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Imperial Users onl

Nutritional adequacy and content of food bank parcels in Oxfordshire, UK: a comparative analysis of independent and organisational provision

Background: Food bank use has increased significantly in the UK. With the rise in demand, it is imperative that users are receiving food parcels that meet their requirements. The present study aimed to explore whether typical food parcels, supplied by The Trussell Trust and independent food banks, were meeting the daily nutrient and energy requirements of an adult user. Methods: The Trussell Trust (n = 2) and independent food banks (n = 9) were surveyed in Oxfordshire, UK. Data were collected on food bank use, resources, donations and parcel content. The energy and nutrient contents of a representative parcel were compared with the average dietary reference values (DRVs) for an adult. Additional comparisons were made between The Trussell Trust and independent provision. Results: Parcels provided energy, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and fibre contents that significantly exceeded the DRVs. In total, 62.2% of energy was provided as carbohydrate and 569% of the DRV was provided by sugars. The vitamin D and retinol content of the parcels was significantly lower than the DRVs, meeting 25% and 27% of users’ needs respectively; provision of all other micronutrients exceeded the DRVs. The Trussell Trust’s parcels provided significantly less vitamin D and copper than independent parcels. Conclusions: Food bank parcels distributed in Oxfordshire, UK, exceeded energy requirements and provided disproportionately high sugar and carbohydrate and inadequate vitamin A and vitamin D compared to the UK guidelines. Improved links with distributors and access to cold food storage facilities would help to address these issues, via increased fresh food provisio

Dietary dilemmas over fats and cardiometabolic risk

CVD remains the greatest cause of death globally, and with the escalating prevalence of metabolic diseases, including type-2 diabetes, CVD mortality is predicted to rise. While the replacement of SFA has been the cornerstone of effective dietary recommendations to decrease CVD risk since the 1980s, the validity of these recommendations have been recently challenged. A review of evidence for the impact of SFA reduction revealed no effect on CVD mortality, but a significant reduction in risk of CVD events (7-17%). The greatest effect was found when SFA were substituted with PUFA, resulting in 27% risk reduction in CVD events, with no effect of substitution with carbohydrate or protein. There was insufficient evidence from randomised controlled trials to conclude upon the impact of SFA replacement with MUFA on CVD and metabolic outcomes. However, there was high-quality evidence that reducing SFA lowered serum total, and specifically LDL-cholesterol, a key risk factor for CVD, with greatest benefits achieved by replacing SFA with unsaturated fats. The exchange of SFA with either PUFA or MUFA, also produced favourable effects on markers of glycaemia, reducing HbA1c, a long-term marker of glycaemic control. In conclusion, the totality of evidence supports lowering SFA intake and replacement with unsaturated fats to reduce the risk of CVD events, and to a lesser extent, cardiometabolic risk factors, which is consistent with current dietary guidelines

Exploiting natural variation to improve the content and composition of dietary fibre in wheat grain: A review

Wheat is the major staple food in most temperate countries, including Europe and North America. In addition to providing energy and protein it is a significant source of a number of essential or beneficial components, including B vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre. Cereal fibre has established benefits in reducing the risk of several chronic diseases but the consumption of fibre is below the recommended daily intake in the typical “Western diet”. Improving the content and composition of wheat fibre is therefore an attractive strategy to improve the health of large populations at low cost. The major dietary fibre components of wheat grain are arabinoxylan and β-glucan. Both vary in their amount, composition, and properties in different grain fractions, with white flour being lower in total fibre than bran but having a higher proportion of soluble fibre. There is significant variation in the amounts and structures of arabinoxylan and β-glucan in bread wheat genotypes, including commercial cultivars from different regions of the world, old landraces and exotic lines. This variation is also highly heritable, which should allow plant breeders to develop improved cultivars. Gradients in fibre composition and content within the grain may also allow millers to produce specialist high fibre flours

Butter increases high-density lipoprotein functional capacity: is this compensation for its adverse effect on serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol?

