Fruit and vegetables that support the microbiome

Fruit and vegetables which support the microbiome - bananas, garlic, fennel, apples, asparagus, leeks, onions, linseeds (flax seeds), and pak choi. The Microbiome consists of a variety of microbes that live in the gut in their trillions. The contribution it makes to general health is becoming increasingly appreciated. Apart from pills there are two methods of supporting good bacteria in the gut. The first is probiotics which aim to introduce live bacteria into the gut, for example, by eating food such as yogurt or kefir. The second is prebiotics, which consist largely of fruit and vegetables which contain inulin and plant fibres. These fibres pass undigested through the digestive tract to the large intestine where the bulk of the microbiome lives. Here the microbes react with the plant fibres in a manner which contributes to a healthy gut.