Dairy ingredients and probiotics could work together to send signals from the gut to boost brain development and performance.
Scientists are becoming convinced that eating more dairy foods could boost brain power.
An AgResearch team supported by international scientists has discovered that dairy ingredients and probiotics – helpful bacteria – could work together to send signals from the gut to boost brain development and performance.
Programme leader Nicole Roy said there was mounting evidence to suggest that eating a lot of dairy products or probiotics could boost brain performance
TOM LEE/STUFF
Scientists believe that eating more dairy products could improve brain function.
“But we don’t yet know how. The key is in the two-way communication between the gut and the brain,” Roy said.
“Our gut influences just about everything we do and its connection to the brain is essential to leading healthier lives. People are looking for products that help brain development in children and provide better brain performance through adulthood.
“We’ll be using cutting-edge techniques to understand how dairy ingredients and probiotics can work together to send signals from the gut to optimise brain development and performance. We’ll also be developing prototype foods that combine ingredients in a way that promotes those benefits.”
The first of two AgResearch-led programmes, supported by commercial partner Fonterra, and with research partners, the Riddet Institute, the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland, Flinders University in Australia, University College Cork in Ireland, and Illinois University in the United States, is called Smarter Lives: New opportunities for dairy products across the lifespan, and focuses on how foods can influence brain performance through the “gut-brain axis”.
A second project looks at how fermentation – one of the oldest and most economical methods of producing and preserving food – can make products stand out from the crowd, with fewer additives.
Common fermented foods include cheese, yoghurt, and sauerkraut.
Programme leader Li Day said the research would look at fermentation and how the process could be accelerated to create new flavours and textures for products such as dairy, meat, and seafood.
“We’ll also determine how these new fermented foods can be identified uniquely with New Zealand and experienced and enjoyed by consumers internationally.”
The foods would be dairy-based products in various food formats, such as yoghurts, smoothies, beverages or snack bars. The aim was they would appeal to Kiwi and other palettes, said AgResearch science group leader Jolon Dyer.
“These foods will be made to appeal to modern consumers across the globe, including New Zealanders. We think foods that positively affect brain development and performance will appeal to consumers right around the world.”
The AgResearch programmes have been awarded more than $21 million by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund.
“The future for New Zealand food exports to the world is premium quality and adding as much value as possible to our products,” said Dyer.
“This cutting-edge research will look at how we can help deliver premium foods by taking the eating experience, and the health benefits of the food, to new levels.”
Source: Stuff
