Choose the fiber that best cares for your microbiota

We have spent a lot of time trying to eliminate bacteria from the environment, even from the body. Until we understood, thanks to studies that link pathologies such as obesity and diabetes with the gut microbiota diminished, that the microbiota can play a fundamental role in the health-disease balance.

One of the keys when it comes to protecting this microbiota and preventing it from being diminished is the fiber intake, but not of any fiber: only that which serves as food for intestinal bacteria. Knowing what type of fiber and how it works will help you strengthen your intestinal flora and improve your health in many ways.

Fiber, a good food for your intestinal flora

To understand it, we must first take into account how our intestine works. This organ is the castle wall, decides what enters and what does not, and defends us from the wicked. And the soldiers are the microbiota, which helps the immune system.

Holes can be opened in this wall; is what we know as intestinal hyperpermeability. Enterocytes – the cells that line the intestinal wall – are linked to each other by tight junctionswhich would be the “staples”.

Some substances encourage these staples to break down and open holes in the intestine, which ends up affecting its wall function and the immune system, and causes a inflammatory answer.

Some of these substances are peptides, chunks of poorly digested protein such as gluten, cow’s milk protein… When the wall is “broken”, the intestinal flora is also affected, since the microbiota resides on top of the mucous layer of the intestinal wall. It is important to promote the growth of the bacteria that compose it to prevent or reverse this process, but how?

One of the ways is through food that is not absorbed in the small intestine, as it becomes the food of colon bacteria. This is what happens with fiber, a type of carbohydrate that the human body cannot digest because it lacks the necessary enzymes to do so.

The main source of dietary fiber They are foods of plant origin: vegetables, fruits, cereals and seeds. They must be natural, because those enriched with fiber are useless. In addition, we must take into account the food in its entirety, and also value the way of cooking it.

Fiber not only feeds the microbiota, but also has many other benefitsamong them:

reduces intestinal transit time and increases stool volume improves constipation most are fermentable by colon flora reduces cholesterol absorption in the intestines and blood cholesterol decreases glucose absorption in the intestine

Learn to distinguish the different types of fiber

Long ago there was talk of soluble and insoluble fiber, but these terms are changing and now there is more talk of fermentable and non-fermentable fiber. In general, the soluble is more fermentable, although there are some that are not soluble as well. Let’s see the differences between each other:

1. Soluble fibers

They dissolve in water and, in contact with it, form a viscous gel that slows intestinal transit, maintains the feeling of satiety and increases water absorption.

Gums, pectins, mucilages or beta-glucans They are soluble fiber.

2. Insoluble fibers

They do not dissolve in water and partially ferment in the large intestine. By retaining water and not dissolving, they form a slightly viscous mixture that increases the volume of feces and accelerates intestinal transit.

The lignins and the cellulose they are of this type.

3. More or less fermentable

The fermentable fibers are those that bacteria use as food: transform it and produce beneficial substances for our body. They can be slightly fermentable, partially fermentable or highly fermentable:

Little fermentable: ferments less than 10%, for example lignin and cellulose.Partially fermentable: ferments up to 70%, as is the case of some celluloses, gum agar-agar and the mucilage of the seed of psyllium.Very fermentable: fermented in more than 70%, such as pectins, resistant starch, some gums and also hemicelluloses.

Fermentable fibers one by one: include them in your menu!

Most insoluble fibers are not fermentable. Bacteria must be fed with soluble, fermentable and insoluble, but fermentable fibers. Let’s see them one by one:

1. Resistant starch

Our first fermentable fiber is resistant starch, so named because it resists digestion.

Starch is the energy store of potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other tubers. Also of the green banana and the male. It is not absorbed in the small intestine and passes directly to the large intestine, which is why it is excellent for the microbiota.

There are four types of resistant starch:

Indigestible (type 1): it is protected by the plant cell walls of legumes, seeds and cereals.Indigestible (type 2): due to its high amylose content. Raw potatoes and green plantains are rich in this type of starch, which can be digested if cooked at high temperatures.Retrograded starch (type 3): It is formed when certain starches are heated and cooled. It is the one that brings us the most benefits.Modified starch (type 4): of chemical origin; it is not in nature.

