The Journal of nutrition
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The Journal of nutrition · May 2013
Whole grains and health: from theory to practice--highlights of The Grains for Health Foundation's Whole Grains Summit 2012.
The Grains for Health Foundation's Whole Grains Summit, held May 19-22, 2012 in Minneapolis, was the first meeting of its kind to convene >300 scientists, educators, food technologists, grain breeders, food manufacturers, marketers, health professionals, and regulators from around the world. Its goals were to identify potential avenues for collaborative efforts and formulate new approaches to whole-grains research and health communications that support global public health and business. ⋯ The consensus of the summit was that effective, long-term, public-private partnerships are needed to reach across the globe and galvanize the whole-grains community to collaborate effectively in translating whole-grains science into strategies that increase the availability and affordability of more healthful, grain-based food products. A prerequisite of that is the need to build trust among diverse multidisciplinary professionals involved in the growing, producing, marketing, and regulating of whole-grain products and between the grain and public health communities.
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The Journal of nutrition · Feb 2013
Comparative StudySpecific infant feeding practices do not consistently explain variation in anthropometry at age 1 year in urban United States, Mexico, and China cohorts.
Infant feeding practices generally influence infant growth, but it is unclear how introduction of specific foods affects growth across global populations. We studied 3 urban populations in the Global Exploration of Human Milk study to determine the association between infant feeding and anthropometry at 1 y of age. Three hundred sixty-five breastfeeding mother-infant pairs (120 US, 120 China, and 125 Mexico) were recruited soon after the infant's birth. ⋯ Adjusting for nonfeeding covariates, the only feeding variable associated with anthropometry was EBF duration, which was modestly inversely associated with weight-for-age but not length-for-age or BMI Z-scores at 1 y. Although feeding variables differed by cohort, their impact on anthropometry differences was not consistent among cohorts. Overall, across these urban, international, breast-fed cohorts, differences in specific feeding practices did not explain the significant variation in anthropometry.
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The Journal of nutrition · Dec 2012
Cooking enhances but the degree of ripeness does not affect provitamin A carotenoid bioavailability from bananas in Mongolian gerbils.
Banana is a staple crop in many regions where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent, making it a target for provitamin A biofortification. However, matrix effects may limit provitamin A bioavailability from bananas. The retinol bioefficacies of unripe and ripe bananas (study 1A), unripe high-provitamin A bananas (study 1B), and raw and cooked bananas (study 2) were determined in retinol-depleted Mongolian gerbils (n = 97/study) using positive and negative controls. ⋯ Body weights did not differ even though gerbils ate more green, ripe, and raw bananas than cooked, suggesting a greater indigestible component. In conclusion, thermal processing, but not ripening, improves the retinol bioefficacy of bananas. Food matrix modification affects carotenoid bioavailability from provitamin A biofortification targets.
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The Journal of nutrition · Dec 2012
A proposal for an upper limit of leucine safe intake in healthy adults.
Based on recent research, an upper limit of safe intake (ULSI) for leucine is proposed for healthy adults: 0.53 g/(kg·d). Because leucine has been used as a dietary supplement for many years in people practicing exercise and sport, further study with long-term exposure to leucine in this specific subpopulation should be performed to eventually adjust the ULSI.
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The Journal of nutrition · Sep 2012
Comparative StudyTotal fat intake is associated with decreased mortality in Japanese men but not in women.
Dietary guidelines generally recommend avoiding a high-fat diet. However, the relationship between fat subtypes and mortality remains unclear especially in a population with a relatively low intake of fat. We aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between dietary fat intake and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a Japanese community. ⋯ Both fats were associated with a decrease in mortality from cancer and diseases other than cardiovascular disease. In women, a higher SFA intake was associated with higher all-cause mortality [HR = 1.22 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.49; P-trend = 0.03)]. A favorable effect was suggested for total fat and PUFA intakes on mortality in men except for that from cardiovascular disease, whereas increased SFA intake may be associated with adverse health consequences in women.