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WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

June 1, 2018 18 Comments

barley bowl copy

While wrinkles and grey hair may be the external signs of ageing, there’s a whole other process going on inside our bodies. ‘Inflamm-ageing’ is the term coined by doctors to describe the low-grade inflammation  intrinsically linked to the process of growing older.

It plays a central role in the all the chronic conditions of ageing: insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes, cognitive decline and reduced mental well-being; weight gain and loss of mobility; immune system decline, cancer and cardio-vascular disease. Research we wrote about here last year has shown that inflammation is as vital a target as cholesterol levels in heart disease prevention.

So why does this inflammation occur in our bodies as we age? There’s a range of possibilities, but recent research has pointed the finger at the gut. Our microbiome changes as we age: the result of a lifetime of dealing with harmful bacteria. It may be that at some point it tips over from being an anti-inflammatory environment to a pro-inflammatory one. In other words, it just holds up its hands and says ‘enough’s enough’.

Two rodent studies published last year support this theory. One transferred gut microbiota from elderly mice to young, germ-free mice. After four weeks, the young mice showed signs of inflamm-ageing, indicating that something in the microbiota was driving the inflammatory process. In another study, when mice were kept in a germ-free environment, they lived longer and aged better than mice in a normal environment. The germ-free mice had no inflammatory markers, cytokines, circulating in their systems. But when they mixed with elderly mice, there was increase in the cytokines in their blood.

So can we keep our gut microbiota young and reduce our ‘inflamm-ageing’? There’s evidence that the Mediterranean Diet can help this process – people who eat the Medi diet have lower levels of circulating inflammatory markers.  And research published last week indicates that eating yogurt may have a beneficial effect.

A quick disclaimer: this research was funded by the National Dairy Council of the USA. So they have a vested interest. But I spoke to a Harvard Professor last week as research for our book The Age-Well Project, and he suggested we shouldn’t dismiss funded research. As he put it, “Well, who else is going to pay for it?!” A good point.

Anyway, back to the yoghurt. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison gave women a portion of yogurt each day. The control group had a ‘non-dairy dessert’ instead. After nine weeks, the yoghurt eaters had lower levels of circulating inflammatory markers than the others. This seems to bolster the theory that yoghurt helps to strengthen the gut lining, so that endotoxins — ‘bad’ bacteria produced by the gut — can’t cross into the bloodstream and cause inflammation. In a further experiment, participants were fed a huge breakfast of sausage muffins and hash browns. Half proceeded their ‘feast’ with a bowl of yogurt, and half didn’t. Those who’d started with yogurt had fewer circulating endotoxins later in the day than those who didn’t.

I’m not sure that I want to start each meal with yogurt, but it’s fascinating to see the impact that a small dietary intervention can have on inflammation in our bodies.

This week’s recipe contains plenty of yogurt, and many of the ingredients which make the Mediterranean diet so powerful. It also features an ‘under-dressing’: one of my favourite foodie discoveries of recent years. Essentially, a thick dressing is slathered on the serving plate first, then the other ingredients are placed on top. Do trust me on this, this salad is one of  the most delicious things I’ve eaten in ages.

HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD WITH YOGURT-TAHINI UNDER-DRESSING (serves 4-6)

FOR THE SALAD:

  • 50g buckwheat (or a grain like brown rice) cooked as per packet instructions and cooled. This is a good opportunity to use up leftovers!
  • 800g prepared weight of veg to roast – sweet potatoes, red peppers, courgettes, aubergine, broccoli florets – your choice.
  • 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 50g walnuts
  • 6 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs harissa
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

FOR THE UNDER-DRESSING:

  • 200g Greek yogurt
  • 3 tbs tahini
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

TO SERVE, OPTIONAL:

  • Pomegranate seeds, 2 tsp of za’tar or 2 tbs of fresh chopped herbs like coriander or flat-leaf parsley

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Mix the oil, paprika and harissa. Season well. Mix 1 tbs of the harissa oil with the chickpeas. Put into an oven-proof dish. Chop the vegetables into bite-size pieces for roasting. Pour the remaining harissa oil over the vegetables and stir well to coat all the pieces.  Put them into a separate dish. Roast both dishes for 30 minutes. Pop the walnuts into a small dish and put them in the oven for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. The chickpeas should look darker and crunchy, the veg will be caramelised and starting to char. Leave to cool.

Mix together all the ingredients for the under-dressing and season well. Spread out on a large plate or serving platter. Then layer up the rest of the ingredients on top of the dressing: half the veg, buckwheat, chickpeas and walnuts. Repeat. Top with herbs, za’tar and/or pomegranate seeds.

