Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet in the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases as the Epidemic of the 21st century

Non-communicable diseases are known as the epidemic of the 21st century. In Romania, these are responsible for almost 91% of all the deaths. A balanced diet and regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes throughout the day) are the keys to a healthy and long living life. Mediterranean diet is shown to be the optimal diet for preventing non-communicable diseases and preserving good health. The concept of the Mediterranean diet is defined by the food pyramid, which is meant to provide an overall impression of healthy food choices, rather than to define recommended weights of certain foods or proportions of energy obtained from them. In Romania the concept of Mediterranean diet is unknown to most ordinary people. Even in medicine field there are few doctors who really know about this diet and its effects on patients’ health. Our purpose in writing this article was to draw a warning signal about the impact of Mediterranean diet on the health of people, in hope that through media, the importance of a healthy and active life in raising quality of life and decreasing morbidity and mortality can be fully understood.</span

The Effect of Climate Change and Air Pollution on Allergenic Potential of Pollens

Climate change is associated with atmospheric warming due to continuous increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration following the industrial revolution. The urban areas are more responsible for these changes. Europe for example has experienced a progressive warming +0.9°C for 1901-2005. Climate change is unequivocal and represents a possible threat for patients affected by allergic conditions because it is related with an increased distribution and concentration of pollen. Higher temperature, wet condition (especially thunderstorms), wind speed, transition of cold fronts, environmental changes (allergenic pollens arrived in new areas), are mechanisms which involve changes of production, dispersion and allergen content of pollen. Prolonged and more severe pollen seasons are leading to worsened asthma and allergies. The interaction of pollen with urban air pollutants could also lead to an increased effect of aero allergens on allergic patients, with a greater likelihood of the development of an allergic respiratory disease in sensitized subjects and exacerbation of symptomatic patients. Air pollution could induce damage to airways mucosa, thus promoting sensitization of the airways; also it could increase the expression of allergenic proteins (allergen contents of pollen produce by plants is increased by higher temperature and CO2 enriched atmosphere). By increasing pollen concentration or making the airways susceptible to allergens, the climate change and air pollution have a negative impact on human health

The Effect of Climate Change and Air Pollution on Allergenic Potential of Pollens

Climate change is associated with atmospheric warming due to continuous increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration following the industrial revolution. The urban areas are more responsible for these changes. Europe for example has experienced a progressive warming +0.9°C for 1901-2005. Climate change is unequivocal and represents a possible threat for patients affected by allergic conditions because it is related with an increased distribution and concentration of pollen. Higher temperature, wet condition (especially thunderstorms), wind speed, transition of cold fronts, environmental changes (allergenic pollens arrived in new areas), are mechanisms which involve changes of production, dispersion and allergen content of pollen. Prolonged and more severe pollen seasons are leading to worsened asthma and allergies. The interaction of pollen with urban air pollutants could also lead to an increased effect of aero allergens on allergic patients, with a greater likelihood of the development of an allergic respiratory disease in sensitized subjects and exacerbation of symptomatic patients. Air pollution could induce damage to airways mucosa, thus promoting sensitization of the airways; also it could increase the expression of allergenic proteins (allergen contents of pollen produce by plants is increased by higher temperature and CO2 enriched atmosphere). By increasing pollen concentration or making the airways susceptible to allergens, the climate change and air pollution have a negative impact on human health

Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet in the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases as the Epidemic of the 21st century

Non-communicable diseases are known as the epidemic of the 21st century. In Romania, these are responsible for almost 91% of all the deaths. A balanced diet and regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes throughout the day) are the keys to a healthy and long living life. Mediterranean diet is shown to be the optimal diet for preventing non-communicable diseases and preserving good health. The concept of the Mediterranean diet is defined by the food pyramid, which is meant to provide an overall impression of healthy food choices, rather than to define recommended weights of certain foods or proportions of energy obtained from them. In Romania the concept of Mediterranean diet is unknown to most ordinary people. Even in medicine field there are few doctors who really know about this diet and its effects on patients’ health. Our purpose in writing this article was to draw a warning signal about the impact of Mediterranean diet on the health of people, in hope that through media, the importance of a healthy and active life in raising quality of life and decreasing morbidity and mortality can be fully understood.</span

Determination of Major-to-Trace Minerals and Polyphenols in Different Apple Cultivars

The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration level of some major-to-trace elements and toxic minerals and polyphenols (catechin, epicatechin and quercetin) in fruits belonging to different apple cultivars (‘Auriu de Cluj’, ‘Florina’, ‘Generos’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Prima’, ‘Productiv de Cluj’ and ‘Starkrimson’), under specific climate conditions to northwestern Romania. The apple minerals were determined by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after a preliminary, microwave-assisted, acid digestion. The polyphenols were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with MS/MS detection. According to the obtained results, the edible part of the apple contains many minerals with high relative nutritional value (RNV). The major minerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg and P), minor elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Sr and Zn) and toxic trace elements (Cd, Cr and Pb) were comparatively identified and quantified. It was found that K (31976 mg/kg) was predominant among the major elements, while Fe (3.68 mg/kg) and Cu (3.57 mg/kg) were comparable. The toxic trace metals (Cd, Cr and Pb) were below the limits of detection (0.01, 0.10 and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively) and did not determine any health risk to consumers. The main polyphenols composition (catechin, epicathechin, quercetin) differs slightly among different cultivars. In ‘Idared’ and ‘Jonathan’ cultivars, the investigated polyphenols are in higher quantities comparing to the others. In all investigated apple cultivars, quercetin was proved to be the major polyphenol, followed by epicathechin and catechin. These results suggest that, regarding only the investigated polyphenols, ‘Idared’ and ‘Jonathan’ cultivars have the highest antioxidant character in all investigated genotypes.</p