Search

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can extend life expectancy and improve a person's health status. In addition to physical activity and bad habits related to smoking and alcohol, diet is also a determining factor. Following a healthy diet pattern over time and supporting a healthy body weight contributes to reducing the risk of developing more severe complications associated with very common diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases. The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans promote the adoption of fat-free or low-fat diets and discourage the consumption of foods with added sugar and solid fats, such as ice creams and other frozen desserts. On the other hand, ice cream, from a nutritional and healthy point of view, can be considered a possible food choice, due to its greater palatability and high nutritional content, but its consumption must be scheduled in a balanced diet. In this retrospective study, 36 patients with chronic renal failure were enrolled. Two different diets were proposed (A and B). In Diet B, lemon sorbet was added twice a week as an alternative food to replace fruit or snacks making the diet more varied and palatable. Nutritional status and biohumoral, immunological, and blood parameters were evaluated after 6 months. A statistical analysis shows a significant inter-group difference in creatinine and azotemia between T0 and T1. Intra-group significant differences were found in lymphocytes (p = 0.005) and azotemia (p < 0.001) in Diet A, and in azotemia (p < 0.001) and transferrin (p < 0.001) in Diet B. The results indicated that ice cream represented a good alternative food in both groups of patients regarding nutritional values and patient satisfaction. Furthermore, the treatment with ice cream allowed for better control of azotemia, maintaining stable levels even in patients with advanced CKD. This study concludes that ice cream could exert beneficial effects in addition to CKD patients' dietary regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early vascular aging is related to various cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Healthful lifestyle practices and interventions, including dietary regimens and consistent aerobic exercise, exert favorable modulation on these processes, thereby diminishing the risk of cardiovascular disease with advancing age. The principal objective of this review was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and synthesis of the available literature regarding the effectiveness of different diets on vascular health, such as arterial stiffness and endothelial function. To conduct this review, a thorough search of electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection was carried out. Based on the existing evidence, the Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and low-calorie diets may have a beneficial effect on vascular health. However, more randomized controlled trials with sufficient sample sizes, longer follow-ups, rigorous methodologies, and, possibly, head-to-head comparisons between the different diets are needed to shed light on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can extend life expectancy and improve a person’s health status. In addition to physical activity and bad habits related to smoking and alcohol, diet is also a determining factor. Following a healthy diet pattern over time and supporting a healthy body weight contributes to reducing the risk of developing more severe complications associated with very common diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases. The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans promote the adoption of fat-free or low-fat diets and discourage the consumption of foods with added sugar and solid fats, such as ice creams and other frozen desserts. On the other hand, ice cream, from a nutritional and healthy point of view, can be considered a possible food choice, due to its greater palatability and high nutritional content, but its consumption must be scheduled in a balanced diet. In this retrospective study, 36 patients with chronic renal failure were enrolled. Two different diets were proposed (A and B). In Diet B, lemon sorbet was added twice a week as an alternative food to replace fruit or snacks making the diet more varied and palatable. Nutritional status and biohumoral, immunological, and blood parameters were evaluated after 6 months. A statistical analysis shows a significant inter-group difference in creatinine and azotemia between T0 and T1. Intra-group significant differences were found in lymphocytes (p = 0.005) and azotemia (p < 0.001) in Diet A, and in azotemia (p < 0.001) and transferrin (p < 0.001) in Diet B. The results indicated that ice cream represented a good alternative food in both groups of patients regarding nutritional values and patient satisfaction. Furthermore, the treatment with ice cream allowed for better control of azotemia, maintaining stable levels even in patients with advanced CKD. This study concludes that ice cream could exert beneficial effects in addition to CKD patients’ dietary regimens.

The average human life expectancy continues to rise globally and so does the prevalence and absolute burden of cardiovascular disease. Dietary restriction promotes longevity and improves various cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. However, low adherence to caloric restriction renders this stringent dietary intervention challenging to adopt as a standard practice for cardiovascular disease prevention. Hence, alternative eating patterns and strategies that recapitulate the salutary benefits of caloric restriction are under intense investigation. Here, we first provide an overview of alternative interventions, including intermittent fasting, alternate-day fasting and the Mediterranean diet, along with their cardiometabolic effects in animal models and humans. We then present emerging pharmacological alternatives, including spermidine, NAD+ precursors, resveratrol, and metformin, as promising caloric restriction mimetics, and briefly touch on the mechanisms underpinning their cardiometabolic and health-promoting effects. We conclude that implementation of feasible dietary approaches holds the promise to attenuate the burden of cardiovascular disease and facilitate healthy aging in humans.

