Indigenous Food Processing Methods that Improve Nutrient Bioavailability in Plant-based Diets of the Kenyan Population: the Example of Zinc

Most Kenyan diets are composed of cereals and legumes that have a high content of zinc inhibitors, whose levels may be reduced through appropriate food processing technologies at the household level. Indigenous food processing methods like soaking, germination, drying, fermentation, boiling, and roasting, and diet combinations usually reduce the levels of zinc antagonists in the plant diets, thus increasing zinc absorption and bioavailability. These methods are used in combination to both enhance organoleptic properties of food, increasing acceptability and also promoting complementation of nutrients. There are food combination patterns that enhance nutrient bioavailability and complementation that were known to most traditional households and are quickly being forgotten due to lack of proper knowledge transfer. There is a need for profiling the indigenous knowledge in food processing, preparation and diet combinations to identify processes that promote nutrient content and bioavailability for improved health and nutrient situation of rural populations whose diets are basically plant based. The identification of suitable sources of absorbable zinc and possible suitable dietary combinations can contribute towards the reduction of zinc deficiency. This chapter discusses the indigenous food processing methods that enhance zinc absorption and bioavailability of zinc in local dietary combinations that could reduce zinc deficiency.