Healthy diets have been demonstrated to complement benefits of physical activity, physical condition and mental wellbeing, all of them being important factors influencing the quality of life of elderly. Unfortunately malnutrition is a serious threat and an increasingly prevalent condition among the fast-growing elderly population. The present work addresses the identification of important factors contributing to decreased appetite and food intake as well as the development of approaches towards a healthy diet and personalised nutrition in elderly. Within the present study semi-structured interviews with elderly and elderly suffering from swallowing and mastication difficulties have been performed, results being used for the development of food provision modules and the corresponding recipes addressing the nutritional requirements of elderly. The social context and the swallowing and mastication difficulties influence the eating behaviour as well as the motivation to eat. On the other hand, it was found that texture modified foods (food which texture is adapted to the need of people with swallowing and mastication problems) could act as motivational aspect. With regard to food personalisation in the elderly the consideration of three different case scenarios based on individual independency and the degree of oral impairment seemed to be appropriate. Different aspects such as gender weight, physical activity level as well as high protein demand are important influential factors in the development of personalised recipes in elderly. In addition to the above, a conversational agent was developed as behaviour change module and can be successfully used as smart personal assistant in helping the users to understand their eating habits and adopt healthier nutrition over the long term.
The presence of Candida in the gut is normal, but an overproduction may lead to serious health problems due to an imbalanced gut, causing gut-related symptoms such as bowel movement changes, excessive gas, etc. Some diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are associated with an overgrowth of Candida in the gastrointestinal tract. Several recent studies have shown that a prolonged candidiasis within the intestines is associated with Candida overgrowth syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome. A healthy digestive system relies on a good balance of bacteria that live in the gut, and an important role in maintaining this balance is having the ingested type of food. Candida overgrowth can be prevented first of all by healthy eating patterns, as susceptibility is increased by a high-sugar diet and diabetes or nutritional deficiencies causing a dysregulated immune system. In general, Candida-associated conditions have a high impact on performance. Recent research has shown an increasing interest in the Candida-related conditions and diseases.
The main goal of the ELBE-NH (Increased effectiveness of lignin-biorefineries by valorization of hydrolysates) project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, is the utilization of the by-products of lignocellulosic biorefinery as high valuable compounds. One of the targeted compounds selected is propionic acid (PA) (obtained by microbiological conversion of the hydrolysates). PA is particularly suitable for use in industrially produced bread and baked goods, for preservation (antifungal abilities) as free acid or as sodium/calcium salts. Due to its astringent smell and strong acid taste, PA is rarely used in the food industry as a free acid. Our aim is to test the possibility of (a) using encapsulated hydrophilic PA (0.3% w/v) in β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)/maltodextrin blends as the wall materials (19:1 or 17:3% w/v), spray-dried as additives incorporated directly into texture-defined bread products, and (b) incorporating it into polysaccharide-based (e.g., carboxymethylcellulose (2% w/v) or chitosan (2% w/v)) biodegradation-resistant edible film (as carriers of PA antimicrobial agent (1.5–15% w/v)) with/without addition of β-CD (5% w/v) to the film matrix, as packaging material to enhance the safety and shelf life of texture-defined bread products. The benefit of adding β-CD during film preparation consists in the forming of hydrogen bond interactions with PA, resulting in high amounts of PA encapsulation due to the “fully immersed” complexation phenomenon. The texture-defined bread is a bread with a soft, gel-like structure that is easy to swallow and can be consumed without chewing, intended for people suffering from swallowing and chewing disorders. The texture-defined bread will have a high protein content that is up to 15% higher than that of conventional bread and can thus make an important contribution to combating malnutrition.
Personalized dietary supplements adapted to the individual needs of athletes and the elderly enriched with microbial propionic acid were produced in form of a powder, ready to be mixed in drinks such as orange juices. Studies have shown that fresh and pasteurized orange juices have a positive influence on gut microbiota, and exhibit selective prebiotic activity, particularly in terms of gut microbiota, by increasing Lactobacillus spp., Enterococcus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., and Clostridium spp., and reducing Enterobacteria. Besides, studies been reported the effect of the combined use of probiotics and organic salts, such as propionic acid salts, on the in vitro inhibition of microorganisms. Additionally, the short chain fatty acid propionic acid influences the gut-mediated immune regulation of people, reduces lipogenesis, and inhibits serum cholesterol synthesis.
Tannins are the secondary metabolites of plants, and are polymers consisting mainly of glycosides, found in nature as hydrolysable tannins or condensed tannins, as well as a combination of them. In the European Horizon 2020-funded Stance4Health project, one of the objectives is to develop special tannin extracts (from chestnut wood, quebracho wood, oak wood, tara pods, Chinese gallnuts) with differential effects on the gut microbiota and human health, aiming for a personalized modulation of gut microbiota activity at the individual level.
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