Nutrition
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Anemia is an important health concern worldwide, particularly in poor populations such as in India. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of anemia and iron status. ⋯ Anemia was common in this population. Iron, folate, and vitamin B12 status were important predictors for plasma Hb concentration. Improving the status of these nutrients might reduce the burden of childhood anemia in India.
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Because of the inefficacy of standard methods for the evaluation of body composition of grade III obese individuals, it is difficult to analyze the quality of weight loss after bariatric surgery in these patients. Electrical bioimpedance vector analysis and the RXc graph uses crude resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) values, like components of the Z vector, to monitor variations in body fluid and the nutritional status of obese individuals. Using bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) and the RXc graph, the objective of the present study was to evaluate long-term changes in weight and body composition of obese women after Roux-en-Y bariatric surgery. ⋯ Weight loss due to surgery results in an important reduction of fat-free mass characterized by the position of most individuals in the cachexia quadrant throughout the postoperative period.
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The metabolic syndrome (MetS), characterized by obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance, is a growing epidemic worldwide, requiring new prevention strategies and therapeutics. The concept of prebiotics refers to selective stimulation of growth and/or activity(ies) of one or a limited number of microbial genus(era)/species in the gut microbiota that confer(s) health benefits to the host. Sequencing the gut microbiome and performing metagenomics has provided new knowledge of the significance of the composition and activity of the gut microbiota in metabolic disease. ⋯ We focus on several key aspects in prebiotic research in relation to MetS and provide mechanistic data that support the use of prebiotic fibers in order to alter the gut microbiota composition and SCFA profiles. Further studies in the field should provide reliable mechanistic and clinical evidence for how prebiotics can be used to alleviate MetS and its complications. Additionally, it will be important to clarify the effect of individual differences in the gut microbiome on responsiveness to prebiotic interventions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Long-lasting improved amino acid bioavailability associated with protein pulse feeding in hospitalized elderly patients: a randomized controlled trial.
Aging is associated with a blunted anabolic response to dietary intake, possibly related to a decrease in systemically available amino acids (AAs), which in turn may stem from increased splanchnic AA metabolism. Splanchnic sequestration can be saturated by pulse feeding (80% of daily protein intake in a single meal), enabling increased protein synthesis. The aim of this study was to explore whether protein pulse feeding increased postprandial AA concentrations, and if so whether this increase persisted after 6 wk of dietary treatment. ⋯ This study demonstrates that increased postprandial AA bioavailability induced by protein pulse feeding persists after 6 wk (i.e., that there is no metabolic adaptation blunting AA bioavailability).