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Because of the maternal diet's importance, numerous studies have examined the effects of olive oil on pregnancy outcomes. This study provides a systematic review that evaluates the evidence between olive oil consumption and maternal-fetal outcomes. We hypothesized that olive oil reduced the risk of adverse pregnancy complications. We searched Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde electronic databases (October and November 2021). The keywords used were pregnancy, olive oil, and pregnancy outcomes. This review included all the available studies in English and Portuguese. The exclusion criteria were (1) unrelated to olive oil consumption, (2) other outcomes, and (3) animal studies. The review included 9 articles (6 experimental and 3 observational). In the maternal outcome studies (n = 6), a higher olive oil consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, and cardiovascular risk. In the fetal outcome studies (n = 8), olive oil consumption was associated with a lower risk for small- or large-for-gestational-age infants. Olive oil consumption confers protective effects on pregnancy outcomes; however, further studies are needed that are specifically designed for the impact of olive oil consumption on maternal-fetal outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study investigates the effect of olive leaf tea (OLT) on postprandial glycemia in healthy volunteers when ingested with a high-carbohydrate meal, compared with a placebo tea (CON). Healthy adults participated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, and cross-over design trial receiving a high-rich carbohydrate meal with either 250 mL of OLT or CON at two different times after a washout period. The sequence order was randomized at a ratio of 1:1. Capillary blood glucose was measured in a 2 h period after ingestion. Eighteen participants were initially randomized. Of these, thirteen completed the trial and were analyzed. The consumption of OLT resulted in a delay in peak time (48.5 ± 4.2 min vs. 35.7 ± 4.0 min, p = 0.03) and a significant increase in glucose area under the curve compared to placebo (14,502.7 ± 640.8 vs. 13,633.3 ± 869.4 mg/dL·min, p = 0.03). Results are depicted as mean ± SEM. The OLT and CON palatability were generally well accepted. No adverse effects were reported. OLT did not ameliorate a glycemic curve induced by carbohydrate-rich meal ingestion, suggesting that at least when ingested acutely in a single meal, OLT does not have antihyperglycemic effects. Future studies should account for chronic consumption providing a better understanding of glycemic regulation over time.

(1) Background: Metabolic syndrome is associated with cardiovascular complications. Therefore, this study aims to establish cut points for the conicity index based on the components of metabolic syndrome and to associate it with characteristic sociodemographic, food consumption and occupational factors in Brazilian rural workers; (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out with farmers. The receiver operating characteristic curve was calculated and the cut-off points for the conicity index were identified by the area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity. The variables included in the binary logistic regression analysis were selected by considering p < 0.20 in the bivariate test; (3) Results: The cut points were similar in females according to both criteria, resulting in a single cut-off of 1.269. In males, the cut points showed differences, resulting in 1.272 according to the NCEP-ATP III and 1.252 according to the IDF. We have shown that younger people, those who work more than 40 h a week and the lowest contribution of culinary ingredients are associated with increased odds of abdominal obesity, while the consumption of the products they sell or produce decreases these chances; (4) Conclusions: The conicity index showed high discriminatory power for the identification of abdominal obesity in rural workers. Therefore, there is a need to improve eating habits and promote healthier eating environments for individuals, respecting traditional food culture, mainly to contain the advance of MS in rural areas.

Purpose: The dietary guidelines for the consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables have been recognized as an important factor for achieving healthy eating patterns to reduce the risk of chronic disease throughout the lifespan. Our aim is to assess the association between fruit and vegetable variety and low-grade inflammation in adolescents., Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was conducted with 412 adolescents (ages 14.4 ± 1.7 years; 52% girls). The consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire, considering the number of individual/category of fruit or vegetable intake at least once month, and categorized into tertiles. Blood samples were collected to determine C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), complement component 3 (C3), and 4 (C4). We created categories of lower or higher (inflammatory state) for each biomarker, considering sex- and age-adjusted median values. Then, we computed an overall inflammatory score, by adding all points awarded wherein one point was assigned if biomarker was higher or zero if lower, and created categories of 0-1 or 2-4 biomarkers above the median. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% interval confidence (95% CI) were calculated from binary logistic regression to estimate the magnitude of association between fruit and vegetable variety and inflammatory biomarkers., Results: Adolescents with a greater variety of vegetable consumption (≥13 categories/month) had lower odds of having a higher CRP (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15-0.64, p trend  = 0.004) when compared to those with lower variety consumption (≤6 categories/month), independent of vegetable quantity intake. However, a greater variety of fruit consumption (≥12 categories/month) had higher odds of having a higher IL-6 (OR 4.41, 95% CI 1.67-11.71, p trend  = 0.012), C3 (OR 3.30, 95% CI 1.23-8.86, p trend  = 0.047), and inflammatory score (OR 4.90, 95% CI 1.62-14.86, p trend  = 0.017), when compared to those with lower variety consumption (≤9 categories/month), independent of fruit quantity intake, only for girls., Conclusions: The consumption of a variety of vegetables is inversely associated with lower CRP. This finding supports the current dietary guidelines regarding the consumption of a variety of vegetables. The role of fruit variety in low-grade inflammation should be further studied.

