An Apple or a Green-ish Banana a Day! Or Maybe a Jerusalem Artichoke?

Ann is blogging today. Andy, believe it or not, is over in OurLittleCorner mulling over some cartoons from his childhood.

Is it wrong that I’ve been cooking for fifty-eight years and blogging about food for seven years – and yet don’t know what a Jerusalem Artichoke looks like, much less tastes like?

And is it wrong that a number of years ago Andy and I quit eating bananas – except on rare occasions – and seldom eat a whole apple, peel-on?

Maybe it’s even wrong that I’ve spent lots of hours researching PROBIOTICS when I should have been learning about PREBIOTICS.

Food is just so complicated. And so important. Here’s some of what I’ve learned about prebiotics – as well as Jerusalem Artichokes and bananas and apples:

The University of Massachusets Chan Medical School site explains Probiotics and Prebiotics this way:

As you may know, probiotics are beneficial bacteria, and can be found in foods with live bacterial cultures such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and kefir.  They are also available in supplement form. Prebiotics are foods for the probiotics to feed upon. When the bacteria are fed what they need, they can thrive and provide us with health benefits.

Fortunately, what the good bacteria like also happens to be good for us!  These foods contain types of fiber such as beta-glucans and inulin that the bacteria feed upon. They metabolize these fibers into products that help to maintain our gastrointestinal health.  No need to buy any type of pill!  Food is best.

There’s still a lot of research being done to determine exactly how food sources for your gut microbiota work, but here are a few things we know prebiotics do, according to The Cleveland Clinic:

• Improve how well your immune system functions.
• Enhance your body’s anti-inflammatory response.
• Help your bones mineralize and absorb calcium and phosphorus, which can improve bone density.
• Stimulate your body to make hormones that aid in appetite, appetite suppression and more.
• Produce neurotransmitters that go back and forth between your gut and your brain to trigger mood changes and other processes.
• Help regulate bowel movements.
• Increase production of good bacteria and decrease bad bacteria that causes disease.

There are many kinds of prebiotics, but three of the most common are found in resistant starches, inulin and pectin. To help you out when you’re grocery shopping, be advised that GREEN bananas have lots of resistant starches; an abundance of resistant starches are also found in boiled (not roasted) potatoes, oats, beans and lentils. For inulin, you can try Jerusalem Artichokes, but I recommend leeks, onion, garlic, and asparagus. You’ll get pectin from the peel-on apples.

If you’re interested in more scientific specifics about prebiotics, the National Institute of Health has this helpful article.

In case you’re wondering: Andy and I quit eating bananas because we decided they were “empty calories.” That’s clearly wrong. And we quit eating unpeeled apples because we thought we were protecting ourselves from contaminants on the peel, even though organic apples should be safe. And, admittedly, I don’t like the often-bland long-shelf-life commercial apples. I just planted an heirloom Black Twig apple. I’ll report back…after I eat an unpeeled one.

Now that apples and bananas to snack on have re-entered our lives, I’m also looking for recipes that increase the amount of other prebiotics in our diet. We’ve got a winner recipe today…filled with barley, garlic, mushrooms, leeks, and dandelion greens.