Prebiotic Foods in Season This Fall: Boost Your Gut Naturally
One of the things that I love about the seasons is that they all have their own unique pace, and one of the things this time of year that I look forward to is slowing down after the growing/ fruiting season. One of the practices that I like to do around this time is reflect where my harmonies are, or where they went out of whack. Something that fall always brings back into perspective is balance and rest (or lack there was in the summer).
That it's time to move a bit slower, be in the sun when you can, rest when the light tells you to, start getting nestled in for the cooler months to come. Reflecting on the busy growing, hustle and bustle season and look at everything you've learned, unlearned and accomplished, or maybe didn't get around too.
Food wise, in this season we are moving away from light salads, light meals and moving into heavier foods. The season of apples, root veggies, and gourds. Hunting season is right around the corner. The wild mushrooms are coming into abundance. We can start to see these heavier foods come in, and we can start noticing in ourselves that we are craving warmer, more dense foods.
Wherever you are in the world, eating with the seasons is something that all creatures do. This gets the body ready for the season to come, and the months ahead. If you take a look at the available foods in season right now, one of the connecting points between them all is that they are all high starchy foods, vs the summer's low or non starchy foods.
Starchy foods contain more calories and more carbs in their content. They contain about 3-4 times more carbs than non starchy foods. Due to this high carb content, they contain 3-6 times more calories in their content as well. This is a good thing! The foods coming out at this time are helping you get ready for the colder/ darker season to come.
These starchy foods are what we would call a prebiotic as they contain a type of starch known as resistant starch. Prebiotics are foods that feed the already existing bacteria in our gut. This means that the food doesn't break down in the small intestine, but is broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. When the bacteria in your gut break down these foods, they produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate, and propionate.
These short chain fatty acids have a wide range of impact on the body. Besides just feeding beneficial bacteria, they improve the gut lining and leaky gut, help the immune system, improve blood sugar balance, aid in removing excess cholesterol, and hormones. They also help with constipation, mood, memory and support the communication between the gut brain axis. They also help you feel satiated after meals as opposed to snacking after 45 minutes because you are still hungry.
Here are some easy prebiotics rich foods that you can add into your diet this fall.
Root veggies galore!
These are the stars of the show when it comes to starch. Carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes (when cooled and then eaten) contain high amounts of resistant starch. Beets and turnips support the detox pathways in the liver. Carrots are rich in antioxidants that help to lower inflammation. Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium, and potassium helps with fluid balance in the body, nerve function, and blood pressure.
There are a million and one ways to get these veggies into your diet. Soups and stews are an easy meal with the cooler nights coming in or roasting them up with a lot of herbs can be a great way to also have them.
Apples are a fall classic that truly cant be ignored.
Apples are rich in pectin (which is mostly found in the skin). Pectin is a soluble fibre shown to increase bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus. These are the good bacteria that we want to feed! Pectin fermentation produces short chain fatty acids like butyrate, which fuels the cells of your colon and strengthens the gut lining. So if you are someone who deals with a leaky gut, apples are your friend.
Stewed apples with cinnamon are a great way to use up apples. Pair stewed apples with greek yogurt, topped with nuts and seeds or juts enough by itself!
Squashes - a staple that is a no brainer when you think about fall.
There are so many varieties of squash like butternut, spaghetti, acorn, and delicata (just to name a few) that it is easy to find one that you like to add into your meal rotation. They are rich in soluble fibre that supports regularity without irritation. They also provide beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A and helps maintain a strong gut lining and immune system. So if your lower tract needs a bit of soothing, this could be the food family for you.
I love making making stuffed acorn squashes in the fall, or when the days are still a bit warm and you are feeling like something a bit more fresh adding raw delicata squash to harvest bowls or salads.
Its amazing when you take a moment and look at the season you are in, wherever you are, and the foods that are flourishing at this time. If you look at this connection, you can see how the seasons are helping to preparing us to move into the next phase.
We are a part of nature and not separate from it and its rhythm. In turn, learning to tune into this rhythm can also help us become more aligned with what we need in our diets and lifestyle,( while also strengthening a connection to the natural world around you). I would say that is a win - win.
