Dietitian nutritionists, other scientists, public health officials and others have known for years that dietary fiber can reduce inflammation. They also know that the vast majority of people don’t get enough of it in their diets.
“Only 5% of our population is meeting our guidelines for fiber intake,” said Mariah Jackson, PhD, assistant professor of medical nutrition in the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions.
And at the population level, this can increase risk for illnesses like cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.
Now, Dr. Jackson and Corrine Hanson, PhD, professor and director of medical nutrition in the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, are part of a team of 53 scientists, including colleagues from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, exploring naturally breeding different varieties of wheat, so that the resulting food would remain higher in fiber content, even in a refined-grain product.
Simply put, most of the food that people eat doesn’t come with much fiber.
“The more processed food is, the less fiber it has,” Dr. Hanson said. “By default, processing takes away most of the fiber.”
Several previous efforts have tried to address the disparity, including education and public health campaigns; Nebraska Extension has community programs. Dr. Jackson is doing funded research for the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center studying how personalized nutrition counseling, telehealth follow-ups and hands-on cooking classes focused on affordable, high-fiber meals could improve outcomes for cancer survivors.
The breeding project would take what Dr. Jackson called a “huge coalition,” including food scientists, agronomists and more.
The Foundation for Innovation in Healthy Food currently has such a team. The 53 scientists include a handful from the University of Nebraska.
Katherine Frels, PhD, assistant professor in the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, specializes in small grains breeding and genetics. Devin Rose, PhD, professor of food science and technology at UNL and the Nebraska Food for Health Center, is another co-investigator.
Each contributor does their part. At UNMC, “We’ve been really involved in helping map out the science behind how fiber impacts your health overall,” Dr. Jackson said.
Part of the goal of the project is to make the transition seamless.
“It needs to cook the same. It needs to taste the same,” Dr. Hanson said. “It needs to make the same kind of bread we are used to.” The goal is, the consumer won’t even notice they’re eating healthier foods.
Ideally, farmers wouldn’t notice any inconvenient changes, either. “The yields need to be the same,” Dr. Jackson said.
“We need to make sure it’s affordable,” Dr. Hanson said. “There’s an entire economics team.”
If successful, the Foundation for Innovation in Healthy Food hopes to apply similar innovation to other crop staples such as rice, corn, potatoes, sorghum and plantains.
While people likely won’t see huge increases in their individual diets, the UNMC faculty said, the project’s goal is “to reduce chronic disease at the population scale.” This would result in improved health outcomes at the population level and significant health care savings on a national scale.