Diets that change gut bacteria- The implications.

Many of us associate bacteria with negative things as most pathogens causing a host of diseases belong to this group of microorganisms. But it is not a correct perception because there are many species friendly to man doing many things to support our health. Human microbiome which involves bacteria that thrive in and on human beings have received focused attention only recently and whatever has been unfolded is both exciting and scary. Exciting because it opens up avenues for maneuvering them for greater benefits and disease amelioration in humans. Scary because inappropriate food consumption habits and reckless diet can ruin them inviting disaster in the long run. The early recognition about the importance of dietary fiber was due to the role these fibers play inside the gut in providing a great service in avoiding many diseases including CVD, diabetes and obesity. According to one of the recent studies changes in the diet can change the gut profile of bacteria within a matter of 2-3 days causing some damage to the well being while in the long term such changes can be significantly injurious to the health. Here is a take on this important development.

"Scientists are just beginning to learn about how our decisions at the dinner table — or the drive-through — tweak our microbiome, that is, the communities of bacteria living in our bodies. But one thing is becoming clear: The critters hanging out in our intestine influence many aspects of our health, including weight, immunity and perhaps even behavior. And interest in studying the links between diet and the human microbiome is growing. Previous research in this field had turned up tantalizing evidence that eating fiber can alter the composition of gut bacteria. But these studies had looked at diets over long periods of times — months and even years. David and his colleagues wanted to know whether fiber — or lack of it — could alter gut bacteria more rapidly. To figure that out, the researchers got nine volunteers to go on two extreme diets for five days each. The first diet was all about meat and cheese. "Breakfast was eggs and bacon," David says. "Lunch was ribs and briskets, and then for dinner, it was salami and prosciutto with an assortment of cheeses. The volunteers had pork rinds for snacks." Then, after a break, the nine volunteers began a second, fiber-rich diet at the other end of the spectrum: It all came from plants. "Breakfast was granola cereal," David says. "For lunch, it was jasmine rice, cooked onions, tomatoes, squash, garlic, peas and lentils." Dinner looked similar, and the volunteers could snack on bananas and mangoes. "The animal-based diet is admittedly a little extreme," he says. "But the plant-based diet is one you might find in a developing country." David and the team analyzed the volunteers' microbiomes before, during and after each diet. And the effects of all that meat and cheese were immediately apparent. "The relative abundance of various bacteria species looked like it shifted within a day after the food hit the gut," David says. After the volunteers had spent about three days on each diet, the bacteria in the gut even started to change their behavior. "The kind of genes turned on in the microbes changed in both diets," he says. In particular, microbes that "love bile" — the Bilophila — started to dominate the volunteers' guts during the animal-based diet. Bile helps the stomach digest fats. So people make more bile when their diet is rich in meat and dairy fats. A study last year found that blooms of Bilophila cause inflammation and colitis in mice. "But we didn't measure levels of inflammation in our subjects," David says. "That's the next step."

Though the above study was carried out with a very small number of subjects, the significance of its findings cannot be belittled. It is a dire warning from these little creatures who live within us not to take them light and convey a message that co-existence means satisfying their needs also. If your gut microbiome profile is sound, your health also will be sound! Probably the carnivorous community may see red in this study as it frowns upon eating meat regularly but even the lacto vegetarians are forewarned that too much intake of dairy products at the expense of fiber rich plant foods can be disadvantageous. Only further studies by multiple agencies on the lines done under this limited trials can only dispel any lingering doubts about the help by our "friends" in our guts. 

V.H.POTTY

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DIETARY FIBER FROM STARCH-A NEW STRATEGY

The crucial role of dietary fiber (DF) for maintaining good health is well known by now. In all dietary guidelines daily consumption of 25-30 gms of DF is recommended for good gut health and other health benefits. Cereals like Oats, Barley etc gained popularity because of high content of DF. Fruits and vegetables also provide DF but their daily consumption is limited because of availability and cost factor. Cereals such as wheat contain good levels of DF but modern processing technologies strip them of DF yielding only carbohydrate rich fractions. With pronounced shifting of dietary profiles from one rich in whole cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables to animal products based foods, intake of DF has dramatically come down and this shift is more pronounced in wealthy countries where plenty of meat based foods are available at affordable cost. This has led to discovery and development of many DF rich materials for incorporation into processed foods. As DF is a multi billion dollar industry to day, pace of development is almost frenetic with many big players trying desperately to latch on to the band wagon. Here is a report on this interesting development.

