Nutrition
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of oral glutamine during abdominal radiotherapy on chronic radiation enteritis: a randomized controlled trial.
Glutamine has been proposed as a preventive treatment for toxicity related to cancer therapies. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of glutamine in the prevention of radiation enteritis. ⋯ Chronic enteritis is a relatively infrequent phenomenon, and Gln administration during radiotherapy does not exert a protective effect.
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The aim of this study was to examine the association between different types of beverage intake and substitution of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) by water, milk, or 100% fruit juice in relation to 6-y change in body fatness. ⋯ Our results suggest that SSB intake is associated with long-term changes in body fatness in children, and replacing SSBs with water or milk, but not 100% fruit juice, is inversely associated with body fatness development.
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Vascular endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction strongly induces development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Epidemiologic studies demonstrated a preventative effect of dietary polyphenols toward cardiovascular disease. In studies using cultured vascular ECs, polyphenols were recognized to regulate nitric oxide and endothelin-1 (ET-1) production. ⋯ However, the observed effects of dietary polyphenols in vitro do not always translate to an in vivo setting. As such, there are many questions concerning their physiological mode of action. In this review, we discuss research on the effect of dietary polyphenols on cardiovascular disease and their protective effect on EC dysfunction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Study of the effects of a diet supplemented with active components on lipid and glycemic profiles.
Currently, there are numerous studies on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the potential for functional foods to bring benefits or improve people's health. However, most of these studies are conducted with middle-aged individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementing a typical diet with some functional components, which are substances that when consumed in small quantities can improve people's welfare. ⋯ The dietary supplements used in this work, based on the integration of functional components into the usual diet of the population, have proved effective in reducing peak levels of postprandial glucose and the risk for dyslipidemia. Therefore, these functional components proved a valuable aid in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.
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Sarcopenic obesity has not yet been widely defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in a group of severely obese adults from southern Italy by using two different indexes: percentage of skeletal muscle mass (SMP) and skeletal muscle mass normalized for height (SMI); and to determine SMP and SMI cutoff points in a southern Italy reference population. ⋯ This study confirms that sarcopenia rates vary widely in obese patients depending on the criteria used. SMP as a screening tool to identify a sarcopenia at-risk population.