mostly in the produce, dairy, and meat sections of your grocery store can help you do that 1.

For a more comprehensive list, you might want to check out resources like the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Chemicals” which highlights some of the worst offenders on the market 2. Remember, being informed and cautious about what you consume can contribute to better health and well-being.

The devastating health effects of eating too much junk are well known by now. But when it comes to so-called ‘ultra-processed food,’ not all types are created equal. A landmark study published this week found there are seven categories that are considered the most detrimental for your health.

Some of them were probably not a surprise – soda, microwave meals and brightly-colored candy. Others may have been more of a shock: white bread, breakfast bars and ketchup. The reason, says the study, is that these seven food groups have multiple more stages of processing, which adds more synthetic ingredients that have little nutritional benefit and can cause harmful effects in the body.

They also contain more artificial ingredients like colorings and dyes, which have been linked to conditions like hyperactivity and cancer . DailyMail.com has picked several of the most popular foods from these categories to create a startling graphic warning of the most high-risk foods. The latest study was on 100,000 Americans. It lasted over 30 years.

‘We observed strong positive associations between ultra-processed food and mortality outcomes,’ the researchers wrote in the study, published Wednesday in the British Journal of Medicine . The team found that people who ate the most servings of ultra-processed foods – about seven per day – were four percent more likely to die from any cause than those who stuck to three daily servings.

Additionally, they were nine percent more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, and Huntington’s disease. In particular, the biggest culprits were processed meats like deli meat and jerky, dairy-based desserts like ice cream, and convenient breakfast foods like precooked sausage and Pop-Tarts.

The researchers also warned against chips, condiments, snack cakes, and even some breads. Popular chips like Cheetos, Doritos, and Ruffles, for example, get their bright orange coloring from dyes like Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and red 40. Diet Sundrop Soda is also a culprit for containing yellow dyes. States like California , New York, New Jersey , and Missouri have tried to put these dyes on the chopping block because they contain benzidine, a known carcinogen. According to the FDA , ingestion of free benzidine raises the cancer risk to just under the ‘concern’ threshold, or one cancer in 1 million people. The colors are not banned outright in the EU, nor are they banned in the US. But unlike in the US, European authorities must include a warning label that details the risks associated with the dyes.

They have been theorized to exacerbate attentional problems in children, leading EU regulators to mandate that product makers say dyes could cause ‘an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.’ Those who love Twinkies and cereals like Cap’n Crunch will also take in a dose of yellow 5 and 6. Meanwhile, the researchers also flagged processed meats like Oscar Mayer sliced turkey and ham, Hillshire Farm dried salami, and Slim Jims. That’s because these contain nitrates, compounds made from nitrogen and oxygen atoms.

When eaten, nitrates can undergo a reaction that turns them into a substance called N-nitroso chemicals (NOCs). These can damage the cells that line the bowel, the organ that processes your food, which, in turn, can lead to the development of cancer. Several studies have shown a link between them and certain cancers like breast and prostate cancer, and a recent report from the World Health Organization declared processed meat a ‘class one carcinogen,’ which places it alongside smoking and drinking.

The researchers also flagged condiments and dressings, many of which like Heinz Tomato Ketchup contain high-fructose corn syrup. Many experts have said that this artificial sugar is responsible for America’s obesity epidemic . This is because it has been linked to blood sugar spikes, issues controlling appetite, and increased calorie intake. Other sauces and condiments like Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce and Walmart ‘s Great Value Maple Syrup also have high-fructose corn syrup on their ingredient labels. Additionally, a bottle of Coca-Cola is also teeming with it. Meanwhile, dairy-based desserts and certain breads, as well as breakfast picks like Pop-Tarts, also increased the risk of death. These are laden with emulsifiers, synthetic compounds that help hold ingredients like oil and water together.

Some evidence has suggested that eating foods with emulsifiers can lead to adverse health consequences. A Spanish study in mice, for instance, looked at the emulsifiers carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, which are found in thousands of microwave meals, butters, and ice creams. A group of pregnant female mice were given water containing one percent emulsifiers, the maximum allowed by the FDA . Usually, anywhere from 0.25 percent to 0.8 percent is added to food. The team found that the mice’s offspring experienced unintentional weight loss and anxious behaviors at 10 weeks old.

Additionally, male mice were more likely to have weight loss, while females experienced anxiety more often. This is because the emulsifiers disturbed neural connections in the hypothalamus, a brain structure that acts as the body’s control center. The hypothalamus produces leptin, a hormone that makes the body expend more energy, leading to weight loss. And a large French study of 100,000 adults published in The Lancet earlier this month suggested that continued exposure to emulsifiers raised the risk of type 2 diabetes . Additionally, packaged desserts and sweets like Little Debbie’s Zebra Cakes and Teddy Grahams list cornstarch in their ingredients. This is usually used to thicken soups, stews, sauces, and desserts, and hold certain fillings together.

According to the USDA, cornstarch has a high glycemic index, meaning that it can raise blood sugar. Over time, repeated blood sugar spikes have been shown to lead to diabetes and obesity. It’s also a refined carb. One 2020 analysis found that a diet rich in refined carbs was linked to a greater risk of heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. However, the BMJ researchers noted that not all ultra-processed foods should be cut out.

Dr Mingyang Song, lead study author and an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, told CNN : ‘Cereals, whole grain breads, for example, they are also considered ultra processed food, but they contain various beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals.’ ‘On the other hand, I do think people should try to avoid or limit the consumption of certain ultra processed foods, such as processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and also potentially artificially sweetened beverages.’

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While most of us are familiar with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, you may not have come across the term ‘type 3c diabetes’ before.

Type 3 diabetes is a term that has emerged in medical research, and it’s often associated with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s not officially recognized by major health organizations like the American Diabetes Association, but it refers to the hypothesis that Alzheimer’s could be a form of diabetes that affects the brain. This concept stems from observations that patients with Alzheimer’s often exhibit insulin resistance and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) dysfunction in their brain cells 1 2.

The idea is that just as type 2 diabetes can cause insulin resistance in the body, there might be a similar mechanism occurring in the brain that leads to Alzheimer’s, which is why some researchers have proposed calling it type 3 diabetes 2. However, it’s important to note that this is still a theory and more research is needed to fully understand the connection.

In summary, while type 3 diabetes is not an official medical diagnosis, it’s a term used in research to explore the potential link between insulin resistance in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. For official purposes, diabetes is classified into type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes, with another category known as type 3c diabetes mellitus related to pancreatic conditions 2.

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