How bread and beans could beat diabetes

SCOTTISH scientists are developing revolutionary foods which could help tackle obesity and prevent diabetes.

Researchers in Aberdeen have ‘reformulated’ popular items such as bread and yoghurt with ingredients which help to control blood sugar levels.

A number of measures have already been carried out across the UK to limit unhealthy ingredients such as sugar and salt.

But the products being developed at the Rowett Institute go a step further and contain ingredients known to play a specific role in aiding the digestive system.

Dr Vassilios Raikos, a research fellow at the institute, said that the project includes developing a drinking yoghurt containing berries, as well as a bread that has been reformulated to include powdered broad beans.

Such ingredients slow absorption of starch and sugar by the body, which could help to prevent or control type 2 diabetes.

Dr Raikos said: ‘A lot of work is going into the idea of reformulating commercial products that people like to eat. It’s not about reducing salt or sugar levels but introducing healthier compounds that are normally discarded or grown locally to make the process economical.

‘We’ve produced yoghurt drinks made with blackberry skin, which is normally discarded, and salal berries, which are grown in Orkney. So far it is quite a primitive recipe and needs developed further but they tasted like a fruit yoghurt drink and are pink and don’t taste bitter. The next stage would be to tweak the recipe to make it taste like something people would choose to eat.’

A healthy diet is known to play a crucial role in controlling the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, which affects more than a quarter of a million Scots and is linked to obesity.

It is hoped Dr Raikos’s work will result in the reformulated foods being made available in shops.

The results of the yoghurt trials have recently been published in research journal Heliyon.

Dr Raikos said: ‘We’ve also developed a bread that contains powdered broad bean hulls – again something normally discarded – which replaces some of the flour.

‘We’re about to begin human trials to see how much powder is needed to have an effect on blood sugar levels without compromising the texture and appearance of the bread.’

Natural compounds in the beans and fruits are believed to inhibit gut enzymes responsible for digesting large carbohydrate molecules such as starch and sugar.

Once digested, these are broken down into glucose, which in large quantities can lead to type 2 diabetes. If the process is slowed, blood glucose levels are better regulated.

At least 500,000 Scots are considered at ‘high risk’ of developing diabetes because of factors including being overweight and having a family history of type 2 diabetes.

A recent study found 35 per cent of Scots are overweight or obese by the time they reach the age of 14.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government set a new target to reduce child obesity in Scotland by half by 2030.

‘Healthier compounds’