Credencia o curso "Depoimento Especial de Crianças e Adolescentes" compartilhado pela Enfam, promovido pela Escola Judicial do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Goiás - Ejug

Modern Wheat

The yields of wheat in the UK and across much of the world have increased massively over the past century, from a few tonnes per hectare at the start of the twentieth century to current UK average yields of between eight and nine tonnes per hectare. Many factors have contributed to these increases, with genetic improvement by plant breeding being particularly important in the second half of the 20th centur

Acute effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces on postprandial blood pressure, vascular function, blood lipids, biomarkers of insulin resistance and inflammation in humans

The acute impact of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces (HSC) extract on postprandial vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk factors have not been studied previously. This study investigated the acute impact of HSC extract consumption on blood pressure (BP), vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk markers. Twenty-five men with 1% to 10% cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk (determined by QRISK 2) were randomised to consume either 250 mL of the aqueous extract of HSC or water with breakfast in a randomised, controlled, single-blinded, 2-meal cross-over study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NTC02165553) with a two weeks washout period between study days. BP was measured at baseline and hourly for 4 h. Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) of the branchial artery was measured at baseline, 2 and 4 h post intervention drink consumption. Acute consumption of aqueous extract of HSC caused a significant increase in % FMD ( < 0.001), a non-significant decrease in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP); non-significant increase in urinary and plasma nitric oxide (NOx) and reduced response of serum glucose, plasma insulin, serum triacylglycerol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels; significant ( = 0.026) improvement in the area under systemic antioxidant response curve (0 to 2 h); no significant changes in arterial stiffness following the acute consumption of the extract of HSC. Gallic acid, 4-O-methylgallic acid, 3-O-methylgallic acid and hippuric acid reached a maximum plasma concentration at 1 to 2 h post consumption of the extract of HSC. The extract of HSC improved postprandial vascular function and may be a useful dietary strategy to reduce endothelial dysfunction and CVD risk, although this requires confirmation

Platelet-mediated metabolism of the common dietary flavonoid, quercetin.

BACKGROUND: Flavonoid metabolites remain in blood for periods of time potentially long enough to allow interactions with cellular components of this tissue. It is well-established that flavonoids are metabolised within the intestine and liver into methylated, sulphated and glucuronidated counterparts, which inhibit platelet function. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrate evidence suggesting platelets which contain metabolic enzymes, as an alternative location for flavonoid metabolism. Quercetin and a plasma metabolite of this compound, 4'-O-methyl quercetin (tamarixetin) were shown to gain access to the cytosolic compartment of platelets, using confocal microscopy. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) showed that quercetin was transformed into a compound with a mass identical to tamarixetin, suggesting that the flavonoid was methylated by catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) within platelets. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Platelets potentially mediate a third phase of flavonoid metabolism, which may impact on the regulation of the function of these cells by metabolites of these dietary compounds

Role of flavonoids and nitrates in cardiovascular health

CVD remain the leading cause of death globally. Effective dietary strategies for their reduction are of high priority. Increasing evidence suggests that phytochemicals, particularly dietary flavonoids and nitrates, are key modulators of CVD risk reduction through impact on multiple risk factors. The aim of this review is to explore the evidence for the impact of flavonoid- and nitrate-rich foods and supplements on CVD risk, with specific reference to their importance as mediators of vascular health and platelet function. There is accumulating evidence to support benefits of dietary flavonoids on cardiovascular health. Dose-dependent recovery of endothelial function and lowering of blood pressure have been reported for the flavanol (-)-epicatechin, found in cocoa, apples and tea, through production and availability of endothelial nitric oxide (NO). Furthermore, flavonoids, including quercetin and its metabolites, reduce in vitro and ex vivo platelet function via inhibition of phosphorylation-dependent cellular signalling pathways, although further in vivo studies are required to substantiate these mechanistic effects. Hypotensive effects of dietary nitrates have been consistently reported in healthy subjects in acute and chronic settings, although there is less evidence for these effects in patient groups. Proposed mechanisms of actions include endothelial-independent NO availability, which is dependent on the entro-salivary circulation and microbial conversion of dietary nitrate to nitrite in the mouth. In conclusion, flavonoid- and nitrate-rich foods show promising effects on vascular function, yet further randomly controlled studies are required to confirm these findings and to determine effective doses