Nutritional studies are increasingly investigating the health benefits of friendly microorganisms in foods. A new study, co-authored by food scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provides the first large estimates of consumption of these microorganisms by Americans.
The findings, recently published in the Journal of Nutrition, pave the way for follow-up to understand the relationship between live microbial consumption and potential health and immune benefits.
“Our ultimate goal is to determine if there is a link between public health and the consumption of foods that contain high levels of microorganisms,” said Professor Chem Shahani of Food Science and Technology, Nebraska. Co-author Robert Hatkins said.
The human intestine is home to trillions of bacteria, many of which play an important role in maintaining people’s health. They digest food, repel pathogens, produce vitamins and other beneficial metabolites, and help boost the functioning of the immune system. Research on the intestinal flora is currently at the forefront and center of research in biomedical, nutritional, and food sciences.
In this study, Hatkins and his co-authors analyzed national data on more than 9,000 foods consumed by nearly 75,000 American adults and children. First, researchers estimated the number of living microorganisms per gram of all foods. They then classified each food as containing low, medium, and high levels of microorganisms. The low category foods were mostly processed or heat treated foods. Medium-sized foods were mainly fresh fruits and vegetables. The top categories of foods with the highest number of living microorganisms were fermented foods such as yogurt, cheese and fermented vegetables.
Researchers used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Food Consumption Database to calculate how much children and adults consume foods that contain microorganisms. About 26% of adults and 20% of children consume foods that contain high levels of microorganisms, and both children and adults have increased their consumption of these foods over the last 18 years.
Scientists should focus on future research “a prospective, randomized, controlled trial to determine if there is a quantifiable health benefit from consuming living microorganisms.” Said that.
Consumers are naturally concerned about food safety, but Hatkins emphasizes that most of the microbes in food are simply normal members of the food ecosystem and many are beneficial to health. did. As the author pointed out, “exposure to harmless microorganisms is an important and beneficial source of microbial stimulus for the immune system.”
This study was funded by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics and included US and Irish National Institutes of Health and academic researchers.
“For nearly 20 years, the Agricultural and Natural Resources Institute has funded an intestinal health research program in Nebraska,” Hatkins said.
In addition to supporting charitable work from private donors and the University of Nebraska Foundation, IANR According to Hatkins, it played a major role in establishing the Nebraska Food for Health Center in 2016. The center “supported strong and productive partnerships and collaborations” with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Hatkins’ personal interest in food science began when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri.
“I was interested in food, but I wasn’t aware that food science was even a major,” he said. “I was immediately drawn to the field.”
He later realized that “microorganisms in fermented foods not only enhance flavor, aroma, appearance and texture. They also played a major role in human health.”
Since his hobbies are cooking and eating, studying food microorganisms has proven to be a “perfect recipe for mixing academic and personal interests.”
“The science of fermented foods has experienced a renaissance of research,” said Hatkins, thanks to sophisticated molecular and computational tools. “Understanding the health implications drives much of this research, including the work being done here. UNL.. “