Objective: To understand non-adherence to medically recommended diets among Mayans with diabetes.Design: Using partially sequential mixed methods, questionnaires, semi-structured brief and in-depth interviews were applied. Questionnaire data were analysed with Pearson's χ2 and Student's t tests and qualitative interviews with grounded theory microanalysis.Setting: Rural, predominantly Mayan communities in Chiapas, Quintana Roo and Yucatan, Mexico, 2008-2012.Participants: Purposive sample of Mayans with type 2 diabetes; using public health care; 168 women and twenty-seven men; age 21-50+ years.Results: Participants understood diabetes as caused by negative emotions, divine punishment, revenge via spells, chemicals in food and high sugar/fat consumption. Eliminating corn, pork, sugary beverages and inexpensive industrialized foods was perceived as difficult or impossible. More Mayans reporting not understanding physician instructions (30 v. 18 %) reported difficulty reducing red meat consumption (P = 0·051). Non-adherence was influenced by lack of patient-provider shared knowledge and medical recommendations misaligned with local culture. Men whose wives prepared their meals, women who liked vegetables and young adults whose mothers prepared their meals reported greater adherence to dietary recommendations. Partial adherents said it made life tolerable and those making no physician-recommended dietary changes considered them too restrictive (they meant 'starving to death'). Over half (57 %) of participants reported non-adherence; the two principal reasons were dislike of recommended foods (52·5 %) and high cost (26·2 %).Conclusions: Adherence to dietary regimens in diabetes treatment is largely related to social and cultural issues. Taking cultural diversity, food preferences, local food availability and poverty into consideration is essential when developing health-promotion activities related to diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are widespread inconsistencies and contradictions in the many published definitions of 'nutraceuticals' and 'functional foods', demonstrating wholesale uncertainty about what they actually are. Furthermore, in a 2014 lecture, the inventor of the term 'nutraceutical', confessing that nutraceuticals do not work, said that 'the quest to demonstrate whether ... long-term supplementation [with nutraceuticals] can prevent serious diseases ... has come to an end'. Definitions of 'nutraceuticals' and related terms, still widely used, should therefore be explored systematically. There are no internationally agreed definitions of 'nutraceuticals' and 'functional foods', or of similar terms, such as 'health foods', or of terms related to herbal products, which are sometimes referred to as 'nutraceuticals', compounding the confusion. 'Nutraceuticals' and 'functional foods' are vague, nondiscriminatory, unhelpful terms; the evidence suggests that they should be abandoned in favour of more precise terms. The term 'dietary supplement' is widely used to designate formulations that are also called 'nutraceuticals' but it would be better restricted to individual compounds used to treat or prevent deficiencies. 'Fortified foods', sometimes called 'designer foods', are foods to which compounds of proven therapeutic or preventive efficacy (e.g. folic acid) have been added. Other terms, such as 'food', 'foodstuffs', 'eat', 'drink', and 'nutrition', are well defined, as are 'medicinal products' and 'pharmaceutical formulations'. Dietary regimens, such as Mediterranean or nitrate-rich diets or vegetarianism, can affect health. A dietary regimen of this kind can be defined as a programme of food, of a defined kind and/or quantity, prescribed or adopted for the restoration or preservation of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypothesis: A healthy gut with normal intestinal microflora is completely disrupted by oral antibiotics. The byproducts of harmful gut bacteria can interfere with brain development and may contribute to autism. Strategies to improve the gut microflora profile through dietary modification may help to alleviate gut disorders in autistic patients. Method: Sixty young male western albino rats were divided into six equal groups. The first group served as the control; the second group was given an oral neurotoxic dose of propionic (PPA) (250 mg/kg body weight/day) for three days. The third group received an orogastric dose of ampicillin (50 mg/kg for three weeks) with a standard diet. Groups 4, 5 and 6 were given an orogastric dose of ampicillin and fed high-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-lipid diets, respectively, for 10 weeks. Biochemical parameters related to oxidative stress were investigated in brain homogenates from each group. Result: The microbiology results revealed descriptive changes in the fecal microbiota of rats treated with ampicillin either alone or with the three dietary regimens. The results of PPA acid and ampicillin treatment showed significant increases in lipid peroxidation and catalase with decreases in glutathione and potassium compared with levels in the control group. A protein-rich diet was effective at restoring the glutathione level, while the carbohydrate-rich diet recovered lipid peroxidation and catalase activity. In addition, the three dietary regimens significantly increase the potassium level in the brain tissue of the test animals. Lactate dehydrogenase was remarkably elevated in all groups relative to the control. No outstanding effects were observed in glutathione S-transferase and creatine kinase. Conclusion: The changes observed in the measured parameters reflect the neurotoxic effects of PPA and ampicillin. Lipid peroxide and catalase activity and the levels of glutathione and potassium are satisfactory biomarkers of PPA and ampicillin neurotoxicity. Based on the effects of the three dietary regimens, a balanced diet can protect against PPA or ampicillin-induced neurotoxicity that might induce autistic traits. These outcomes will help efforts directed at controlling the prevalence of autism, a disorder that has recently been associated with PPA neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral nerves are highly susceptible to injuries induced from everyday activities such as falling or work and sport accidents as well as more severe incidents such as car and motorcycle accidents. Many efforts have been made to improve nerve regeneration, but a satisfactory outcome is still unachieved, highlighting the need for easy to apply supportive strategies for stimulating nerve growth and functional recovery. Recent focus has been made on the effect of the consumed diet and its relation to healthy and well-functioning body systems. Normally, a balanced, healthy daily diet should provide our body with all the needed nutritional elements for maintaining correct function. The health of the central and peripheral nervous system is largely dependent on balanced nutrients supply. While already addressed in many reviews with different focus, we comprehensively review here the possible role of different nutrients in maintaining a healthy peripheral nervous system and their possible role in supporting the process of peripheral nerve regeneration. In fact, many dietary supplements have already demonstrated an important role in peripheral nerve development and regeneration; thus, a tailored dietary plan supplied to a patient following nerve injury could play a non-negotiable role in accelerating and promoting the process of nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]