The Sourdough School

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Learn to bake, eat, and share the healthiest bread in the world. Discover how to bake as Lifestyle Medicine from the walled gardens of Dr Vanessa Kimbell’s beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire in the UK, where we train healthcare professionals, teach bakers, and support individuals to bake personalised bread using nutrigenetics and gut health assessments.

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290 - ‘Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) changes intestinal microbial profile’. Microbiology in Health & Disease. 23: doi: 10.3402/mehd.v23i0.18572. eCollection 2012

Reference Number: 290

Year: 2012

Authors: Lee Y.K. et al

Link: Link to original paper

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

Inclusions: Kiwifruit

Summary

BACKGROUND: Kiwifruit is high in pectic polysaccharides and dietary fiber. This study aimed to find out how the ingestion of kiwifruit will affect intestinal microbiota populations, namely Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus.

METHODS: Freeze dried kiwifruit (equivalent of two fresh kiwifruits) was given to each of the six subjects daily for four days. Faecal samples were collected before, during and after kiwifruit consumption. The faecal bacteria were enumerated by qPCR and RT qPCR methods.

RESULTS: The effect of the kiwifruit on intestinal microbiota profile varied between individuals; in general, the kiwifruit demonstrated a prebiotic effect of promoting the content of faecal lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (as compared to the baselines of the same individual before consumption) for as long as the fruit was consumed. The effect was however transient, the levels of the two bacteria returned near to that of the baselines upon cessation of consumption.

CONCLUSION: Kiwifruit is a prebiotic in selectively enhancing the growth of intestinal lactic acid bacteria.

 

What does it mean for a Baker?

This is an important study which highlights the prebiotic effects of kiwi fruit. It was found that eating kiwi fruit on a regular basis increased the amount of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gut microbiome, therefore promoting microbial diversity. Try incorporating more kiwi into your sourdough bakes as it may help to keep your gut microbiome more diverse.

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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