The influence of high carbohydrate diets and glycaemic index on metabolic risk parameters for coronary heart disease

This thesis describes a series of studies investigating the relationship between diet, and in particular carbohydrate intake, and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD). The first study investigated the effect of advice to increase carbohydrate intake as part of dietary advice to follow the dietary guidelines on metabolic risk factors for CHD in postmenopausal women (Chapter 3). The results showed that subjects appeared to have followed the dietary advice given as they reported significantly reducing their total daily energy (P = 0.011), fat {P ~ 0.008) and non-milk extrinsic sugar (NMES) intake (P = 0.015), and significantly increasing their total carbohydrate (P = 0.026), starch (P = 0.013j and non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) intake (P = 0.050). Subjects also significantly increased their dietary glycaemic index (GI) (P = 0.011). There was a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.014), and an adverse effect on fasting plasma lipids including an increase in fasting TAG (P = 0.014), and a decrease in HDL cholesterol concentrations (P = 0.021). Subjects reported increasing their consumption of fruit and vegetables, and there was a significant increase in the 'antioxidant power' of plasma (P = 0.007). This appears to have mostly been associated with an increase in fruit intake. Conelation analyses showed that simple sugars appeared to have a more adverse effect on plasma lipids than starch. From this a decision was made to study the relationships between GI and plasma lipids and other metabolic risk factors in data that had already been collected. The mam findings of this case control study on offspring of patients of type 2 diabetes (offspring) and control subjects (Chapter 4) showed that there were no differences in habitual dietary intake, GI or GL between the groups. Offspring were found to demonstrate many of the features of the metabolic syndrome as they had greater levels of adiposity and female offspring had significantly higher waist to hip ratio (P = 0.036), waist circumference (P = 0.063) and BMI (P = 0.083) compared with female control subjects. Offspring were significantly more insulin resistant compared with control subjects with significantly higher fasting insulin (P = 0.049) and higher HOMAIR (P = 0.052) and significantly lower HDL cholesterol concentrations (P = 0.011). However, dietary GI and GL were not found to be directly associated with any of the metabolic parameters measured in the study, but GI was positively coirelated with waist circumference (P = 0.039) and waist to hip ratio (P = 0.043), and measures of adiposity were significantly correlated with many of the metabolic parameters measured in the study. Thus, while the glycaemic quality of the diet did not appear to directly influence metabolic risk factors, the results do support the idea that they influence metabolic risk factors through their effect on adiposity, and in particular central adiposity. TFor this reason it may be safer to advise the public to consume more slowly digestible carbohydrates (such as wholegrain cereals, pulses) rather than low GI foods which could still contain a high proportion of sugar which could mask the positive effects of the low GI diet on lipids. Overall, the results from this thesis highlight the need for more research to develop safer and more appropriate dietary guidelines which can be easily and clearly communicated to the general public

Iodine status, and knowledge about iodine deficiency disorders in adolescent school girls aged 14-19 years, 2016

Background: Adequate iodine intake by women in child-bearing age affects fetus neurodevelopment during pregnancy. A majority of previous studies has investigated iodine status among children, and there is limited data on female adolescents who are more exposed to consequences of iodine deficiency (ID) in their near-future pregnancies; thus, we aimed to assess iodine status, and knowledge on iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) among adolescent school girls (14-19 years old) in Shahriar, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 223 female students selected through multi-stage cluster sampling from 12 schools. Iodine and creatinine concentrations were measured in casual urine samples. Iodine content of household salts was also assessed.Data on intake of salt and iodine-rich food sources were collected applying a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and knowledge about iodine and IDDs were assessed by a questionnaire. Results: Median and Mean (95% CI) concentrations of urinary iodine and creatinine were 129 µg/L, 137.62 µg/L (95% CI: 126.28, 148.95) and 1.72 g/L, 1.86 g/L (95% CI: 0.55-3.17),respectively. The frequency of mild, moderate and severe ID were 22.4%, 14.3% and 0%,respectively; 43.5% had adequate, and 3.1% had excessive urinary iodine levels. Mean saltiodine concentration was 21.69 (SD=10.56) ppm. Mean knowledge score was 12.7 (SD=3.44).About half of the students had a poor (25.1%) or fair (24.2%) knowledge about iodine deficiency.Adjusting for the confounders, no significant positive association was found between knowledge about iodine-rich food sources and goitrogens with urinary iodine excretion. Conclusion: Adolescent girls in Shahriar had relatively poor knowledge of iodine, and about one third of them suffered from ID

