Table_1_Dietary intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in semi-professional female soccer players: a cross-sectional study.pdf

BackgroundAdequate energy and nutrient intakes in athletes contribute to optimal performance and recovery, decrease the risk of injury, and help preserve athletes’ health. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is considered suitable for covering the nutritional needs of athletes, while contributing to improve eating habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the energy and nutrient intakes of semi-professional female soccer players and their adherence to the MD, during the competitive season.MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted on twenty-three female soccer players, who were invited to fill in a 3-day food diary twice, one month apart, to assess their energy and nutrient intakes and a validated questionnaire (MEDI-LITE) to evaluate their adherence to MD. Exercise energy expenditure during three training and match-play days was monitored by GPS.ResultsOn average, the participants consumed 1,981 kcal/day, with 44% of their energy deriving from carbohydrates, 21% from protein, and 34% from fat; the mean MD adherence score was 10.1 ± 1.8, corresponding to a good MD adherence. A substantial percentage of athletes were at risk of insufficient nutrient intakes for vitamin D (100%), iodine (87%), potassium (87%), vitamin E (39%), iron and zinc (17 and 30%, respectively).ConclusionThe evaluation of the dietary intake in female soccer players showed energy deficiency in relation to training level, mainly due to the insufficient intake of carbohydrates, and micronutrient deficiencies. The technical staff should promote adequate consumption of starchy foods in female athletes and emphasize the importance of a proper distribution of energy intake among different eating occasions, including snacks. Periodic monitoring of the nutritional status of micronutrients (vitamin D and some minerals) could help reduce deficiency risk. Over all, nutrition education to improve eating habits of athletes seems worthy of attention, in order to preserve athletes’ health and performance.</p

Microbiota in anorexia nervosa: The triangle between bacterial species, metabolites and psychological tests

<div><p>Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disease with devastating physical consequences, with a pathophysiological mechanism still to be elucidated. Metagenomic studies on anorexia nervosa have revealed profound gut microbiome perturbations as a possible environmental factor involved in the disease. In this study we performed a comprehensive analysis integrating data on gut microbiota with clinical, anthropometric and psychological traits to gain new insight in the pathophysiology of AN. Fifteen AN women were compared with fifteen age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. AN diet was characterized by a significant lower energy intake, but macronutrient analysis highlighted a restriction only in fats and carbohydrates consumption. Next generation sequencing showed that AN intestinal microbiota was significantly affected at every taxonomic level, showing a significant increase of <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, and of the archeon <i>Methanobrevibacter smithii</i> compared with healthy controls. On the contrary, the genera <i>Roseburia</i>, <i>Ruminococcus</i> and <i>Clostridium</i>, were depleted, in line with the observed reduction in AN of total short chain fatty acids, butyrate, and propionate. Butyrate concentrations inversely correlated with anxiety levels, whereas propionate directly correlated with insulin levels and with the relative abundance of <i>Roseburia inulinivorans</i>, a known propionate producer. BMI represented the best predictive value for gut dysbiosis and metabolic alterations, showing a negative correlation with <i>Bacteroides uniformis</i> (microbiota), with alanine aminotransferase (liver function), and with psychopathological scores (obsession-compulsion, anxiety, and depression), and a positive correlation with white blood cells count. In conclusion, our findings corroborate the hypothesis that the gut dysbiosis could take part in the AN neurobiology, in particular in sustaining the persistence of alterations that eventually result in relapses after renourishment and psychological therapy, but causality still needs to be proven.</p></div

Fecal SCFA concentrations in anorexia nervosa subjects and healthy control group.

<p>Fecal SCFA concentrations in anorexia nervosa subjects and healthy control group.</p

Taxa significantly increased (+) or decreased (-) in abundance in anorexia nervosa subjects.

<p>Taxa significantly increased (+) or decreased (-) in abundance in anorexia nervosa subjects.</p

Raw scores for psychopathological assessment.

<p>Raw scores for psychopathological assessment.</p

Distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA).

<p>Db-RDA plot shows correlations between gut microbiota composition and body mass index (BMI), insulin, propionate and butyrate. Only significant variables are represented (p>0.05, Permanova analysis). Arrows in the db-RDA biplot denote the magnitudes and directions of the variable effects. Controls are represented by blue dots and anorexic subjects by red dots.</p

Characteristics of the study population.

<p>Characteristics of the study population.</p

Redundancy analysis (RDA) of gut microbiota.

<p>RDA shows a separation between anorexia nervosa (AN, red dots) and control (CTR, blue dots) subjects.</p

Relative abundance of common microbial taxa.

<p>Bar charts showing the relative abundance of the most represented microbial taxa, defined as having a mean relative abundance of >1%, in stool samples of anorexia nervosa (AN, n = 15) and control (CTR, n = 15) groups. Phylum-level (<b>a</b>) and family-level (<b>b</b>) taxon profiles are shown.</p