The Sourdough School

Baking eating and sharing bread to improve physical and mental health

Using a robust evidence-based baking protocol combining the evidence of thousands of years of baking with modern clinical insights, we offer comprehensive training to bakers and healthcare professionals, providing students with the tools to use baking in everyday practice as a wellness intervention.
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259 - ‘The beneficial effects of berries on cognition, motor behaviour and neuronal function in ageing’. British Journal of Nutrition. 114(10), 1542-1549

Reference Number: 259

Year: 2015

Authors: Shukitt-Hale B. et al

Link: Link to original paper

Nutrition: Polyphenols

Inclusions: Berries>Strawberries

Summary

wild strawberriesPreviously, it has been shown that strawberry (SB) or blueberry (BB) supplementations, when fed to rats from 19 to 21 months of age, reverse age-related decrements in motor and cognitive performance. We have postulated that these effects may be the result of a number of positive benefits of the berry polyphenols, including decreased stress signalling, increased neurogenesis, and increased signals involved in learning and memory. Thus, the present study was carried out to examine these mechanisms in aged animals by administering a control, 2 % SB- or 2 % BB-supplemented diet to aged Fischer 344 rats for 8 weeks to ascertain their effectiveness in reversing age-related deficits in behavioural and neuronal function. The results showed that rats consuming the berry diets exhibited enhanced motor performance and improved cognition, specifically working memory. In addition, the rats supplemented with BB and SB diets showed increased hippocampal neurogenesis and expression of insulin-like growth factor 1, although the improvements in working memory performance could not solely be explained by these increases. The diverse polyphenolics in these berry fruits may have additional mechanisms of action that could account for their relative differences in efficacy.

 

What does this mean for bakers?

This study suggests that berries may be beneficial for brain function. Baking with berries or eating sourdough with a serving of homemade berry jam is a good way to increase the diversity of fruit we eat. Try our Fermented Buttermilk & Blueberry Sourdough Cake.

Qualify in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine

All reasonable care is taken when writing about health aspects of bread, but the information it contains 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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