Dietary Regulation of miR-33b and miR-29a in Relationship to Metabolic Biomarkers of Glucose and Lipids in Obese Diabetic Women: A Randomized Clinical Controlled Study

Background: MicroRNAs have recently been introduced as epigenetic regulators of glucose and lipid metabolic pathways, which are impaired in obesity and diabetes. Objectives: We evaluated the effects of calorie-restricted diet therapy on the circulating levels of miR-33b and miR-29a in relationship to glucose and lipid metabolic parameters in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This randomized clinical controlled trial was performed on 30 eligible obese women with T2DM, randomly divided into two groups (control group, n = 15; diet therapy group, n = 15) for 10 weeks. Ten healthy women with normal weight were enrolled at the baseline of the study as controls. Demographic information, dietary intake, and anthropometric and biochemical indices were obtained before and after the study. Circulating miR-33b and miR-29a were assessed for all subjects using quantitative RT-PCR, and the fold change of each circulating miRNA was compared between groups. Results: The circulating levels of miR-29a and miR-33b in the diabetic women were higher (0.40-fold) and lower (1.43-fold), respectively, than normal levels. Diet therapy significantly increased the circulating level of miR-33b (P = 0.023, 0.97-fold upregulation) to normal levels. This increase was independently correlated with caloric restriction (95%CI: -0.004 to -0.0001, P = 0.022) and 2hPPBS (95%CI: -0.009 to -0.001, P = 0.035). No remarkable change was observed in circulating levels of miR-29a. Conclusions: Our findings introduced a novel therapeutic effect of diet therapy on circulating miRNAs in obese patients with T2DM. MiR-33b is an important therapeutic target in the treatment and prevention of T2DM and its complication

Depression and anxiety symptoms are associated with prooxidant-antioxidant balance: a population-based study

Background: Depression and anxiety are significantly associated with systemic inflammation. Moreover, oxidative stress resulting from a disturbance in the prooxidant-antioxidant balance is linked to inflammation-related conditions. Therefore, depression/anxiety symptoms may also be associated with oxidative stress. Objective: To examine the association between depression/anxiety symptoms and serum prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) in adults who participated in a large population-based, cross-sectional study. Methods: Serum PAB values were measured in 7,516 participants (62% females and 38% males) aged 35–65 years, enrolled in a population-based cohort study. Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories were used to evaluate symptoms of depression and anxiety. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the effect of confounders on the status of serum PAB change. Results: Among men, serum PAB values were increased incrementally from 1.55±0.47 to 1.59±0.47, 1.69±0.38, and 1.68±0.38 in the no or minimal, mild, moderate and severe depression groups, respectively (P trend<0.001). Serum PAB values also increased significantly across these four corresponding groups among women [1.70±0.45, 1.73±0.44, 1.75±0.44, and 1.76±0.40, (P trend=0.005)]. About anxiety, serum PAB values increased significantly across the four groups in men (P trend=0.02) but not in women (P trend=0.2). The adjusted odds ratios for serum PAB values among men with severe depression and anxiety symptoms were 1.75 and 1.27, respectively. Moreover, the adjusted odds ratios for serum PAB values among women with severe depression and anxiety symptoms were 1.40 and 1.17, respectively. Conclusion: Symptoms of depression and anxiety appear to be associated with higher degrees of oxidative stress, expressed by higher serum PAB values

ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE FATTY ACIDS IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS AND HOT-NATURE DIETARY INTERVENTION WITH CO-SUPPLEMENTED HEMP-SEED AND EVENING-PRIMROSE OILS

The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with increased dietary intake of saturated fatty acids. For many years it has been suspected that this disease might be associated with an imbalance between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids. We determined erythrocyte membrane fatty acids levels in Hot nature dietary intervention with co-supplemented hemp seed and evening primrose oils in multiple sclerosis patients. To determine the erythrocyte membrane fatty acids levels and correlate it with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) at baseline after 6 months intervention in MS patients by gas chromatography, in this double blind, randomized trial, 100 RRMS patients with EDS