 

Susan

  • Meal Types: Dinner
  • Conditions: Ageing, general, Gut
  • Ingredients: walnuts, yogurt
« HOW TO COMBAT AIR POLLUTION & LENTILS IN A LEMON AND TOMATO SAUCE
SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS »

Comments

  1. Alex Gayler says

    June 1, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    I would be interested to know where yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, comes in a league table of fermented foods useful for recolonising the gut biome.
    I have been trying to improve my diet in this respect but was under the impression that Greek yogurt was distinctly underpowered in this respect compared to foods like kefir and kimchi.
    Since I loathe sour, vinegary and acid tastes, and can only just about tolerate kefir if mixed with something to mask the taste, it would be good if it turned out that full fat Greek yogurt , which I do like, (rather than ordinary yogurt) was as effective.

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 1, 2018 at 3:25 pm

      Hi Alex
      Thanks for getting in touch. Very difficult to put together a league table of products based on their friendly bacteria, but live Greek yogurt is definitely a good source. Kefir is better though, as it has a wider range of gut-friendly bacteria than yogurt. I like the Bio-tiful range of kefir, it’s really mild and creamy, just like yogurt. Annabel makes her own, but I’m rubbish at it! Have you tried tempeh? It’s a fermented soya bean cake from Indonesia, and a distant cousin to tofu. It’s delicious and savoury without being sour. We’ve blogged about it here https://agewellproject.com/fabulous-fermented-foods-and-tempeh-stir-fry/

      Reply
  2. Jane says

    June 1, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    Love this article on yoghurt and guts. Will try the recipe too- it looks good!

    Reply
  3. Jane says

    June 1, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    Love this article on yoghurt and guts. Will try the recipe too- it looks good! Question: do you know if 0% fat Greek is the same as full fat when considering “LIVEness”?

    Reply
    • Jane says

      June 1, 2018 at 5:26 pm

      *yoghurt

      Reply
      • Susan Saunders says

        June 1, 2018 at 5:30 pm

        I did a lot of research into the yoghurt vs yogurt thing and decided that yoghurt is a bit old-fashioned. The UK food industry tried to standardise ‘yogurt’ some time ago. If yogurt is good enough for Waitrose, it’s good enough for me!

        Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 1, 2018 at 5:28 pm

      I don’t know actually – I think live is live regardless of fat content

      Reply
  4. Kevin says

    June 14, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    Hi Susan, it would be really useful if you had a “print article” button? Sometimes I need to print them, as emails and blogs just disappear (if only from my memory..) too quickly, and of course you can print the article directly but then you have to be careful not to print the pages of comments and feedback form etc.. (3, for example, in this case..)

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      June 14, 2019 at 3:22 pm

      Good point, Kevin. I’ll ask our tech whizz…

      Glad you like our posts enough to want to print them!

      Susan

      Reply
  5. Cassandra says

    June 15, 2019 at 12:20 am

    Sounds great, but what alternative to greek yoghurt is there if dairy doesn’t agree with your gut?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      July 8, 2019 at 9:53 pm

      Plain coconut yogurt would work well – let us know how you get on!

      Reply
  6. Lou Jablonowska says

    November 22, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    Hi Susan, great article and recipes. I was lsitenign to a podcast about microbiomes being better in babies born through natural childbirth and who were breastfed. How we can continue with that as adults defiitely merits more research. I also heard that having a dog and using less ant-bacterial cleaning sprays are beneficial. Am definitely going to try the harissa vegetables. Thanks !

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      November 24, 2019 at 2:17 pm

      Thanks Lou, yes, I had heard that being born by Caesarean section, and bottle-fed, resulted in a depleted microbiome. But this affects so many people, and there are so many things we can do to boost gut health. And in the book we quote the New York Times which described dog ownership as a probiotic! x

      Reply
  7. Dawn says

    November 24, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    Your posts are always really interesting and informative. The recipes also are delicious!!
    I’ve tried pretty much every one since you began posting as ‘kale & cocoa’; my husband and I love them!!
    Ageing well is definitely our goal, so thank you for all the straight-forward and clear to follow advice.

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      November 24, 2019 at 6:01 pm

      Thank you so much Dawn! We love hearing from satisfied customers! So glad the recipes are hitting the spot

      Reply
  8. Elizabeth says

    May 21, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    I’ve just discovered this and made it and it’s delicious. Do you have a cookbook, or are you planning one, if not why not! 😊

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      May 23, 2022 at 10:34 am

      Thanks so much Elizabeth! It’s one of my favourite recipes on the blog. We haven’t done a cookbook, and aren’t planning one, but there are lots of delicious recipes in our books The Age-Well Project and The Age-Well Plan!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. THE OILS AND FATS WE KEEP IN OUR AGE-WELL KITCHENS - The Age-Well Project says:
    June 14, 2019 at 11:50 am

    […] But how do we use this ‘liquid gold’? Mainly as a salad dressing or to drizzle over cooked vegetables. The combination of the oil’s unsaturated fats with the nitrates in salad and green vegetables has been found to reduce high blood pressure (hypertension). We also roast vegetables in olive oil with a little seasoning. Plates of roasted sweet potato, squash, peppers and many other vegetables are staples on our tables. Try our recipe for harissa-roasted vegetable salad with yogurt-tahini underdressing. […]

    Reply

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

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