Pretty much every which way you look, there are claims about sourdough improving gut health, but no actual human studies have shown this. My research into this area has, no doubt, fuelled interest. So, while researching and writing Sweet Sourdough, our in-house team began an intervention study to see if our approach actually improved mood and gut health in individuals who bake using our Seven Principles of Sourdough.

The participants baked and consumed my diversity breads and cakes from Sweet Sourdough for almost three months. Afterwards, we re-tested their gut microbiomes to find out what had actually happened physically. We also asked individuals to keep a score of their mental health throughout the intervention. I am delighted to say that the results stand up and it has been extraordinary. This is especially relevant – as our panel point out – because this intervention study took place during a period of incredibly high stress and uncertainty, just as the global pandemic outbreak began and lockdown started.

It is fascinating to listen to the feedback from each participant as our in-house team discuss the specific results of changes in the gut and in mood on a case-by-case basis. I hope you will enjoy delving deeper into the results and watching the feedback from our panel of experts.

With huge gratitude to the participants for being so dedicated; to our panel of experts, Miguel, Alex and Elizabeth for their incredibly generous work and input; to Mockmill and Gilchester’s for supplying the grains and the mills; and to Atlas Biomed for supplying the tests that made this possible.

Vanessa Kimbell