Tag: gut health

Green Banana Flour

This week’s post is about Green Banana flour.

It’s relatively new to Australia, but it’s already getting a lot of attention due to its many health benefits.

What is it?

Banana flour is a powder made from un-ripe (green) bananas. Historically, banana flour has been used in Africa and Jamaica as early as the 1900’s, as a cheaper alternative to wheat flour. The flour is generally produced using green bananas that are peeled, chopped, dried, and then ground.

Is Banana flour healthy?

The flour is gluten free, high in potassium, magnesium, dietary fibre and vitamin E. It is now often used as a gluten-free replacement for wheat flours. It is also one of the richest sources of resistance starch in the world.

However, not all resistant starches are made equal. Of the handful of foods that contain resistant starch, the quantity is low and it can be destroyed through cooking or it comes from genetically modified sources. The cooking process does not destroy the resistant starch in the banana flour.

In 2013 Robert Watkins, a Queensland Banana Farmer, discovered the richest source of resistant starch in a variety of bananas known as Lady Fingers. While regular bananas (they must be green) consumed by the mass market such as Cavendish still contain resistant starch, they only contain approximately half the amount found in Lady Fingers.

The starchy unripe Lady Finger bananas are also low in sugar. As a result, the milled flour can help people better control their blood glucose. It also provides a range of digestive benefits, making it a powerful new gut health ingredient. Nutritional studies in the area of resistant starches have revealed enzyme-resistant starches produce important metabolites in the colon. These metabolites appear to have important biological effects, which can lead to improved physical and mental health.

Health benefits

The flour contains 3 different fibres

– Resistant starch, a fermentable fibre
– Inulin, soluble fibre and
– Dietary Fibre or insoluble fibre

These fibres work like a prebiotic. When the fibres enter your digestive system they encourage production of digestive enzymes that nourish the good gut bacteria and in turn heals your gut.

These fibres also increase the absorption and capacity of antioxidants and minerals. They improve colon health and aide in the prevention of colon cancer. Together the fibres also aide in the treatment of diabetes, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a well as reduce the incidence of gallstones.
Resistant starch can also assist with weight loss, as you feel quite full after consuming a small amount. Resistant Starch in this form also increases metabolism and removes aflatoxins and inflammation. (Sources – www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.naturalevolutionfoods.com.au www.wikipedia.org   www.thesourcebulkfoods.com.au )

Repurposed “waste”

There is approximately 500 tonne of Lady Finger bananas going to waste every week in Australia. This is due to being considered ‘unsuitable’ according to supermarket guidelines. The fruit are perfectly good for eating and packed full of nutrients yet “unwanted” by the supermarket giants because they were too straight, too bendy, too big or too small.

Rather than disposing of the tonnes of “waste” bananas, Robert Watkins developed a manufacturing process to turn the bananas into flour.

What began as a purpose and use for tonnes of wasted bananas each week has evolved into a new market for all growers. Mr Watkins is continuing to research how the nutrient dense green bananas can be utilised in different ways.

It’s fantastic to see how one farmer can have such a positive impact on a whole industry.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

Gut Health and Strawberries

Today’s post is about Gut Health and Strawberries.

Lately there has been a lot of focus on Strawberries. All scandals aside, these sweet berries are very good for us. In particular, Strawberries are very good for supporting our gut health.

Very early on in my blog, I wrote about how a healthy gut and its ‘microbiome’ is linked to our overall health.

 So, what is the Gut Microbiome?

Our ‘gut microbiome’ is made up of the trillions of microorganisms and their genetic material that live in our intestinal tract. These microorganisms live in the digestive system and play a key role in digesting food we eat; they also help with absorbing and synthesising nutrients.

The gut microorganisms are involved in many other important processes that extend beyond the gut. These organisms contribute to metabolism, body weight, immune regulation, as well as brain functions and mood.

Our gut began to populate with bacteria very early in life. As we grow, there continue to be many things that can shape the bacteria that live in our gut. We all live our day-to-day lives in different environments with different combinations of habits and surroundings. Because of this, our microbiome is like a bacterial fingerprint, uniquely individual.

Some things are difficult to change, like genetics, stressful events or illness. There are other factors we can modify or control, such as our lifestyle behaviours – particularly diet.

 What is a ‘Healthy Gut’?

Generally speaking, a healthy gut has a barrier that is effective at keeping the contents of the gut, such as its micro biota, undigested food particles and toxins, from escaping into the bloodstream. Apart from performing all of its usual digestive and regulatory functions, a healthy gut has several other important jobs, including helping to fight off infection.

 What about the Strawberries?

Recent research has found that Strawberries contain ‘anti-inflammatory’ compounds that reduce gut inflammation and increase healthy gut bacteria.

Strawberries are also rich in Potassium, which helps reduce high blood pressure.

The presence of ellagic acids and flavonoids in strawberries protect hearts from bad cholesterol.

Strawberries also contain Fisetin which contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that Fisetin could help to protect brain cells against the effects of ageing. The Journal Annals of Neurology published that eating strawberries more than twice a week has been shown to delay cognitive ageing by up to 2.5 years.

 

We have always enjoyed eating Strawberries and it has been great to learn how good they are for us. Not that we needed a reason to eat more of them.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

What is the FODMAP diet?

Hi, today’s topic is the low FODMAP diet.

Now I have seen the odd reference to this diet in the past but not really taken any notice. During the last fortnight, Scott has been studying different diets and was talking about a FODMAP diet. A lady I know has also recently stated that she was on a low FODMAP diet.

As this term has started to crop up more often, I started asking Scott more questions. He suggested I do a bit more research and write about it. So I did.

What does FODMAP mean?

The word FODMAP is actually an acronym. FODMAPs are short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols that are poorly absorbed by the body, resulting in abdominal pain and bloating. In other words, they are indigestible sugars that provide fast food for bacteria.

They can occur in some foods naturally or as additives.

The acronym stands for:

Fermentable – rapidly broken down by bacteria in the bowel

Oligosaccharides – fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS)

Disaccharides – lactose

Monosaccharides – fructose

And

Polyols – sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol

If this seems too wordy to get your head around, just remember that ‘saccharide’ is simply another word for sugar. Polyols are what we call sugar alcohols – sugar molecules with an alcohol side-chain. You may have heard of some of these sugars or seen them in ingredients lists.

These foods are not necessarily unhealthy products. Some of them contain healthy prebiotics that help stimulate the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Many of them are otherwise good for you, but for some people, eating or drinking them causes gastrointestinal symptoms.

Who might benefit from a low FODMAP diet?

When FODMAPs are not absorbed well in the small intestine. They increase the amount of fluid in the large intestine (bowel) and they produce more gas.

Symptoms and signs that suggest you may be eating products high in these short chain carbohydrates are:

Gas

Pain

Bloating

Abdominal distention

Abdominal pain

Diarrhea (similar to IBS symptoms)

A feeling of fullness after consuming only a small amount of food or liquid.

What is a low FODMAP diet?

 This diet cuts out many common foods that contain may contain high FODMAP foods.

Such as certain types of vegetables and fruits, beans, lentils, wheat, dairy products with lactose, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners.They are eliminated or severely limited for 3-8 weeks, then gradually reintroduced into a low-FODMAP diet to see if they cause symptoms (elimination diet). It is not meant to be a permanent solution because is very restrictive.

The principle behind the diet is to give the gut a chance to heal, especially if you have gastrointestinal problems like IBS.

This diet may be difficult to follow.  It is advisable to contact a health care professional, like a naturopath or a dietician to make sure that you are on the right track and getting enough dietary nutrients.

 Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper