Big MAC: Carbohydrates Available For The Microbiota

The Big MAC diet has nothing to do with hamburgers, but with those carbohydrates that are important for the microbiota. The abbreviation Big MAC comes from the English “Microbiota Accessible Carbohydrates”.

The Big MAC Diet has nothing to do with hamburgers, but with those carbohydrates that are important for the microbiota. The abbreviation Big MAC comes from the English “Microbiota Accessible Carbohydrates”. Various studies show that certain carbohydrates promote greater microbial diversity and also improve general health.

Big MAC: what is it?

The Big MAC,  or carbohydrates, available to the microbiota are indigestible polysaccharides that the microbiota feeds on. Most of them are known as soluble fiber, which is largely indigestible. They go to the colon, where they are fermented by the microbiota.

Unfortunately, not all fiber is fermentable, which means that not all of them are accessible to the microbiota. The property of fermentability has only the soluble fiber, which is able to store water, to swell and to form viscous gels in the intestine.

In contrast , insoluble dietary fiber cannot be fermented or only very slowly . Even so, this fiber is useful for other reasons as well. They clean the colon by removing residue from the walls.

Big MAC: fermentable carbohydrates

The Big MAC must therefore be fermentable because it promotes a healthy microbiota. Otherwise, useful microorganisms cannot survive and multiply, which favors the development of pathogens. Fermentation is an essential process to produce substances such as short chain fatty acids that have beneficial nutritional, trophic, metabolic, immunological, and anti-inflammatory effects.

What are the benefits of carbohydrates that are useful for the microbiota?

The advantages of the Big MAC are numerous:

• They promote a healthy intestine with a good intestinal flora.
• Anti-inflammatory effect. The microbiota is able to produce substances with high anti-inflammatory effects, with butyric acid being of particular importance. It should be remembered that chronic cell inflammation is the first step in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature aging, and obesity.

• Trophic effects. Fermentation of the Big MAC is essential so that the microbiota can supply us with nutrients such as short-chain fatty acids and vitamins (K, B12, biotin and folic acid).
• Immunomodulatory properties. A healthy microbiota is able to stimulate the immune response of the gut. It improves the natural immune system through IgA antibodies, macrophages, natural killer cells, T cells, interferons and interleukins. In addition, substances with an antimicrobial effect are also synthesized as a result.
• Neuropsychiatric properties. A healthy intestinal flora and a barely permeable intestine are the key to good mental health.

What foods are rich in Big MAC?

Big MAC include resistant starch, beta-glucans, fructooligosaccharides and inulin, mucilage and pectin. Below you can find out which foods contain them:

• Resistant starch. It occurs primarily in rice, potatoes, and oats that have been cooked and chilled. They are also found very commonly in sweet potatoes, chestnuts, peas, lentils, male plantains, unripe plantains, buckwheat, and yuka.
• Beta glucans. They are found in algae, oats and mushrooms and, in addition to their effect on the microbiota, are characterized by their incredible ability to strengthen the immune system.
• Fructooligosaccharides and inulin. The following foods are richest in this type of fiber: garlic, onion, asparagus, and plantains.

• Mucilages. They are mainly found in agar-agar, Indian flea seeds ( Plantago ovata) and chia seeds, tomatoes and flax seeds.
• Pectin. The foods richest in pectin are: blueberries, currants, lemons, mandarins, apples, quinces, oranges and grapes.

To maintain a healthy microbiota and promote good health, it is important to properly nourish the intestinal flora. The Big MAC are specialists in this field.