Unbalanced intake of methyl donor supplements, may lead to DNA methylation and cause breast cancer in offspring

Statistical data in Iran reflects a worrying trend for an increased incidence of breast cancer. recent national data on average annual crude incidence for primary breast cancer indicated 22.6 (95%CI 22.1-23.1) per 100,000. It seems that genome encoding with no changes in the sequence of DNA contributes to Lamarck’s theory as a probable causative factor for the deterioration of this disorder by supplementation. Unconscious methylation of DNA by environmental factors make genetic modifications through epigenetic process in nucleotides that create new make up for DNA and DNMTs, expedite one of the most prevalent health disorders. Uterus environment, youth up to a retired and postmenopausal age are periods for changes in genome assembly that include tiny alterations in CpG islands. A review article had been performed by the electronic search for the manuscripts that had been published among current databases and declared facts about the produced results and the main proves had ascertained from the present articles. They were included by the Med Line and PubMed database and Iran’s vital statistics. As a result consumption of selected nutrients has the ability for methylation by group donors and causes an actual transfer of a methyl to the C5 carbon of cytosine for making 5-methylcytosine. Characteristic of a living organism referred to the Genetic and Epigenetic information and unbalanced intake of selected nutrients with dual function like folic acid persuades the creation of a genetic foundation for breast cancer in offspring.</p

Effects of inositols on adipokines: A systematic review of current knowledge and potential mechanisms

Inositols (INSs), carbocyclic sugar polyalcohols, are commonly used in obesity-related disorders. Adipokines-bioactive peptides secreted by adipocytes- may be released in obesity and excessive energy intake. The exact mechanism of INSs on adipokines is still unclear, although some studies have reported positive effects of supplementation with INSs. The present systematic review assessed the effects of INS supplementation on adipokine levels with a viewpoint of possible mechanisms of action. The search was conducted in PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar until September 2023. The evidence reviewed in this article illustrates that INSs increase insulin sensitivity by increasing leptin levels in the blood. Further, INSs may enhance leptin resistance by reducing leptin levels in the blood or up-regulating leptin receptors in the brain. Studies have shown that INS derivatives increase adiponectin levels, which in turn decrease obesity. The effects of INSs (in different isomers) on other adipokines such as resistin, ghrelin, and fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are contradictory. In conclusion, the current body of evidence suggests marginal positive effects of INS supplementation on leptin and adiponectin, as the main adipokines involved in energy homeostasis and insulin-mediated functions. Further cellular, animal, and clinical trial studies are needed to assess the exact pharmacological effects of INSs on adipokines with a focus on involved molecular pathways

The impact of vitamin D3 intake on inflammatory markers in multiple sclerosis patients and their first-degree relatives.

Background & aimsIn our previous study, a Seesaw model was proposed for the fluctuation of crucial anti- (IL-10) and pro-inflammatory (Il-6 & IL-17A) cytokines through vitamin D3. In this paper, however, it is intended to extend the mentioned model by assessing the expression mRNA levels of IL-27 and TGF-β1 as well as the changes of plasma levels of IL-27, TGF-β1, IL-17A, IL-10, and IL-6 after treatment by vitamin D3.MethodVenous blood samples were drawn from Healthy Participants (HP, n = 25) and First-Degree Relative Participants (FDRP, n = 25) as control groups and Multiple Sclerosis Participants (MSP, n = 25) before and after eight weeks of supplementation with 50000 IU vitamin D3. The mRNA expression and plasma concentrations were gauged by using Real-Time PCR and ELISA assay, respectively.ResultsThe mRNA surfaces of IL-27, as well as TGF-β1, were up-regulated. However, the plasma levels of TGF-β1, IL-17A, and IL-6 were significantly different among the three groups. In addition, the plasma levels of IL-27, TGF-β1, IL-10, IL-17A, and IL-6 significantly changed following the administration of vitamin D3.ConclusionThe findings of this paper illustrate that anti-inflammatory cytokines could have a key role in immunomodulatory functions due to their anti-inflammatory functions. To conclude, this might contribute to preventing the pathophysiological process of MS. Also, the proposed model could be used as a preventive way on disposed people to multiple sclerosis, particularly in first degree relatives of these patients