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Personalized nutrition (PN) approaches have been shown to help drive behavior change and positively influence health outcomes. This has led to an increase in the development of commercially available PN programs, which utilize various forms of individual-level information to provide services and products for consumers. The lack of a well-accepted definition of PN or an established set of guiding principles for the implementation of PN creates barriers for establishing credibility and efficacy. To address these points, the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute convened a multidisciplinary panel. In this article, a definition for PN is proposed: "Personalized nutrition uses individual-specific information, founded in evidence-based science, to promote dietary behavior change that may result in measurable health benefits." In addition, 10 guiding principles for PN approaches are proposed: 1) define potential users and beneficiaries; 2) use validated diagnostic methods and measures; 3) maintain data quality and relevance; 4) derive data-driven recommendations from validated models and algorithms; 5) design PN studies around validated individual health or function needs and outcomes; 6) provide rigorous scientific evidence for an effect on health or function; 7) deliver user-friendly tools; 8) for healthy individuals, align with population-based recommendations; 9) communicate transparently about potential effects; and 10) protect individual data privacy and act responsibly. These principles are intended to establish a basis for responsible approaches to the evidence-based research and practice of PN and serve as an invitation for further public dialog. Several challenges were identified for PN to continue gaining acceptance, including defining the health-disease continuum, identification of biomarkers, changing regulatory landscapes, accessibility, and measuring success. Although PN approaches hold promise for public health in the future, further research is needed on the accuracy of dietary intake measurement, utilization and standardization of systems approaches, and application and communication of evidence.

More than 75 women have successfully graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger Course since the integration of women into elite military combat training. This study sought to identify the psychological characteristics and sociological variables that contributed to their motivation and success. A guided interview and demographic and psychological questionnaires were used to assess characteristics of 13 women who successfully completed elite military combat training. Collectively, these women were college graduates and had well educated fathers, possessed high levels of grit and resiliency, and described themselves as self-competitive challenge seekers. These women all had a strong male influence in their lives. The characteristics of these pioneer women may be unique from subsequent cohorts as female participation in elite military combat training becomes the norm and as attitudes and experiences change for graduates of female combat training over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Food processing alters diet digestibility and composition, thereby influencing interactions between host biology, diet, and the gut microbiota. The fecal metabolome offers insight into those relations by providing a readout of diet–microbiota interactions impacting host health. Objectives The aims were to determine the effects of consuming a processed diet on the fecal metabolome and to explore relations between changes in the fecal metabolome with fecal microbiota composition and gastrointestinal health markers. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial wherein healthy adults [94% male; 18–61 y; BMI (kg/m2): 26 ± 3] consumed their usual diet [control (CON), n  = 27] or a Meal, Ready-to-EatTM (Ameriqual Packaging) military ration diet composed of processed, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat items for 21 d (MRE; n  = 27). Fecal metabolite profiles, fecal microbiota composition, biomarkers of intestinal barrier function, and gastrointestinal symptoms were measured before and after the intervention. Between-group differences and associations were assessed using nonparametric t tests, partial least-squares discriminant analysis, correlation, and redundancy analysis. Results Fecal concentrations of multiple dipeptides [Mann-Whitney effect size (ES) = 0.27–0.50] and long-chain SFAs (ES = 0.35–0.58) increased, whereas plant-derived compounds (ES = 0.31–0.60) decreased in MRE versus CON (P  < 0.05; q  < 0.20). Changes in dipeptides correlated positively with changes in fecal concentrations of Maillard-reaction products (ρ = 0.29–0.70; P  < 0.05) and inversely with changes in serum prealbumin (ρ = −0.30 to −0.48; P  ≤ 0.03). Multiple bile acids, coffee and caffeine metabolites, and plant-derived compounds were associated with both fecal microbiota composition and gastrointestinal health markers, with changes in fecal microbiota composition explaining 26% of the variability within changes in gastrointestinal health–associated fecal metabolites (P  = 0.001). Conclusions Changes in the fecal metabolomes of adults consuming a Meal, Ready-to-EatTM diet implicate interactions between diet composition, diet digestibility, and the gut microbiota as contributing to variability within gastrointestinal responses to the diet. Findings underscore the need to consider both food processing and nutrient composition when investigating the impact of diet–gut microbiota interactions on health outcomes. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02423551. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn is an essential nutrient for humans; however, a sensitive biomarker to assess Zn status has not been identified. The objective of this study was to determine the reliability and sensitivity of Zn transporter and metallothionein (MT) genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to Zn exposure ex vivo and to habitual Zn intake in human subjects. In study 1, human PBMCs were cultured for 24 h with 0–50 µm ZnSO4 with or without 5 µm N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), and mRNA expression of SLC30A1-10, SLC39A1-14, MT1 subtypes (A, B, E, F, G, H, L, M and X), MT2A, MT3 and MT4 mRNA was determined. In study 2, fifty-four healthy male and female volunteers (31·9 (sd 13·8) years, BMI 25·7 (sd 2·9) kg/m2) completed a FFQ, blood was collected, PBMCs were isolated and mRNA expression of selected Zn transporters and MT isoforms was determined. Study 1: MT1E, MT1F, MT1G, MT1H, MT1L, MT1M, MT1X, MT2A and SLC30A1 increased with increasing concentrations of Zn and declined with the addition of TPEN. Study 2: Average daily Zn intake was 16·0 (sd 5·3) mg/d (range: 9–31 mg/d), and plasma Zn concentrations were 15·5 (SD 2·8) μmol/l (range 11–23 μmol/l). PBMC MT2A was positively correlated with dietary Zn intake (r 0·306, P = 0·03) and total Zn intake (r 0·382, P < 0·01), whereas plasma Zn was not (P > 0·05 for both). Findings suggest that MT2A mRNA in PBMCs reflects dietary Zn intake in healthy adults and may be a component in determining Zn status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Skeletal muscle physiology and metabolism are regulated by complex networks of intracellular signaling pathways. Among many of these pathways, the protein kinase AKT plays a prominent role. While three AKT isoforms have been identified (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3), surprisingly little is known regarding isoform‐specific expression of AKT in human skeletal muscle. To address this, we examined the expressions of each AKT isoform in muscle biopsy samples collected from the vastus lateralis of healthy male adults at rest. In muscle, AKT2 was the most highly expressed AKT transcript, exhibiting a 15.4‐fold increase over AKT1 and AKT3 transcripts. Next, the abundance of AKT protein isoforms was determined using antibody immunoprecipitation followed by Liquid Chromatography‐Parallel Reaction Monitoring/Mass Spectrometry. Immunoprecipitation was performed using either mouse or rabbit pan AKT antibodies that were immunoreactive with all three AKT isoforms. We found that AKT2 was the most abundant AKT isoform in human skeletal muscle (4.2‐fold greater than AKT1 using the rabbit antibody and 1.6‐fold greater than AKT1 using the mouse antibody). AKT3 was virtually undetectable. Next, cultured primary human myoblasts were virally‐transduced with cDNAs encoding either wild‐type (WT) or kinase‐inactive AKT1 (AKT1‐K179M) or AKT2 (AKT2‐K181M) and allowed to terminally differentiate. Myotubes expressing WT‐AKT1 or WT‐AKT2 showed enhanced fusion compared to control myotubes, while myotubes expressing AKT1‐K179M showed a 14% reduction in fusion. Myotubes expressing AKT2‐K181M displayed 63% decreased fusion compared to control. Together, these data identify AKT2 as the most highly‐expressed AKT isoform in human skeletal muscle and as the principal AKT isoform regulating human myoblast differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]