Gut Reactions – Impacting Digestive Health with Prebiotics and Probiotics
Thursday, March 25, 2010
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
- Lisa Sanders, Ph.D., R.D., Nutrition Scientist, Tate & Lyle
- Joseph Sturino, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Microbiology, Gastrointestinal Health, and Director, Phenomics Facility Core, Texas A&M University
Consumers have a growing interest in eating foods that promote physiological benefits beyond basic nutrition. Sixty-one percent of consumers believe that digestive health is important to overall health, and 52 percent believe that fiber promotes healthy digestion. Research consistently indicates that the consumption of probiotics may increase the number of healthful bacteria in the GI tract, while at the same time reducing harmful bacteria. Moreover, studies show that when administered together, prebiotics and probiotics can work synergistically to promote good digestive health. This session will compare and contrast prebiotics and probiotics, and explore the latest research that describes their symbiotic relationship, as well as how this relationship positively impacts digestive health.
About the Speakers: 
Dr. Lisa Sanders is a registered dietitian and a nutrition scientist at Tate & Lyle. In this role, her responsibilities include the development of health platforms for new and existing products, and the management of Tate & Lyle products on a global basis. She also provides scientific support to the regulatory, sales, and marketing departments. Prior to her position at Tate & Lyle, she was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Sanders completed her bachelor and doctorate degrees in Nutrition Sciences at Texas A&M University, where the focus of her research was dietary fat and fiber influences on the health of the large intestine, and prevention of colon cancer development.
Dr. Joseph Sturino is an assistant professor of Molecular Microbiology and Gastrointestinal Health in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Texas A&M University. He also serves as the director of the Phenomics Facility Core at Texas A&M University. An emerging expert in the field of prebiotics and probiotics, Dr. Sturino has published more than five research articles, reviews, book chapters, and position papers. He has been a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Midwest Center for Structural Genomics, and Lactic Acid Bacteria Genomics Consortium Structural Genomics Initiative.