Biology Biotech
Though they may share formative commonalities - genes, parents and environment – children and adults experience food differently. To explain perceptual variations, and how they affect dietary habits, Finnish researchers are examining how sensory perceptions and microbiota in the gut can influence our consumptive mores. Their findings could inspire strategies to enhance childcare and well-being
What factors define our diets?
Microbiota consist of tiny organisms that inhabit the human body in both the gut and other body surfaces, and are integral to our existence. Since the early nineties, various studies have revealed their role in processes such as digestion, vitamin production and protection against disease. Surprisingly, the body in total contains
over ten times more
microbial cells than human cells. And, despite
their miniscule individual
dimensions, their collective proliferation lends them a surprising weight. “There are thousands of different types of
microbes which occupy the human gut, weighing around 1.5 kilograms in the average adult,” explains Dr Seppo Salminen, a professor and director of the Functional Foods Forum at Turku University, Finland. “These are very important in regulating our individual health.”
www.projectsmagazine.eu.com Established in 2000, the Functional
Foods Forum concentrates and combines multidisciplinary know-how to help deliver high-quality, healthy foods for the future. As part of its mission, members have sought to characterise and identify viable probiotics – microorganisms which can be digested and provide benefits to human health. Since completing a PhD in Nutritional Toxicology at the University of Surrey, UK, Salminen has become a noted authority in the field, winning several related prizes and frequently serving on national and EU regulatory committees. His current research seeks to explore how microbiota determine health and well-being, and if it is possible to modify their impacts. Conducting human and nutritional
studies, whilst also developing cell cultures under lab conditions, Salminen’s long-term
collaborations with Professor Erika Isolauri, a colleague from Turku University’s Department of Paediatrics, have proven groundbreaking. “Our work has challenged current dogma which suggests when colonisation of microbiota within infants starts,” he explains. “It has also shown how variations in them can preclude atopic diseases, which are characterised by allergic reactions. Initially looking at the prevention of conditions which can afflict infants, like acute gastroenteritis or diahorrea, we were eventually able to demonstrate, in a study published by The Lancet,
that dermatitis, an allergic skin
inflammation, can be prevented via specific probiotic intervention.” These achievements have furthered
understanding of probiotic mechanisms, which can be used in various nutritional therapies and treatments. A current
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