Research from the US and Bangladesh, has highlighted that foods which boost gut health could be more beneficial than standard treatments for severely malnourished children.
Severe malnutrition affects millions of children worldwide, with many struggling to recover fully even after they have received the right nutrition.
Initial studies to understand this, by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), used mice and piglets that were germ-free, to show how malnutrition alters the gut microbiome – where good bacteria and fungi living in human intestines play a key role in aiding nutrient absorption.
These studies then led to the identification of foods that support the gut microbiome for human trials, such as chickpea, banana, soy, and peanut flour.
Now the same research group, led by Jeffrey Gordon at WashU, in collaboration with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, in Bangladesh, has shown how 124 malnourished Bangladeshi children, between 12-months and 18-months-old - consuming these microbiome-targeted foods - showed marked improvements (see picture) over several months in weight gain, metabolism, and development, suggesting better nutrient absorption compared to standard treatments.
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
How did microbiome-targeted foods, such as chickpea, banana, soy, and peanut flour, lead to improved weight gain and development in malnourished children compared to standard treatments? Block Blast