Nutrition Capacity Building to Meet National Priorities: Lessons Learned in Developing and Implementing Malawi's First Dietetics Program.

The current nutrition situation in Malawi, characterized by high rates of malnutrition in communities and hospitals and a rapidly increasing burden of overweight/obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, highlights the urgent need for registered dietitians, who have a proven track record in the prevention and management of all forms of malnutrition and improving patient outcomes. However, dietetics practice has been described as underdeveloped and fragmented in many parts of Africa, exacerbated by a severe and chronic shortage of dietetics professionals and a lack of nutrition and dietetic education programs in most African countries.We share early lessons learned in the development and implementation of the first dietetics program in Malawi.

Sensory and nutritional properties of peanut-based beverages: a promising solution for undernutrition in Malawi and possibly beyond.

Background: Undernutrition remains a challenge in countries like Malawi. The search for effective nutrition interventions to address this challenge is ongoing. In this study, the sensory profiles of six peanut-based beverage prototypes were determined.

Hydrothermally Treated Soybeans Can Enrich Maize Stiff Porridge (Africa's Main Staple) without Negating Sensory Acceptability.

Maize-based stiff porridge, a starchy protein-deficient staple food, dominates among the populations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Unfortunately, this is often consumed along with leafy vegetables since the majority of the population in this region lack resources for the purchase of high protein animal source foods, a situation that exacerbates protein-energy malnutrition. Considering this, the current study evaluated the effect of enriching maize-based stiff porridge with flour made from hydrothermally treated soybeans on consumer acceptability.

Targeting caregivers with context specific behavior change training increased uptake of recommended hygiene practices during food preparation and complementary feeding in Dedza district of Central Malawi.

The effect of a targeted training intervention on uptake of recommended hygiene practices by caregivers of children 6-23 months was assessed. A sub-sample of 40 mothers from 303 households was used for a detailed study of hygiene practices during preparation of complementary foods after training. Mothers and caregivers were observed for 6 months and evaluated using a questionnaire.

Effect of cowpea flour processing on the chemical properties and acceptability of a novel cowpea blended maize porridge.

Childhood growth stunting is a pervasive problem in Malawi and is in large part due to low quality complementary foods and chronic gut inflammation. Introducing legumes such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) into the complementary diet has the potential to improve childhood growth by improving diet quality through improvements in macro- and micronutrients and also by reducing gut inflammation. However, cowpea is relatively underutilized in complementary feeding in Malawi due to its strong taste, long processing time, and high energy requirements for processing.

How immediate and significant is the outcome of training on diversified diets, hygiene and food safety? An effort to mitigate child undernutrition in rural Malawi.

Objective: The present study examined the impacts of training on nutrition, hygiene and food safety designed by the Nutrition Working Group, Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group (CORE).

Design: Adapted from the 21d Positive Deviance/Hearth model, mothers were trained on the subjects of appropriate complementary feeding, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices, and aflatoxin contamination in food. To assess the impacts on child undernutrition, a randomised controlled trial was implemented on a sample of 179 mothers and their children (<2 years old) in two districts of Malawi, namely Mzimba and Balaka.

Glycemic responses to maize flour stiff porridges prepared using local recipes in Malawi.

Glycemic index is defined as the incremental area under the blood glucose response curve of a 50 g carbohydrate portion of a test food expressed as a percent of the response to the same amount of carbohydrate from a standard food taken by the same subject. This study investigated glycemic index of maize stiff porridges consumed as staple food in Malawi and a large majority of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to identify areas for improvement in consumer diets. Stiff porridges were prepared using flour from whole maize, maize grits, and fermented maize grits.

Metabolite changes during natural and lactic acid bacteria fermentations in pastes of soybeans and soybean-maize blends.

The effect of natural and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation processes on metabolite changes in pastes of soybeans and soybean-maize blends was studied. Pastes composed of 100% soybeans, 90% soybeans and 10% maize, and 75% soybeans and 25% maize were naturally fermented (NFP), and were fermented by lactic acid bacteria (LFP). LAB fermentation processes were facilitated through back-slopping using a traditional fermented gruel, thobwa as an inoculum.

Sensory evaluation and consumer acceptance of naturally and lactic acid bacteria-fermented pastes of soybeans and soybean-maize blends.

Fermented pastes of soybeans and soybean-maize blends were evaluated to determine sensory properties driving consumer liking. Pastes composed of 100% soybeans, 90% soybeans and 10% maize, and 75% soybeans and 25% maize were naturally fermented (NFP), and lactic acid bacteria fermented (LFP). Lactic acid bacteria fermentation was achieved through backslopping using a fermented cereal gruel, thobwa.