"About 25 years ago, scientists studying cereal grains discovered a starch that didn't exactly act like a starch; it acted more liker a fiber. Specifically, it was resistant to digestion and didn't break down until it reached the lower intestinal tract. Starch … resistant to digestion. Ergo: resistant starch. Resistant starch occurs naturally in a number of agricultural products and in three forms. RS1 is prevalent in seeds, legumes and unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains. In RS1, the starch molecules are packed into dense granules and have more of the cell walls intact, creating a physical barrier that leaves few ends for the enzyme amylase to access.
RS2 contains much of the carbohydrate amylose. It, too, is packed into dense granules like RS1 but is not gelatinized – therefore, the starch does not break down and absorb water. RS2 therefore is digested very slowly. It's typically found in potatoes, corn, underripe bananas and flour.The third form of resistant starch, RS3, only becomes resistant when portions of the starch chain expand and then contract during food preparation or processing. It's another high-amylose starch, but the amylose forms during cooking, when the starch gelatinizes -- and at that point, it's digestible. However, cool the starch and the amylose condenses and becomes undigestible. Potatoes, breads and some cereals (such as corn flakes) are common food sources of RS3".

While consumers would be thrilled with the above development, how far these DF rich products will prove to be as effective as "true" fibers contained in fruits and vegetables as well as in whole grains remains to be seen. Even if these non-digestible food ingredients do not measure up to expectations of classical nutritionists, they still serve a useful purpose in evolving food products with lower calories and fat content. With obesity and life style health disorders spreading like wild fire all across the world, there is a widely felt need to evolve many products with lower calories and acceptable taste profile, to serve the needs of the neo-rich population with unlimited cash to spare for indulging in unhealthy foods and leading sedentary life style! Resistant starch and other forms of DF will help this cause at least.

V.H.POTTY
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ANOTHER "MIRACLE" FRUIT WITH FABULOUS CLAIMS!

Weight watching and cholesterol reduction are two of the most discussed health issues world over and the multi billion dollar food supplement industry strives on them. While Statin drugs have created a gigantic industry offering hope for millions of people suffering from hypercholestremic symptoms, there are hundreds of other edible food supplements not going through the medicinal route claiming super performance for improving health. One such supplement, if one may call it so, has hit the headline recently with a claim that it is a "bullet' for weight reduction and no one is really sure whether it is really effective at all. African mango, also commonly known as bush mango is spawning a new line of products which is claimed to reduce weight as well as cholesterol dramatically. Here is a report on its emergence as a miracle fruit for those afflicted by obesity and high blood cholesterol levels.

"A short search for African mango tablets reveals hundreds of sales sites in the U.S. and beyond brashly extolling the virtues of the supplement, which costs around $40 per bottle. But is there any truth behind its miraculous claims? Two studies by Judith L Ngondi and colleagues at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon, published in the Journal of Lipids in Health, support the hype, their data apparently showing the seeds to cause significant weight loss and improve blood flat levels. In a 2005 study, the team studied 28 volunteers, comparing weight loss over four weeks between a group who were given a placebo and a group who were given African mango supplements. Taken before meals, three times a day, the study reported that those who took the African mango supplement lost 5.3% of their body weight, while the control group only lost 1.3%. According to Dr IV van Heerden at Health24.com: 'Considerable reductions in total blood cholesterol (39.2 per cent), triglycerides (44.9 per cent) and "bad" LDL cholesterol (45.6 per cent), were obtained in the treatment group. At the same time, "good" HDL cholesterol levels in the group receiving African mango, increased by 46.9 per cent.' A repeated experiment in 2009 used a more highly developed extract from the African mango seed, IGOB131, and studied its effects on 102 individuals over 10 weeks. Dr can Heerden said: 'The treatment group lost more weight, had improved blood fat and glucose values, lower blood pressure, and other markers of the metabolic syndrome (e.g. lower leptin levels)."

Though there is much hype about this fruit, still there does not appear to be adequate evidence either on its efficacy or safety. Of course as a traditional food supplement consumed by folks in Cameroon there can be some leeway in assessing its safety. But it is necessary that large scale clinical trials are carried out to confirm its credentials as an anti-obesity food supplement. Scientific assessment should also bring out, if it is really effective as claimed, regarding the mechanism of its functioning in the body. "Scavenging" the cholesterol from the body is a property associated with almost all dietary fibers and in what way the fiber from this fruit functions differently needs to be elucidated. Also not clear is the role of many other components in the fruit in bringing out the beneficial functions, if at all there is any.

V.H.POTTY
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CELLULOSE ADDITIVES IN FOODS-GOOD OR BAD?

Some times food industry can be wrongly indicted for doing things which some consider as undesirable. No doubt many practices being indulged by the industry deserve to be condemned in no uncertain terms and deterrent action taken with no leniency shown against proven culprits. But the latest issue which is being raised to insinuate the processing industry cannot be justified if a scientific assessment is made dispassionately. Use of cellulose which is not digested in human GI tract, often included in food formulations is considered harmless and is permitted by law. To castigate the industry that it is making people eat "wood pulp" is outright childish and preposterous.

