Nutrition research
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Limited evidence suggests that the association between fish consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease may be confounded by some regional-related factors. We aimed to quantify the association of fish consumption with risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and to clarify the shape of the dose-response relation in Western and Asian countries. A systematic literature review was performed in PubMed and Scopus from inception to January 2018. ⋯ A modest U-shaped association was observed in the analysis of Western studies. In conclusion, higher fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of MI. However, considering the observed regional difference in this association, further observational studies are needed to provide more detailed explanations about this difference.
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Review Meta Analysis
Probiotics for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The intestinal microbiota has been reported to be one of the potential determinants of obesity in recent human and animal studies. Probiotics may affect the gut microbiota to modulate obesity. This systematic review aims to summarize and critically evaluate the evidence from clinical trials that have tested the effectiveness of probiotics or foods containing probiotics as a treatment for weight loss. ⋯ However, the total number of RCTs included in the analysis, the total sample size, and the methodological quality of the primary studies were too low to draw definitive conclusions. Thus, more rigorously designed RCTs are necessary to examine the effect of probiotics on body weight in greater detail. Collectively, the RCTs examined in this meta-analysis indicated that probiotics have limited efficacy in terms of decreasing body weight and BMI and were not effective for weight loss.