Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

by William Davis

FOODS RICH IN PREBIOTIC FIBERS The following foods offer lots of grams of prebiotic fiber to feed our friendly microbes. Legumes: Kidney beans, black beans, white beans, other starchy beans, chickpeas, hummus, lentils, and peas are rich sources of galactooligosaccharide, or GOS, a form of prebiotic fiber. Keep servings small, for example, a quarter to half cup that contains no more than 15 grams of net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus fiber) to minimize blood sugar consequences. Hummus and chickpeas provide 8.0 grams of prebiotic fiber per half cup (13.5 grams net carbohydrates). Lentils contain 2.5 grams of prebiotic fiber per half cup (11 grams net carbohydrates). Most beans provide around 3.8 grams of prebiotic fiber per half-cup serving. White beans are the richest source, with twice this quantity (12 grams net carbohydrates per half cup). Green bananas and plantains: And I mean green. Not green-yellow, or a little green at one end, but green. If in doubt, taste it: it should not have any sweetness at all. A medium, seven-inch-long green banana contains 10.9 grams of prebiotic fibers and 0 grams of net carbs in contrast to the high-sugar/high-carb, low-fiber content of a ripe banana. A green banana is tough to peel and virtually inedible, so slice it lengthwise and scoop out the pulp, chop it coarsely, and use in one of the prebiotic smoothie recipes below. Bananas generally stay green for four to five days in the refrigerator, or you can peel, chop, and store ...