Prebiotic foods do they make your gut healthier
or not? If you have IBS should you be eating more
or less? If you're following a low FODMAP diet
is there certain types you should have? You should you
not have any, it's very confusing in this video,
I'm going to attempt to explain what you should
do and what it all means in plain English as I can.
My name is Joe Leech, I'm a gut health dietitian
myself and my team we help our clients reverse
resolve their digestive issues and eat with
confidence again. So if you have digestive
problems, you're feeling confused about how
to eat this video is for you particularly. If
you're looking at fiber and Prebiotic foods
and you know, and then you've been following
a low FODMAP diet or you were told to do it and
you just not sure what's going on. I'm going
to clarify it for you in this video. And if you
stay until the end, I have an opportunity for
you to get a free guide about how to nurture your
microbiome, your gut microbiome particularly if
you have chronic digestive issue. Okay, so
we know that having a diverse and balanced and
healthy gut microbiome is really important
for our health. Not just Digestive Health like
every aspect of Health, even our mental health
experts will all agree on that fact. Now a large
portion of your gut microbiome is made of bacteria,
okay? Good and bad bacteria prebiotics are
the food that that bacteria eats they fermented
but we could say they consume or they eat that food.
So the prebiotics are the food for particularly
the good bacteria to to eat and to thrive. Otherwise,
they do die off. So prebiotics are typically good,
We want to eat a diet high in Prebiotic foods
and in a variety of Prebiotic Foods. These are
typically found in high fiber plant based foods.
So that's why you know, you're always told to eat vegetables.
That's one of the reasons that good for you fruits,
nuts, seeds, legumes, Etc and just an FYI not to
be mixed up with Probiotics...Pro with an O they
are good or believed to be beneficial bacteria.
You are consuming as you're consuming the
bacteria itself to hopefully live and thrive
in your gut. The Prebiotic P-R-E prebiotics are
the food that the bacteria or the probiotics
would eat to grow and thrive. So just to distinguish them.
Now, here’s the big problem, Prebiotic foods
are typically high in FODMAP compounds. And
those are the things that we’ve been told to eliminate
right or if you have IBS or you know, many many
different digestive symptoms. It's like will
follow a low FODMAP, you know, you need to eliminate
these foods that are triggering your issues.
And the reality is a lot of these prebiotics
are HIGH FODMAP the biggest ones. Well, some of the
most common ones are garlic and onion. Okay,
the they’re high, they're good. They're they're easily
fermented and that's part of the problem. If
you're sensitive to those compounds particularly
the fructans in this instance garlic and
onion and you consume them they're going
to react now in someone who wasn't sensitive
that that reaction is good. You're feeding
good bacteria and you’re not having these awful
symptoms and it's good for your health in someone
who is sensitive though has severe IBS for example,
and is really sensitive to those compounds
which happen to be in a Prebiotic food. Then
it is not good for you at that current time doesn't
mean it will has to remain that way forever and
that you have to eliminate them forever. But
that is where the confusion lies. It's because
some people be telling you to eat and some people
be telling you not to what they're missing is
the context of you what you're sensitive to
what your symptoms are where you are along your
journey of resolving your food intolerance.
And so when you're getting information, that's
out of context, you're going to get overwhelmed and confused.
This is what I always try to tell clients. That's
why it seems so confusing if you have someone
who can give you information as you need it based on you.
In your situation and where you are at on your
journey, then it becomes much more simple.
Okay, take a breath so you can see that a low FODMAP
diet for example, or having IBS and then having
a healthy high fiber diet with lot of Prebiotic Foods.
They kind of butt heads are at certain stages
particularly in the beginning now, that doesn't
mean that if you're feeling low FODMAP has to
be awful for your gut health low fiber. No Prebiotic
fibers at all. That's not good. We don't
you don't want to be super restrictive like
that and minimizing all the fiber and prebiotics
for a long period of time. We're finding now in studies.
If you do the low FODMAP diet and really eliminate
and never re-challenge and do it properly and
get out of the FODMAP diet the elimination phase
that it's it's having negative outcomes for
your gut microbiome long-term. So, you absolutely
do want to do the full diet properly and get guidance
on how to actually re-challenge foods and
expand your diet, but in terms of what I'm talking
about here, you can still eat Prebiotic Foods
on a low FODMAP diet. You just need to
be specific about the ones in the quantity.
So you want to be particularly thinking about
potatoes with skin on, whole grain rice, broccoli
to an extent, some nuts and seeds, strawberries
and even cabbage as well. And you might be thinking
but like some of those things are HIGH FODMAP. I read it.
It's not a NO FODMAP diet. It's low FODMAP. We're
lowering those problem compounds to a point
where you should be, you know not having many symptoms.
Then we re-challenge them. Then once you've
gut the inflammation goes down and things start
to settle down chances are you can re-challenge
those things you're sensitive to and bring
them back into your diet and eat freely again.
So, when I say some of those foods that you've
seen on HIGH FODMAP list, it's the quantity that matters.
They’re not NO FODMAP they’re low FODMAP.
If you eat a few broccoli heads, it's good
source of prebiotics and it's so low in FODMAPs
that you shouldn't get symptoms. If you eat
a whole head of broccoli and you do at lunch and
dinner every day. It's going to start stacking
up and it becomes HIGH FODMAP. All right, so
the context is important of how much you're having.
What's the size of the quantity of you're serving? Okay.
Anyway, was that useful? I hope that was useful.
So I tried to do it in plain English. Let me try
to quickly summarize prebiotics feed the the
good fiber the good bacteria in your gut. Okay,
so they're good for you. However, those who
have severe IBS if you're following a low FODMAP
diet protocol, you might inadvertently be
reducing these prebiotics because you're
going low FODMAP and there's a lot of overlap
there now, you don't ideally don't want to reduce them long-term.
It's okay. In the beginning when you're following
the low FODMAP diet, but just know that you do
want to actually be methodical about your diet
and you're not just cutting things out and that's it.
The end you want to reintroduce things back
in because the prebiotics are necessary for
you to have a healthy gut microbiome, which
has many health implications its thought so
you saw its context specific. Okay, so you need
to do. This is why you need individual guidance
If you're struggling with it, you're not sure
not sure if you're feeling well or not. You're
not sure if you're doing the right thing or not.
The context is so important and it differs between individuals.
But you know, I've tried to explain it as best.
I could I hope that helps if you have any questions,
let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed this
give it a thumb up or a heart actually. Have a
free guide for you as well. It's about what to
eat for your microbiome to really nurture that or
try to have a balanced microbiome whilst you
are following a low FODMAP diet or trying to
manage your digestive issues. So if you would
like that just comment “MICROBIOME GUIDE” in
the comments “MICROBIOME GUIDE”and I can send
it to you. If you want to be private you can you
can direct message me “MICROBIOME GUIDE” and
I can send it to you then.