Background/objectives: The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a tool to measure the diet's inflammatory potential and has been used with adults to predict low-grade inflammation. The present study aims to assess whether this dietary score predicts low-grade inflammation in adolescents., Subjects/methods: The sample comprises 329 adolescents (55.9% girls), aged 12-18 years, from LabMed Physical Activity Study. DII score was calculated based on a food-frequency questionnaire and categorized into tertiles. We collected blood samples to determine the follow inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), complement component 3 (C3), and 4 (C4). In addition we calculated an overall inflammatory biomarker score. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were computed from binary logistic regression models., Results: DII score, comparing first with third tertile, was positively associated with IL-6 in crude model (OR = 1.88, 95%CI:1.09-3.24, p trend  = 0.011) and in fully adjusted (for biological and lifestyle variables) (OR = 3.38, 95%CI:1.24-9.20, p trend  = 0.023). Also, DII score was positively associated with C4, when fully adjusted (OR = 3.12, 95%CI:1.21-8.10, p trend  = 0.016). DII score was negatively associated with C3 in crude model, comparing first with second but not with third tertile, and no significant associations in fully adjusted model were observed, although a trend was found (OR = 1.71, 95%CI:0.63-4.66, p trend  = 0.044). No significant associations were observed between DII score and CRP. However, DII score was positively associated with the overall inflammatory biomarker score, when fully adjusted (OR = 5.61, 95%CI:2.00-15.78, p trend  = 0.002)., Conclusions: DII score can be useful to assess the diet's inflammatory potential and its association with low-grade inflammation in adolescents.

Culture forms of 104 stocks of Trypanosoma cruzi isolated in different regions of the State of Bahia were compared by electrophoresis of six enzymes. The three distinct combinations of isoenzyme patterns seen were designated ZI, Z2 and Z3. In an area of endemic Chagas's disease in eastern Bahia, T. cruzi Z1 was associated with sylvatic mammals and sylvatic triatomines, whereas T. cruzi Z2 was associated with a separate domestic cycleof transmission. T. cruzi Z1 was also found in sylvatic triatomines from other parts of the State. In contrast, in an area of the São Francisco Valley region of western Bahia, both T. cruzi Z1 and Z2 were isolated from man, domestic animals, and peridomestic rats. T. cruzi Z3 was isolated from an armadillo and from Panstrongylus geniculatus, a triatomine commonly found in armadillo burrows. Both T. cruzi Z1 and Z2 appeared to be pathogenic in man: T. cruzi Z1 was isolated from patients with acute Chagas's disease and from a single patient with chronic cardiac manifestations. T. cruzi Z2 was isolated from some asymptomatic individuals but was also associated with acute disease and chronic cardiac and digestive syndromes.

The relationship between parasitemia, seroreactivity to Trypanosoma cruzi, and electrocardiographic abnormalities was studied in 115 individuals from a rural community in northeast Brazil where Chagas' disease is endemic. Vector control measures were introduced, and after 3 years 106 of the original participants were located and re-examined. Serum antibodies to T. cruzi were measured by complement fixation and indirect fluorescent antibody tests and parasitemia by xenodiagnosis and blood cultures. On both examinations more seropositive children than seropositive adults showed parasitemia, and parasitemia was more likely to persist over the 3-year period in younger individuals. Electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities were seen more frequently in seropositive individuals without parasitemia. However, ECG abnormalities, as expected, were more prevalent in older individuals and therefore no specific inverse relationship between ECG findings and parasitemia could be shown. The decreased prevalence of infection noted in younger individuals following the introduction of vector control measures indicates that this approach limited transmission.