The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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447 - ‘Additional Common Bean in the Diet of Malawian Children Does Not Affect Linear Growth, but Reduces Intestinal Permeability’. The Journal of Nutrition. 148(2): 267-274

Reference Number: 447

Year: 2018

Authors: Sophia E Agapova, Kevin B Stephenson, Oscar Divala, Yankho Kaimila, Kenneth M Maleta, Chrissie Thakwalakwa, M Isabel Ordiz, Indi Trehan, Mark J Manary

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Gut Microbiome - Creating Healthier Bread to Support Optimal Gut Health

Nutrition: Fibre | Polyphenols | Prebiotic | Proteins

Inclusions: Legumes

Summary

Background: Chronic malnutrition, as manifested by linear growth faltering, is pervasive among rural African children. Improvements in complementary feeding may decrease the burden of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) and thus improve growth in children during the critical first 1000 d of development.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that systematically including common bean or cowpea into complementary feeding would reduce EED and growth faltering among children in rural Malawi.

Methods: This was a double-blind clinical trial in which children 12-23 mo of age were randomly assigned to receive complementary feeding with 1 of 3 foods: roasted cowpea or common bean flour, or an isoenergetic amount of corn-soy blend as a control food for 48 wk. Children aged 12-23 mo received 155 kcal/d and thereafter until 35 mo received 200 kcal/d. The primary outcomes were change in length-for-age z score (LAZ) and improvements in a biomarker of EED, the percentage of lactulose (%L) excreted as part of the lactulose:mannitol dual-sugar absorption test. Anthropometric measurements and urinary %L excretion were compared between the 2 intervention groups and the control group separately with the use of linear mixed model analyses for repeated measures.

Results: A total of 331 children completed the clinical trial. Compliance with the study interventions was excellent, with >90% of the intervention flour consumed as intended. No significant effects on LAZ, change in LAZ, or weight-for-length z score were observed due to either intervention legume, compared to the control. %L was reduced with common bean consumption (effect estimate was -0.07 percentage points of lactulose, P = 0.0007). The lactulose:mannitol test was not affected by the legume intervention.

Conclusion: The addition of common bean to complementary feeding of rural Malawian children during the second year of life led to an improvement in a biomarker of gut health, although this did not directly translate into improved linear growth.

 

Significance of this study to the Baker:

Black-eyed peas (also known as Cowpeas) are beans that are included in our botanical blends. This human randomised control trial finds that the consumption of the bean within a child’s diet improves the health of their gut. The botanical blends are designed to provide us with diversity in the diet, because the research states that a diverse diet is reflective of a healthier gut microbiome, supporting overall gut function.

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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