Sources
Traditional dietary sources of prebiotics include soybeans, inulin sources (such as Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, and chicory root), raw oats, unrefined wheat, unrefined barley, and yacon. Some of the oligosaccharides that naturally occur in breast milk are believed to play an important role in the development of a healthy immune system in infants.
It is becoming more common to properly distinguish between prebiotic substances and the food that contains them. References to almonds, honey and other foods (most commonly in promotional materials from growers or producers of those foods) as "a prebiotic" are not accurate. No plant or food is a prebiotic; wheat, honey and many other foods contain prebiotics to a greater or lesser extent, ranging from fairly large portions (chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke) to only trace quantities (thousands of other plant-based foods). Referring to a food as "a prebiotic" is no more accurate than calling a food "a vitamin".
| Top 10 Foods Containing Prebiotics | |
|---|---|
| Food | Prebiotic Fiber Content by Weight |
| Raw Chicory Root | 64.6% |
| Raw Jerusalem Artichoke | 31.5% |
| Raw Dandelion Greens | 24.3% |
| Raw Garlic | 17.5% |
| Raw Leek | 11.7% |
| Raw Onion | 8.6% |
| Cooked Onion | 5% |
| Raw Asparagus | 5% |
| Raw Wheat bran | 5% |
| Whole Wheat flour, Cooked | 4.8% |
| Raw Banana | 1% |
| Source | |
While there is no broad consensus on an ideal daily serving of prebiotics, recommendations typically range from 4 to 8 grams (0.14–0.28 oz) for general digestive health support, to 15 grams (0.53 oz) or more for those with active digestive disorders. Given an average 6 grams (0.21 oz) serving, below are the amounts of prebiotic foods required to achieve a daily serving of prebiotic fiber:
| Food | Amount of food to achieve 6 g serving of prebiotics |
|---|---|
| Raw Chicory Root | 9.3 g (0.33 oz) |
| Raw Jerusalem Artichoke | 19 g (0.67 oz) |
| Raw Dandelion Greens | 24.7 g (0.87 oz) |
| Raw Garlic | 34.3 g (1.21 oz) |
| Raw Leek | 51.3 g (1.81 oz) |
| Raw Onion | 69.8 g (2.46 oz) |
| Cooked Onion | 120 g (4.2 oz) |
| Raw Asparagus | 120 g (4.2 oz) |
| Raw Wheat Bran | 120 g (4.2 oz) |
| Whole Wheat Flour, Cooked | 125 g (4.4 oz) |
| Raw Banana | 600 g (1.3 lb) |
| Source | |
Those wishing to ensure sufficient prebiotic intake should carefully consider the prebiotic content of their diet, as well as what caloric/nutritive load comes along with it: e.g., eating 600 grams (1.3 lb) of bananas daily is likely to provide an excess of calories and sugars/carbohydrates to the diet. Prebiotic fiber supplements with minimal caloric/fat/sugar load are also available.
Prebiotic oligosaccharides are increasingly added to foods for their health benefits. Some oligosaccharides that are used in this manner are fructooligosaccharides (FOS), xylooligosaccharides (XOS), polydextrose, and galactooligosaccharides (GOS). Moreover disaccharids like lactulose or some monosaccharides such as tagatose are also used sometimes as prebiotics.
Also in petfood, mannooligosaccharides are being used for prebiotic purposes.
Genetically engineering plants for the production of inulins has also become more prevalent, despite the still limited insight into the immunological mechanisms activated by such food supplementation.
Read more about this topic: Prebiotic (nutrition)
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