Formulation and processing strategies for obtaining bakery products tailored to the elderly’s needs

As the global population continues to age, nutritional needs change as we age. Nutrition plays a critical role in modulating the development of many age-related physiological changes and diseases. Moreover, the elderly have chronic food-related health conditions such as obesity, type II diabetes, sarcopenia, cardiovascular diseases, or hypertension. The design of foods tailored to the specific needs of the elderly might favour the fulfilment of nutritionally balanced diets while reducing the consequences of malnutrition. Designing foods for the elderly is widely studied today to match of linking food composition to physiological outcomes. Thus, in this Ph.D. thesis, an integrated approach to developing age-tailored foods based on the integration between the technological and the nutritional viewpoint is proposed. In particular, nutritional needs (i.e., protein requirement) and sensory expectations of bread of the sub-group of health active elderly, were analysed. Technological interventions based on formulation and conventional and unconventional processing were applied to develop a protein-enriched bread. In order to study the digestion fate of nutrients, an in vitro digestion method mimicking elderly GI conditions was developed. This adapted digestion method was performed to study the nutritional functionality of the developed bread. In particular, its protein and carbohydrate digestibility and the putative impact on glyceamic response were studied. Acquired results showed the adapted static in vitro digestion method was able to discriminate protein and carbohydrate digestibility under adult and elderly GI conditions. Moreover, the formulation and processing conditions applied influenced the resulting nutritional functionalities. Results clearly highlighted how food functionality is affected by food composition and matrix, technological interventions, and by the digestion process. The efficacy of some technological interventions in enriching protein and unconventional processing was demonstrated. This knowledge will provide a tool to drive the development of novel strategies required for the development of age-tailored foods.