Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Impacting Nutrient Bioavailability
Marcela Albuquerque Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, Alejandra de Moreno de LeBlanc, Jean Guy LeBlanc, Raquel Bedani in Lactic Acid Bacteria, 2020
Fermentation is important for bioavailability and digestibility of minerals, especially from plant-based foods. In high-income countries, where certain foods are fortified to prevent mineral deficiencies and nutrient deficiencies are rare, the enhanced bioavailability of LAB-fermented grains and legumes may not significantly impact micronutrient intake. However, diets in low- and middle-income countries are more likely to rely on staple foods like grains and legumes with less variety (Schlemmer et al. 2009). In these areas, the amount of phytate in the diet could have serious implications for micronutrient malnutrition. A 2014 review of fermented foods in Africa identifies LAB-rich food as vital for malnourished populations or populations suffering from diarrheal diseases (Franz et al. 2014). Their argument centers on the ability of traditional foods, if prepared with a specific combination of health-promoting bacteria, to serve as probiotics. However, the authors also acknowledge the ability of fermentation to increase the bioavailability of minerals and, therefore, the ability of fermented foods to contribute to a decrease in mineral malnourishment, especially when animal-source foods are not readily available, accessible, or affordable (Dror and Allen 2011).
When Public Health and Disaster Collide
Emily Ying Yang Chan in Public Health Humanitarian Responses to Natural Disasters, 2017
As nutritional needs are different for various groups – for example a pregnant woman may need various micronutrients for the healthy growth of the foetus – it is important to disaggregate data at least by sex and age, so that the most affected groups can be identified and the needs of vulnerable groups can be addressed appropriately, while nutritional interventions, such as general food distribution, additional micronutrients in staple foods and specific interventions, should be targeted at high risk subgroups. Optimising infant and child feeding, improving food security and ensuring access to health care are ways to reduce the risks of undernutrition. With appropriate infant and child feeding, including the promotion of breastfeeding, mortality can be reduced (WHO, HPA, & partners, 2011a). Before planning for any food relief programme, an initial rapid assessment is needed to provide a justification for intervention. During the emergency phase of a disaster, rapid nutritional needs assessments are needed at different levels, such as individual, family, vulnerable groups and general population (WHO, HPA, & partners, 2011a) (see Case Box 5.3).
Ethnic Food Plants of Indo-Gangetic Plains and Central India
T. Pullaiah, K. V. Krishnamurthy, Bir Bahadur in Ethnobotany of India, 2017
It is revealed from the present review that utilization of plants generally depends upon the availability of these plants in forests. Vegetables are regularly eaten by tribals, either cooked or separate preparation. They may be leafy vegetable or non leafy and tuberous. Mostly leaves, fruits, tuber, flowers, rhizome, inflorescence, stem, seeds or sometime whole plants are used as supplementary foods. Analytical study proves that the plants used by tribals as food rich in nutritional property (Jain, 1963). Several time, plant parts are used as staple food while some are used at the time of scarcity like famine, drought, etc. Most of the edible fruits are eaten as raw, which can provide essential supplements of vitamins and minerals. It is the sweetest pulp or the fleshy palatable pericarp of ripe berries, drupe or nuts that is generally consumed. Tribals consume sufficient amount of fiber food in their diet, hence constipation problem is rarely found.
Probiotic-directed modulation of gut microbiota is basal microbiome dependent
Published in Gut Microbes, 2020
Qiangchuan Hou, Feiyan Zhao, Wenjun Liu, Ruirui Lv, Wei Wei Thwe Khine, Jia Han, Zhihong Sun, Yuan-Kun Lee, Heping Zhang
Population stratification is a useful approach for better understanding complex biological problems in human health and wellbeing. The hypothesis that this stratification approach applies to the human gut microbiome, in the form of distinct community composition types termed enterotypes, was evaluated in this study. This indicated that variation in the gut microbiota of healthy Asian adults clustered into two enterotype groups that were driven by trade-offs between P. copri/F. prausnitzii and F. prausnitzii/B. dorei. For the first time, we defined the bacteria that were representative of each enterotype at the species level. This is an advance on previous studies that were limited by the length of sequencing technology and could only identify gut representative bacteria at the genus level.34–36 Although not statistically significant, we found some differences in dietary habits between the PF and FB enterotypes. For example, PF enterotypes consumed wheat, rice, eggs, fruits and seafood more frequently than FB enterotypes. Staple foods were their main source of carbohydrate. Previous studies have shown that the PF enterotypes were strongly dependent on carbohydrates in the diet.37,38 In addition, eggs and chickens are known to contain high concentrations of vitamin A and vitamin B5, and that fruits and seafood are part of the Mediterranean diet, all of which favor the growth of Prevotella in the gut.39,40 Our results are in accord with the notion that diet plays an important role in shaping an individual’s enterotype.
Parental feeding knowledge, practices and Chinese children and adolescents’ weight status
Published in Children's Health Care, 2021
Li Zhang, Yaorong Zhang, Liya Qiu, Guangxing Yang, Haiyan Jiang, Mengyi Zheng, Jie Wang
It was found that rural mothers who were more inclined to agree with the statement that “eating a large amount of staple food is not good for health” were linked to a greater risk of their children being overweight (here “staple food” referred to rice, dumpling, noodle, steam bread, pickle et al). At the first glance, this finding indicated that rural mothers who held correct feeding knowledge that eating a large amount of staple food is not good for health tended to have obese children. This finding seemed to be contradictory to our common sense. This is perhaps because with lower education, rural parents may not be able to appropriately apply their feeding knowledge in practice, which resulted in a higher risk of childhood obesity. If this is the case, then educating parents to turn suitable feeding knowledge into practice is just as important as conveying healthy feeding knowledge to them.
Obesity is associated with anaemia and iron deficiency indicators among women in the rural Free State, South Africa
Published in South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2020
EM Jordaan, VL Van den Berg, FC Van Rooyen, CM Walsh
Results of this study suggest that there was a predominant pattern of malnutrition, characterised by overweight and obesity, high rates of abdominal obesity and unhealthy body fat percentages, as well as inflammation, among the women. These women were, therefore, at high risk for developing chronic diseases of lifestyle. Iron deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia and folate deficiency prevalence was low, which could be attributed to almost half of the women not menstruating anymore and the older median age compared with that of other studies conducted on women of childbearing age. The mandatory micronutrient fortification of certain staple foods may also have improved micronutrient status. However, the prevalence of iron deficiency may have been underestimated when ferritin was used as marker. Transferrin saturation may, in this case, give a better reflection of the prevalence of iron deficiency. Significant associations between BMI, waist circumference and body fat percentage categories and MCV, MCH and transferrin saturation could indicate that obesity is associated with poorer iron status and anaemia. A significant association was also found between elevated ferritin and elevated CRP levels.
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