That's Bananas! Foods often cited as high in prebiotics may not actually be good choices.

Nov. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Many feel folks should just get prebiotics from "healthy foods." We agree that's an ideal situation - but think most folks don't realize how difficult that is to achieve!

So here's a good list of the most prebiotic-rich foods there are. If you can't get prebiotics from these, it just gets harder and harder, right?

Even here there are some amazing variations: Did you know that bananas contain 1% prebiotic (1g / 100g) while chicory root contains about 65% prebiotic! Wow!

Top Foods Containing Prebiotics

1. Raw Chicory root: 64.6% prebiotic fiber by weight
2. Raw Jerusalem artichoke: 31.5% prebiotics by weight
          (NOTE: Jerusalem artichoke is NOT the common green globe artichoke)
3. Raw Dandelion greens: 24.3% prebiotic fiber by weight
4. Raw Garlic: 17.5% prebiotics by weight
5. Raw Leek: 11.7% prebiotic fiber by weight
6. Raw Onion: 8.6% prebiotics by weight
7. Cooked Onion: 5% prebiotic fiber by weight
8. Raw Asparagus: 5% prebiotics by weight
9. Raw Wheat bran: 5% prebiotic fiber by weight
10. Whole Wheat flour, baked: 4.8% prebiotics by weight
11. Raw Banana: 1% prebiotic fiber by weight.

Now, don't forget that these are percentages. (Or think of it as grams/100grams.) So if bananas have 1% prebiotics by weight and you eat 100g of banana, you get 1g of prebiotics.

Perhaps more importantly, these ratios can be used to calculate real-world examples of how much food you must eat to get your daily prebiotics.

Most Americans get about 2g of prebiotics a day from diet - mostly from wheat. Most food authorities suggest a MINIMUM of 4g a day, with many suggesting 8g a day or even more.

If we set 6g a day as a "good" level to reach and recast the list to show how many grams you'd need to eat of each food to get that 6g daily dose of prebiotics:

Amount of Prebiotic Foods Required to achieve a Daily Serving of Prebiotic Fiber

1. Raw Chicory root: 9.3g (about 1/3 oz)
2. Raw Jerusalem artichoke: 19g (3/4 oz)
3. Raw Dandelion greens: 24.7g (Just under 1 oz.)
4. Raw Garlic: 34.3g (1.2 oz - make sure you have some mouthwash handy!)
5. Raw Leek: 51.3 g (1.8 oz)
6. Raw Onion: 69.8g (2.5oz)
7. Cooked Onion: 120g (1/4 pound)
8. Raw Asparagus: 120g (1/4 pound)
9. Raw Wheat bran: 120g (1/4 pound)
10. Whole Wheat flour, baked: 125g (1/4 pound)
11. Raw Banana: 600g (1.3 pounds)

Remember, except where specified, these are RAW foods. You can't down a bowl of french onion soup, steam up your asparagus or count leeks in your stir-fry at these same levels of prebiotic content.

Also, the prebiotic content cited includes oligofructose AND inulin. Though often cited as a prebiotic when sold as a supplement, Inulin alone does not impact the entire colon. A full-spectrum prebiotic such as Prebiotin (http://www.prebiotin.com) containing the same oligofructose and inulin as natural plant sources, is required for maximum benefit.

So even with the world's richest sources of prebiotics, you must watch carefully that you get enough prebiotics without "overdoing" it on other dietary factors like carbs, calories, etc... We can't imagine eating 1/4 pound of wheat flour or over a pound of bananas is a good daily dietary element for anyone - even if it means you're "getting" your prebiotics!

Some simple math can help you make wise choices: Bananas are 1% prebiotic fiber, 22% sugars... No harm in eating a banana, but not exactly a viable source for getting enough prebiotics.

So when folks count out prebiotics fiber supplements such as Prebiotin (http://www.prebiotin.com) as an option, we rather think it's not fully thought through.

There is also simple dietary reality. we can't envision somone regularly eating 1/4 pound of cooked onions or raw asparagus on a daily basis.

Now, we realize many folks already eat a low fat, high fiber diet and feel like they should be getting "enough" prebiotics through food along. But the fact remains, unless you chew on Chicory Root, plate up a Dandelion Green salad or chow down on Jerusalem Artichoke... every day.

Even a health-conscious diet that's very plant driven, may not yield enough prebiotics without taking a full-spectrum prebiotics fiber supplement, such as Prebiotin (http://www.prebiotin.com) every day.

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