Why are oats good for you?

There is a strong consumer interest in new and exciting foods. More and more of us also want to know what we are putting into our bodies actually does when it gets there. This trend has imposed new demands on the food sector and has opened the way for new research.

“Many aren’t eating well despite at the same time being more interested in food. But we are now seeing a desire to know more, not just about new tastes, but about how what we eat affects the body,” says Inger Björck, Professor at the Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry department at Lund University.

Inger Björck is a centre coordinator at the Functional Food Science Centre at the University of Lund that runs a cross-disciplinary doctoral research programme, Funcfood, focussing on health-promoting foods. On Thursday 4 February, at the Ingvar Kamprad design centre, six researchers from the Functional Food Science Centre presented new findings concerning everything from oats and rye to blueberries and edible fats. One of the organisers was the Skåne Food Innovation Network.

“Even if the vast majority of people have bought into the concept that wholemeal is good for you, not everyone always knows why,” says doctoral student Ulrika Andersson (molecular signalling), who together with Liza Rosén (applied nutrition) is studying wholemeal products and rye products in particular.

They want to find out what lies behind the protection that wholemeal products provide against cardiovascular diseases, cancer and probably also type-2 diabetes.

Kristina Andersson, a researcher in vascular physiology, hopes to discover new ways to use and refine oats for use in food products. She hopes that this will enable the cholesterol-lowering effects of oats to be used more effectively. But Kristina Andersson already today recommends regular consumption of oats, a crop that has been cultivated in Sweden since the 1700s.

“Eat porridge or muesli made from oats. If you want a nutritional drink between meals choose one made from oats. Another tip is to sprinkle oat bran into pancake batter.”

Why should we choose wholemeal?

Liza Rosén, an applied nutrition researcher, has examined how important wholemeal products are for our health.

In addition to tasting good, wholemeal products contribute to reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes and certain types of cancers. In addition wholemeal contains many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are good for you. The fibre content also helps to keep your stomach in full working order.

Why are you speaking today?

I am giving this presentation because I am a doctoral student in the Funcfood programme, focussing on wholemeal products. Until now I have concentrated most on investigating the health-promoting effects of rye products. To date I have found that rye products demonstrate good effects on regulating blood sugar levels and they give a good satiated feeling. What remains is to discover if we can augment these properties and in so doing develop even more wholesome rye products.

What is the most fun aspect of the food sector?

That it is often quick to pick up on new developments and trends and provide us with many new fun products. It is also really stimulating to see that the food industry is going over to working more and more with academics to develop more wholesome and health-promoting products that are enabled by new technologies.

How often should we eat blueberries?

Camilla Bränning, together with Åsa Håkansson, is studying "Dietary fibre, berries and probiotics to improve bowel health; advantage blueberries!".

"Ha! That is a very good question that remains to be answered. My doctoral student colleague Åsa Håkansson has worked with models that we can’t directly extrapolate to humans. We see that blueberries have a very positive and strongly protective effect against developing inflammation in the bowel and we now need to carry these results forward to examine the amount of blueberries we need to eat, and how often, to achieve similar effects in humans."

Why are you lecturing on Functional Food?

"I was one of nine doctoral students participating in the doctoral programme FUNCFOOD and all of our projects are now nearing completion. I defended my thesis two weeks ago. We now want to share the results we have obtained during our research."

Why did you choose the food sector?

"I have a background in civil engineering with a specialisation in food and I am really glad that I chose that specialisation as food is such an inspiring area to work in. We all have a relation to food and food is something all of us must have. To have the opportunity to influence the food of the future, which may actually improve the health and wellbeing of many people, is a very uplifting feeling."

Text and images: Ola Isaksson