Nutritional Interventions in the Management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a multifactorial syndrome of unknown etiology, characterized by widespread chronic pain and various somatic and psychological manifestations. The management of FM requires a multidisciplinary approach combining both pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies. Among nonpharmacological strategies, growing evidence suggests a potential beneficial role for nutrition. This review summarizes the possible relationship between FM and nutrition, exploring the available evidence on the effect of dietary supplements and dietary interventions in these patients. Analysis of the literature has shown that the role of dietary supplements remains controversial, although clinical trials with vitamin D, magnesium, iron and probiotics’ supplementation show promising results. With regard to dietary interventions, the administration of olive oil, the replacement diet with ancient grains, low-calorie diets, the low FODMAPs diet, the gluten-free diet, the monosodium glutamate and aspartame-free diet, vegetarian diets as well as the Mediterranean diet all appear to be effective in reducing the FM symptoms. These results may suggest that weight loss, together with the psychosomatic component of the disease, should be taken into account. Therefore, although dietary aspects appear to be a promising complementary approach to the treatment of FM, further research is needed to provide the most effective strategies for the management of FM

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Measured through Medi-Lite Score and Obesity: A Retrospective Study

We recently developed and validated a questionnaire to measure adherence to the Mediterranean diet, called Medi-Lite. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of the Medi-Lite adherence score in relation to obesity status. A total of 208 patients who attended the Clinical Nutrition Unit of Careggi University Hospital, Florence, were included in this retrospective analysis. Of them, 126 (45%) had abdominal obesity (110 F; 16 M). The mean adherence score, calculated through the Medi-Lite questionnaire, was 9.5 ± 2.2, with significantly (p p p 9

Effects of vegetarian versus Mediterranean diet on kidney function: Findings from the CARDIVEG study

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of a lacto‐ovo‐vegetarian diet (VD), compared to a Mediterranean diet (MD), on kidney function in a group of subjects with medium‐to‐low cardiovascular risk profile. METHODS: We analysed 107 subjects (82 women, 25 men; median age 52) who followed a VD (n = 54) and a MD (n = 53) for 3 months in the CARDIVEG study, a randomized, open, crossover trial that compared the effects of these 2 diets on cardiovascular disease risk. RESULTS: The effect of the two diets on kidney function markers was evaluated by conducting a general linear model for repeated measurements adjusted for possible confounding factors such as age, sex, physical activity, alcohol, smoking, hypertension, LDL cholesterol, glucose and body weight change. A significant reduction in creatinine (−5.3%; P < .001), urea nitrogen levels (−9%; P = .001), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (−8.7%; P = .001) and BUN/creatinine ratio (−5.8%; P < .001), and an increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (+3.5%; P = .001) was observed during the VD period. On the contrary, no significant changes were noted in the MD group. Variations obtained in the two dietary interventions were significantly different (P < .0001) for creatinine levels, BUN/creatinine and eGFR, for which opposite trends were observed in the VD and MD groups. CONCLUSIONS: In a selected group of subjects with medium‐to‐low cardiovascular risk profile, a 3 month VD period determined significant improvements in kidney function markers. Further trials are needed to confirm these results

Hemodynamic patterns of reflux in primary sapheno-popliteal junction incompetence

Duplex ultrasound investigation (DUI) has considerably improved the diagnosis of anatomical venous variations in the popliteal region: however, some pitfalls still remain concerning the hemodynamics of incompetent sapheno-popliteal junctions (SPJs). Aims of this study were to assess the prevalence rates of the hemodynamic patterns of reflux, either diastolic or systolic or both, in a large series of patients with SPJ incompetence, and to analyze the origin of the systolic components of the reflux. Four hundred and fiftythree patients, 83 males and 370 females, mean age 58.0 years&plusmn;SD 13.8 with primary SPJ incompetence (512 limbs) underwent preoperative DUI using the Paran&agrave; manoeuvre, a dynamic test able to develop systolic and diastolic pressure gradients through the reflex activation of muscle pumps. Of the 512 incompetent SPJs, 420 showed isolated diastolic reflux, 9 isolated systolic reflux and 83 systolic reflux followed by diastolic reflux. Altogether, 92 SPJs over 512 (18%) showed a systolic component of the reflux, which originated from the popliteal vein in 78 cases (15%) and from the gastrocnemius veins (GVs) in 14 cases (3%). In these latter cases, the short saphenous vein and one or more GVs showed a common trunk. Our findings show that the detection of a systolic component of the reflux in incompetent SPJs is not an uncommon event and suggest that treatment strategy should be differentiated according to the origin of the systolic reflux, given their different hemodynamic behavior

Assessment of Mediterranean diet adherence and comparison with Italian dietary guidelines: a study of over 10,000 adults from 2019 to 2022

Despite the many well-documented benefits of the Mediterranean diet (MD), many Mediterranean countries seem to be moving away from it. The aim of this study was to investigate the MD adherence in 10,916 adults who completed the validated Medi-Lite questionnaire from January 2019 to December 2022 in Italy, and to assess the consumption of its food groups by comparing them with current national dietary guidelines. The sample showed a good level of MD adherence (12 ± 2.5). However, from 2019 to 2022, a significant (p < 0.001) decline in the adherence level emerged. An overconsumption of fresh red meat, cheese and poultry compared to dietary guidelines was observed. In contrast, an under-consumption of vegetables, bread, legumes, fish and milk and dairy products emerged. In recent years, a decline in MD adherence was observed in Italy, probably determined by an excessive consumption of animal products.</p