In general, foods contain different percentages of the first three types of resistant starch. It is also important to consider how starchy foods are cooked, prepared, and processed, since the The way in which food is prepared varies its content..

The major sources of resistant starch are the potato, the sweet potato and the rice. Legumes and barley are also advisable, but only if the intestine is in good condition, as they can irritate it.

The best: the baked potato in the oven whole, with skin and then cooled. At the moment we want to use it, we peel it, cut it up, heat it up and eat it. With long grain rice we also get good resistant starch.

2. Mucilage

They are found in flax seeds, chia seeds, algae, plantago… All of them provide a type of fiber with a high degree of fermentabilityideal for feeding our bacteria.

To get a good dose, you can try the chia pudding: in a glass of warm oat drink add a tablespoon of chia seeds, a little unsweetened cocoa, cinnamon and stir well. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour so that the chia can release all its mucilages and that these become substances available to the microbiota. It will soothe your intestinal mucosa.

The decoction with flax seeds It can also be interesting, both to improve the quality of the intestinal flora and to promote intestinal transit. Add 1 tablespoon of seeds to a cup of cold water, take it to the fire and let it boil for about 7 minutes. Remove the foam that has formed, turn off the heat and let it rest for 7 minutes. Strain and drink warm.

If you add dried licorice and a few slices of ginger to the flax decoction, you will also have an effective soothing intestinal and stomach mucosa.

They are also ideal algae to put in broths and creams. And the agar-agar to make jellies are high doses of fermentable fiber.

3. Fructans

They are source of fructans foods like the chicory root, onions marinated in vinegar, asparagus, artichokes, some fruits…

However, it is also common to find them in supplement form. In fact, in many probiotic supplements we find this type of fiber with the acronym FOS (inulin and fructooligosaccharides).

It is not a type of fruit suitable for everyone. Fructans can cause gas and tummy aches if our flora is not used to them. In situations of bacterial overgrowth, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of foods with this fiber, because they cause serious discomfort.

4. Betaglucans

The oatmeal It is one of the main sources.

If you consume oats to feed your microbiota, it is important to take into account that it is oats certified gluten-freeas this intestinal irritant spoils the quality of the intestinal wall and promotes hyperpermeability.

5. Galactooligosaccharides

We find these fibers especially in the legumes.

Now, if our microbiota is not used to it, they cause gas and flatulencebecause they are fibers that we do not digest or absorb.

So that you feel better, soak the legumes for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 24 hours, with a change of water at 12 hours, to eliminate anti-nutrient substances and make them more digestible.

6. Pectins

The fruits in general (grape, banana, kiwi…) are rich in pectins, but not all are the same and not all of us take advantage of them in the same way. For example, raw apples are not the same as cooked apples or citrus pectin.

The pectin that most favors the work of the bacteria is the one we obtain when cooking the apple, that is, when consuming applesauce or other forms of cooked apple.

Make compote by cooking the apple steamed, with little water and with the skin. Then crush it with the water so as not to lose the fiber, since much of it dissolves in it.

Other ways to care for the microbiota

In addition to using fiber to grow, intestinal bacteria feed on polyphenols, polyalcohols, proteins, lipids, organic acids… found in food. Keeping this in mind and some basic care will also help you keep it in good condition:

Take polyphenols: these antioxidants favor the growth of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. They are found in green tea, apples, cocoa, blueberries…More fermented foods: Fermented foods not only bring bacteria to the intestine, but are also rich in organic acids that they use to form short-chain fatty acids, which are very beneficial for the body. Kombucha generates, for example, acetic and gluconic acid; sauerkraut and kefir, lactic acid; and umeboshi, citric acid.Do not attack your bacterial flora: To take care of our microbiota, we must also remove irritants such as gluten, sugar, dairy products, antibiotics, alcohol, ultra-processed foods… These, in one way or another, spoil the intestinal integrity, the mucosa or the intestinal flora.Give variety: Remember that a baked pumpkin or a refrigerated potato is not the same as cereals enriched with bran, since they do not have the same benefits. In addition, the microbiota works together and the more variety of fiber-rich foods we eat, the more variety of bacteria we will get.