Nutrition
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Short sleep duration and low diet quality are associated with weight gain. However, little is known about the relationship between sleep duration and the quality of diets. Therefore, we aimed to compare the diet quality indices and anthropometric measures between short and longer sleepers. ⋯ Our findings confirm the association of short sleep duration and obesity in young female youths. It might be derived from lower diet quality among short sleepers more than longer sleepers.
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In the public health arena, a single component of total dietary intake, such as sugar intake, has been questioned as the health risk of obesity. This study aimed to investigate if the uptrend of obesity prevalence in the USA is associated with dietary sugar intake when other dietary intakes are controlled. ⋯ Energy intake was the primary contributor to body mass index in all age groups in this study. The major energy sources of children and adolescents differed from those of adults. The implicated associations between energy and macronutrient intakes indicate that keeping energy balance is the primary strategy to avoid obesity.
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Comparative Study
Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) enhances the gene modulation and activity of paraoxonase-2: in vitro and in vivo studies.
Paraoxonase-2 (PON-2) is an intracellular antioxidant enzyme that can be modulated by polyphenols. The aim of this study was to verify whether yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis), a plant species rich in phenolic compounds, modulates gene expression and the activity of PON-2 in macrophages in vitro and in monocytes from peripheral blood and monocyte-derived macrophages obtained after the ingestion of green or roasted yerba mate infusions by healthy subjects. ⋯ It is suggested that green or roasted yerba mate modulates positively the mRNA relative expression and activity of the PON-2 enzyme in monocytes and macrophages, which may prevent cellular oxidative stress.
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We assessed whether disease activity was associated with dietary habits, nutritional status, adipokines, and oxidative stress in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. ⋯ Altered serum adipokine levels with decreased albumin may reflect the deterioration that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. An increased oxidative stress was observed in sera and saliva. Intakes of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish oil, and monounsaturated fatty acid seem to affect disease activity and may have beneficial effects by decreasing inflammation.
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with unknown etiology. Recent studies have shown evidence demonstrating that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress may have a role in the pathophysiology of FM. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a strong antioxidant. ⋯ After CoQ10 treatment, the patient reported a significant improvement of clinical symptoms. At the cellular level, CoQ10 treatment restored mitochondrial dysfunction and the mtDNA copy number, decreased oxidative stress, and increased mitochondrial biogenesis. Our results suggest that CoQ10 could be an alternative therapeutic approach for FM.