Public health nutrition for chronic disease control and prevention with rice bran and beans

Whole grains and dry beans demonstrate compelling chronic disease fighting properties, yet consumption of these staple foods remain extremely low.  A growing community-academic partnership is conducting clinical trials for increased consumption in children to adults. Our main objectives are to 1) establish feasibility of increasing navy bean powder (NBP) and rice bran (RB) intake in children with elevated cholesterol levels and adults with a history of colorectal cancer and 2) examine changes in overall dietary intakes with the addition of RB and/or NBP and 3) favorably modulate the blood and stool metabolome. Meals and snacks were developed for inclusion of NBP and/or RB in amounts that equate to roughly 5-10% of total dietary intake. Participants completed a pilot placebo-controlled, randomized, single-blinded dietary intervention trial. They consumed study meals daily for 4 weeks and recorded 3-day dietary food logs each week. Blood and stool samples were collected at three time points for blood and stool metabolome, and stool microbiome analyses. Adding NBP or RB into foods provided 4-9% daily caloric intake with 80-100% intervention compliance. Dietary intake data at baseline confirms a western dietary pattern including low fiber, high sodium, and high fat intake. This dietary intervention significantly increased total dietary fiber intakes at 4-weeks (p<0.05). Adding NBP or RB into prepared meals represents an economically feasible and safe approach to achieve dietary intakes that may control or prevent chronic diseases. Our data suggest that NBP and RB are promising solutions that merit public health nutrition education and research attention.