While all nutrients are important to maintaining digestive health,
following are a few of the health-promoting nutrients found in the
World’s Healthiest Foods that have been singled out for their special
contribution.
Dietary Fiber
At the top of many lists for digestive tract support is dietary fiber.
Your food simply cannot pass through you in an optimal way unless
it contains fiber. Ideally, we should have at least 10 grams of fiber
with every meal and at least 5 grams with every snack, although 20
grams per meal and 10 grams per snack would also be helpful to
most of our digestive tracts. Whole, unprocessed foods are essential
for adequate fiber. Of special importance are World’s Healthiest
Foods such as vegetables, legumes (like beans or lentils) and whole
grains. The skins of fruit are also rich in fiber. Fiber helps keep food
moving through our intestines at a gradual pace—not too fast and
not too slow.
Glutamine
Although not as well known in the conventional world of nutrition,
glutamine is an amino acid that serves as one of the primary fuels
for cells that line our small intestine. It can be made from other
amino acids found in food or in our body, but it is also found
preformed in a variety of World’s Healthiest Foods, including cabbage,
beets, beef, chicken, fish, beans, and dairy products.
Short Chain Fatty Acids
Like glutamine, short chain fatty acids (or SCFAs) are not well-
known in the conventional world of nutrition, but these key nutrients
serve as preferred fuels for cells that line our large intestine. If these
cells do not have adequate energy, they cannot process our food
properly. SCFAs are formed by bacteria in our small intestine when
these bacteria process starches (especially resistant starches) and
several other types of carbohydrate-related molecules found in our
food. World’s Healthiest Foods such as whole grains like corn, oats,
wheat, rye, and brown rice; fruits such as apples and citrus fruits;
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