Advances in nutrition
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Past and current U. S. sodium and health policy focused on population-wide reductions in sodium intake. Underlying that policy are a number of assumptions that recent scientific publications challenged. ⋯ Based on worldwide surveys that assessed sodium intake by 24-h urinary sodium measurements, it is now evident that, across 45 societies and 5 decades, humans consume a reproducible, narrow range of sodium: ∼2600–4800 mg/d. This range is independent of the food supply, verifiable in randomized controlled trials, consistent with the physiologic regulators of sodium intake and is not modifiable by public policy interventions. These findings indicate that human sodium intake is controlled by physiology and cannot be modified by public health policies.
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Advances in nutrition · Jul 2014
ReviewConsidering the value of dietary assessment data in informing nutrition-related health policy.
Dietary assessment has long been known to be challenged by measurement error. A substantial amount of literature on methods for determining the effects of error on causal inference has accumulated over the past decades. These methods have unrealized potential for improving the validity of data collected for research studies and national nutritional surveillance, primarily through the NHANES. ⋯ Recent attacks on the inadequacy of 24-h recall-derived data from the NHANES are uninformative regarding effects on estimating risk of health outcomes and on inferences to inform the diet-related health policy debate. Despite errors, for many purposes and in many contexts, these dietary data have proven to be useful in addressing important research and policy questions. Similarly, structured instruments, such as the food frequency questionnaire, which is the mainstay of epidemiologic literature, can provide useful data when errors are measured and considered in analyses.
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Advances in nutrition · Jan 2014
ReviewImpact of new-generation lipid emulsions on cellular mechanisms of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease.
Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a life-saving nutritional support for a large population of hospitalized infants, and lipids make a substantial contribution to their energy and essential fatty acid (FA) needs. A challenge in the care of these infants is that their metabolic needs require prolonged PN support that increases the risk of PN-associated liver disease (PNALD). In recent years, the emergence of new parenteral lipid emulsions containing different source lipids and FA profiles has created nutritional alternatives to the first-generation, soybean oil-based lipid emulsion Intralipid. ⋯ Studies suggest that the lipid load and constituents, such as specific FAs, ratio of n-3 (ω-3) to n-6 (ω-6) long-chain polyunsaturated FAs, phytosterols, and vitamin E content, may be involved. There is an existing literature describing the molecular mechanisms whereby these specific nutrients affect hepatic metabolism and function via lipid and bile acid sensing nuclear receptors, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, liver X receptor, and farnesoid X receptor, yet virtually no information as to how they interact and modulate liver function in the context of PN in pediatric patients or animal models. This article will review the recent development of parenteral lipid emulsions and their influence on PNALD and highlight some of the emerging molecular mechanisms that may explain the effects on liver function and disease.
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Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral and the second most abundant intracellular divalent cation and has been recognized as a cofactor for >300 metabolic reactions in the body. Some of the processes in which magnesium is a cofactor include, but are not limited to, protein synthesis, cellular energy production and storage, reproduction, DNA and RNA synthesis, and stabilizing mitochondrial membranes. Magnesium also plays a critical role in nerve transmission, cardiac excitability, neuromuscular conduction, muscular contraction, vasomotor tone, blood pressure, and glucose and insulin metabolism. ⋯ Low levels of magnesium have been associated with a number of chronic diseases including migraine headaches, Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Good food sources of magnesium include unrefined (whole) grains, spinach, nuts, legumes, and white potatoes (tubers). This review presents recent research in the areas of magnesium and chronic disease, with the goal of emphasizing magnesium's role in disease prevention and overall health.
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Advances in nutrition · Mar 2013
ReviewSucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, and fructose, their metabolism and potential health effects: what do we really know?
Both controversy and confusion exist concerning fructose, sucrose, and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) with respect to their metabolism and health effects. These concerns have often been fueled by speculation based on limited data or animal studies. In retrospect, recent controversies arose when a scientific commentary was published suggesting a possible unique link between HFCS consumption and obesity. ⋯ Whether there is a link between fructose, HFCS, or sucrose and increased risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, or fatty infiltration of the liver or muscle remains in dispute with different studies using different methodologies arriving at different conclusions. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to resolve many of these issues. The purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge about the metabolism, endocrine responses, and potential health effects of sucrose, HFCS, and fructose.