- Dr. Leena Hilakivi-Clarke is a nutrition and microbiome expert.
- Cooling carbohydrates, she says, turns them into “microbiome-accessible carbohydrates,” which are gut superfoods.
- Here are her favorite food recipes to promote gut health.
Some carbohydrates can be essential for gut health. First you need to cool them down.
When you cook starches such as rice, potatoes, and quinoa and cool them in the refrigerator,resistant starch”, a type of dietary fiber also known as microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, or MACs. MAC is especially good for gut health.
Consuming MAC “enables your gut bacteria to produce a variety of metabolites that help your body, help your immune system, and help your cells’ metabolic pathways,” says Leena Hirakibi-Clark, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Food and Nutrition. Stated. Science at the University of Minnesota.
“If you eat plain rice or pasta, you’re consuming more carbohydrates that aren’t very good for you,” says Hirakivi-Clark. But chilling carbohydrates for several hours “changes their content in a way that makes them more accessible to the microbiome.”
You can reheat food that has been cooled and still benefit from MAC.
Hilakivi-Clark shared her favorite gut-healthy recipes with Insider so you, too, can get MACs in your diet.
Dr. Hilakivi-Clark’s favorite gut-healthy quinoa
Cook 1 cup of quinoa with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of salt and 2 cups of water.
1 can of Trader Joe’s Greek Chickpeas with Parsley and Cumin
Finely chop half a large red onion
Trader Joe’s Norikomi Japanese All-Purpose Seasoning 1.5 tbsp
1 tablespoon black garlic
1-2 cups fresh chopped cabbage
1/4 small fresh chili pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fermented cabbage (with garlic)
Cook the quinoa 24 hours in advance. Chill in the refrigerator for a day, then reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Chilling quinoa can turn it into resistant starch, a type of MAC.
Gather the remaining ingredients and mix. Hilakivi-Clark also recommends adding organic meat or fish. She said she often eats quinoa with flavorful shrimp.
Her recipes also include other health-promoting ingredients. Chickpeas are a good source of dietary fiber, which is essential for gut health, says Hirakivi-Clark. Half a cup of chickpeas contains over 6 grams of fiber.
Adding organic meat, fish, or shrimp adds protein. Shrimp contains 23 grams of protein in a 3-ounce serving.
Cabbage fermented with garlic is also great. Intestine-friendly ingredients. Insider previously reported that fermented foods like cabbage contain probiotics, which are live bacteria that help digestive microbes.
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