Op hypothesen gebaseerde modulaties van de in vitro en in vivo verteerbaarheid van zetmeel in koekjes

Lowering the rate of starch digestion is a unique opportunity to maintain normal blood glucose and insulin levels. The advantage of slowly digestible starch (SDS) is that it is a source of sustained glucose release and stabilizes blood glucose levels. Benefits of this condition are linked to diabetes management and effects on satiety, calorie intake and mental and physical performance. We will develop consumer centric foods with health claims on sustained energy release by using innovative technologies that impact food structure at the microscopic level. The aim is to further improve the health status of - at first instance - oat based starchy foods. At later stages, other starchy foods can be studied as well. We will provide oat-based food products rich in slowly digestible starch (SDS) and thus help the consumer manage his blood glucose levels, calorie intake and energy status. The product choice is justified: there are EFSA and FDA health claims on cholesterol lowering by oat β-glucan in food. Unfortunately, current oat-based products mostly have high glycemic indices as they have low SDS contents. The opportunity lies in altering starch digestibility by adapted milling and hydrothermal processing. The first can be optimized to change the particle size distribution, the degree of endosperm cell wall intactness and restriction of enzyme diffusion and that way digestibility of starch in the core of the particles. The second can be directed by varying temperature, moisture, pressure and time to change the degree to which starch swells, gelatinizes, and becomes digestible. Current cereal food processing has been developed before diabetes management and calorie intake have become an issue and, as a result, has mainly been directed at making starch accessible. Starch in many food products is therefore mostly fully gelatinized and rapidly digestible. Making products rich in SDS requires in depth knowledge of food and starch structure and digestibility and how they relate to food processing. This knowledge will be generated in a collaboration with Pepsico, Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), and Matis.