"Chief among those concerns is the use of cellulose (read: wood pulp), an extender whose use in a roster of food products, from crackers and ice creams to puddings and baked goods, is now being exposed. What you're actually paying for -- and consuming -- may be surprising. Cellulose is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured to different lengths for functionality, though use of it and its variant forms (cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, micro-crystalline cellulose, etc.) is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the FDA, which regulates most food industry products. The government agency sets no limit on the amount of cellulose that can be used in food products meant for human consumption. The USDA, which regulates meats, has set a limit of 3.5% on the use of cellulose, since fiber in meat products cannot be recognized nutritionally".

Cellulose, if it is of food grade is a dietary fiber required for good health and according to expert recommendations an average adult must consume 25-30 gm of fiber daily to prevent development of a number of diseases. There are many natural sources of fiber with varying molecular structure and properties. While naturally occurring substances like beta glucan and pectin come under the soluble fiber category, cellulose and a host of non-starch carbohydrates serve as insoluble fiber. Both soluble and insoluble fiber are considered essential for good intestinal health in humans. Production of short chain fatty acids including butyrate in the human bowel by "friendly" microbes helps to strengthen tissues besides providing protection against some form of cancer. As long as the cellulose ingredients used is derived from edible plant sources, one should have no objection regarding their presence in processed foods. The levels of use are self-limited by the changes that will be evident if too much of this ingredient is incorporated in the food and besides its role in nutrition, cellulose also serves the technological necessity in creating desirable mouth feel in many products.

V.H.POTTY
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BREAD "DEVELOPMENTS"-NUTRITION VS PALTABILITY

Bread that is consumed to day is based solely on wheat in which gluten is present in abundance for creating and stabilizing during fermentation the right matrix for the raised structure of the product. Though bread is made from white flour or "maida" as it is known in India, by majority of the bakery industry, consumer enlightenment about the nutritional and health advantages of whole wheat flour has compelled many bakeries, especially in the western countries to put out "whole wheat" bread. Technological constraints that posed logistical processing problems, when whole grain flour is used to make bread, do not exist any more with many permitted functional additives helping to maintain the eating quality as seen in white bread. Efforts all over the world by bakery scientists are focused on use of more and more non-wheat flours which are much more nutritious than wheat and consumers with gluten allergy cannot take wheat based breads. One recent development is note worthy where the bakery technologists have been able to substitute almost 60% of wheat with coarse grains like oats, rye and buck wheat with very little change in eating quality. Such developments augur well because of better utilization potential for the minor grains and more nutritional quality inherent in such novel bread products.

"In terms of single grain use in dough and bread from a nutritional and quality characteristic perspective, the team noted that oat and rye hydrated flours showed the best and the worst pasting and gelling characteristics respectively, while Kamut and spelt doughs achieved mechanical and fundamental rheological properties close to those obtained for wheat. "Oat, rye and buckwheat gave stiff (high values for hardness and storage modulus) and less cohesive doughs, which may hinder dough machinability during processing," commented the scientists. They observed that oat, rye and buckwheat gave breads with enhanced nutritional features (high RS, mineral, bioactive component and dietary fibre contents, low eGI and HI) but tough and closed crumb grain and low ratings by consumers. And the researchers concluded that the quality profile the mix of oat, rye, buckwheat and common wheat flours of Blend B (20:20:20:40 w/w/w/w) was the most suitable to make highly nutritious (improved dietary fibre fractions, minerals and antioxidant activity, slower starch hydrolysis), palatable, bread with good shelf life and easy handling during processing".

Arabinoxylan and beta glucan fibers present in grains like oats and rye offer advantages in terms of protecting the gut health of the consumers as they are not normally digested in the small intestine and production of life saving short chain fatty acids in the bowel by friendly microorganisms ensure protection from deadly diseases like cancer, reduce inflammation, stimulate growth of intestinal cells, help to reduce cholesterol and give relief from diabetic stress. It is time for such breads to be promoted massively by the governments through economic incentives to the industry while scientific efforts must continue to improve their quality further.

V.H.POTTY
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THE WHOLE GRAIN "STORY"-A CONVICTION OR A BOGEY?

The explosive knowledge generated during the last 3 decades about the role of dietary fiber has spurred the food industry to develop many "designer" products containing whole grains which are considered high in fiber. Besides whole grains are also supposed to be rich in other nutrients like vitamins and minerals though some of the fiber fractions have the tendency to retard intestinal absorption of some mineral nutrients. While products containing whole grains in significant proportion are beneficial to the consumer, the tendency to add small quantities in a product and claim health benefits is to be frowned upon.

"Whole grains are good (although not the only) sources of B vitamins (which include riboflavin, folate and niacin), vitamin E, iron, selenium and magnesium. One cup of whole-wheat flour has 26% of the recommended daily value of iron, 36% of thiamine, 38% of niacin, 20% of vitamin B6, 13% of folate and 121% of selenium. Putting more whole grains in food usually translates into more fiber, but not always. If a product has just a bit of whole grains, chances are the fiber content will be low. For example, a serving (55 pieces) of cheddar Goldfish crackers made with whole grain has only 2 grams of dietary fiber. The trend toward adding more whole grains to food has been growing steadily since the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services revised the dietary guidelines in 2005, recommending that at least half of all grains eaten be whole grains and that 3 or more ounces of whole grains be consumed per day. As a 1-ounce equivalent of whole grains has about 16 grams of whole grains, the recommendation is to eat 48 grams of whole grains a day".

Though a few manufacturers may be guilty of practicing such devious means to attract gullible consumers, strict labeling regulations can stop them from doing so. As the labeling rules in many countries do not demand exact proportion of ingredients in a product, the consumer may find it difficult to assess the validity of claims about use of whole grains. However, declaring the ingredients in the descending order on the label, with the highest one coming first, can still give a clue regarding the extent of healthy ingredients present in a packed food product. Branded foods with bloated claims must be shunned by the consumers as a part of a sustained campaign to punish the guilty without looking to the government for socour.

V.H.POTTY
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DIETARY FIBER- MALAYSIA SETS THE STANDARDS

The importance of dietary fiber cannot be overstated. Though in the strict sense it is not an assimilable nutrient, its consumption through food regularly is necessary to maintain normal health. It is note worthy that a small country like Malaysia which has a predominantly meat eating population has thought about encouraging the food industry to manufacture fiber-rich foods and declare the same on the label for the benefit of the consumer.

"The Malaysian Food Regulations 1985 have made it compulsory for most prepackaged foods to be labeled with four core nutrients, namely energy, protein, carbohydrates, and fat in the nutrition information panel. Other nutrients that may be labeled include several vitamins and minerals, provided they are present in significant amounts. Dietary fibre is another optional nutrient that may be declared in the panel. There is no official definition of dietary fibre in the Malaysian Food Regulations 1985. The Health Ministry has however recognised several compounds as dietary fibre, based on applications from the food industry. Each application has been reviewed by an expert committee, guided by established criteria that are based on the physical and physiological properties of dietary fibre, as outlined above for Codex definition. Some of these compounds include a variety of non-digestible polysaccharides (e.g. high amylose maize resistant starch, beta-glucan, polydextrose, and resistant dextrin) and oligosaccharides (e.g. galacto-oligosaccharide, inulin, oligofructose, and oligosaccharide mixtures). In a recently published gazette, to take effect from Jan 2010, the criteria for nutrient content claim for dietary fibre were announced. The minimum amount of dietary fibre that must be present in a food in order to claim as "source of" dietary fibre is 3g per 100g for a solid food or 1.5g per 100ml for a liquid food. In order to qualify to make a "high in" claim, a food must contain at least 6g of dietary fibre per 100g or 3g per 100ml for solid and liquid food respectively".

The clarity and precision in the rules governing labeling are notable. Probably realization that dietary fiber has important bearing amongst population which consume more meat through their regular diet could be the reason for the move on the part of regulatory authorities to accord such a priority for dietary fiber.

V.H.POTTY
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FRUIT PEELS AS SOURCE OF DIETARY FIBER

The importance of fiber in the diet cannot be over emphasized. Though in the strict sense it is not a assimilable nutrient, dietary fiber plays an important role in maintaining good health for a normal individual. Besides being a prebiotic which is used by the intestinal microbes to produce a few nutrients of importance to the body, dietary fiber is also involved in controlling serum cholesterol significantly. The importance of Oats arises because it contains soluble and insoluble fibers beneficial for the body. There are many other sources of dietary fiber which include whole food grains, fruits and vegetables. Recommended level of fiber intake is 25-30 gm a day for a healthy person.

Apple pomace which is a by-product in processing industry contains the peel and the fibrous fractions with no economic value. "Incorporating an apple skin powder, an under-utilised food-processing by-product, in bakery products could boost the fiber-content of the product, says new research. Replacing flour in muffins with 24 per cent of a dried apple skin powder could boost the fiber content of the product without detrimentally affecting the sensory profile of the product, according to findings published in the Journal of Food Quality".

Why the study has focused on apple peel, leaving the pectin rich pomace, is not clear because pectin, considered a soluble fiber has several beneficial effects in humans. More over, separating apple skin from the pressed residue of apple juice industry cannot be easily achieved. It is understandable that incorporation of the fibrous fraction in baked goods could boost up the dietary fiber level in the final product as it is not destroyed at the baking temperatures but it can affect the raising properties of bread dough to some extent due to dilution of gluten content.

V.H.POTTY
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http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com