A prospective cohort study of dietary patterns of non-western migrants in the Netherlands in relation to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases: HELIUS-Dietary Patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Western countries the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is often higher in non-Western migrants as compared to the host population. Diet is an important modifiable determinant of CVD. Increasingly, dietary patterns rather than single nutrients are the focus of research in an attempt to account for the complexity of nutrient interactions in foods. Research on dietary patterns in non-Western migrants is limited and may be hampered by a lack of validated instruments that can be used to assess the habitual diet of non-western migrants in large scale epidemiological studies. The ultimate aims of this study are to (1) understand whether differences in dietary patterns explain differences in CVD risk between ethnic groups, by developing and validating ethnic-specific Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs), and (2) to investigate the determinants of these dietary patterns. This paper outlines the design and methods used in the HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study and describes a systematic approach to overcome difficulties in the assessment and analysis of dietary intake data in ethnically diverse populations.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study is embedded in the HELIUS study, a Dutch multi-ethnic cohort study. After developing ethnic-specific FFQs, we will gather data on the habitual intake of 5000 participants (18-70 years old) of ethnic Dutch, Surinamese of African and of South Asian origin, Turkish or Moroccan origin. Dietary patterns will be derived using factor analysis, but we will also evaluate diet quality using hypothesis-driven approaches. The relation between dietary patterns and CVD risk factors will be analysed using multiple linear regression analysis. Potential underlying determinants of dietary patterns like migration history, acculturation, socio-economic factors and lifestyle, will be considered.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will allow us to investigate the contribution of the dietary patterns on CVD risk factors in a multi-ethnic population. Inclusion of five ethnic groups residing in one setting makes this study highly innovative as confounding by local environment characteristics is limited. Heterogeneity in the study population will provide variance in dietary patterns which is a great advantage when studying the link between diet and disease.</p

Soy isoflavones, estrogen therapy, and breast cancer risk: analysis and commentary

There has been considerable investigation of the potential for soyfoods to reduce risk of cancer, and in particular cancer of the breast. Most interest in this relationship is because soyfoods are essentially a unique dietary source of isoflavones, compounds which bind to estrogen receptors and exhibit weak estrogen-like effects under certain experimental conditions. In recent years the relationship between soyfoods and breast cancer has become controversial because of concerns – based mostly on in vitro and rodent data – that isoflavones may stimulate the growth of existing estrogen-sensitive breast tumors. This controversy carries considerable public health significance because of the increasing popularity of soyfoods and the commercial availability of isoflavone supplements. In this analysis and commentary we attempt to outline current concerns regarding the estrogen-like effects of isoflavones in the breast focusing primarily on the clinical trial data and place these concerns in the context of recent evidence regarding estrogen therapy use in postmenopausal women. Overall, there is little clinical evidence to suggest that isoflavones will increase breast cancer risk in healthy women or worsen the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Although relatively limited research has been conducted, and the clinical trials often involved small numbers of subjects, there is no evidence that isoflavone intake increases breast tissue density in pre- or postmenopausal women or increases breast cell proliferation in postmenopausal women with or without a history of breast cancer. The epidemiologic data are generally consistent with the clinical data, showing no indication of increased risk. Furthermore, these clinical and epidemiologic data are consistent with what appears to be a low overall breast cancer risk associated with pharmacologic unopposed estrogen exposure in postmenopausal women. While more research is required to definitively allay concerns, the existing data should provide some degree of assurance that isoflavone exposure at levels consistent with historical Asian soyfood intake does not result in adverse stimulatory effects on breast tissue

Voeding bij intensieve sportbeoefening

Na training en een zekere genetische aanleg is voeding waarschijnlijk de belangrijkste factor die het prestatievermogen van een sporter bepaalt. Steeds meer beseft men dat een juiste voeding, in combinatie met een goed trainingsregime, het prestatievermogen aanzienlijk kan verbeteren. Aangezien de wetenschappelijke kennis op het gebied van sportvoeding en voedingssupplementen nog steeds toeneemt, kunnen er waarschijnlijk nog veel vorderingen gemaakt worden om door middel van de voeding het prestatievermogen te optimaliseren. De voeding bij intensieve sportbeoefening is zeer verschillend van die van (relatief ) inactieve personen. Speciale nadruk moet gelegd worden op zowel de kwantiteit als de kwaliteit van de voeding die gebruikt moet worden vo´o´r, tijdens en na intensieve inspanning. Met betrekking tot de kwantiteit van de voeding zal de nadruk liggen op het handhaven van de energievoorraden om aan de hoge energiebehoefte van de sporter te kunnen voldoen. De aandacht voor de kwaliteit van de voeding zal vooral uitgaan naar de juiste samenstelling van de voeding om deficie¨nties te voorkomen en een optimaal prestatievermogen te garanderen. Aan de hand van resultaten van wetenschappelijk onderzoek op het gebied van (sport)voeding en voedingsgewoonten in verschillende takken van sport en gegevens uit de literatuur worden in dit hoofdstuk enkele aandachtsgebieden behandeld. Hierbij worden ook (praktische) voedingsadviezen gegeven die van belang zijn bij intensieve sportbeoefening

Trans Fatty Acids in Bakery Products from 14 European Countries: The TRANSFAIR Study

The fatty acid composition of bakery products from 14 European countries was analyzed with particular emphasis ontransfatty acids. The proportion oftransfatty acids in cookies and biscuits ranged from <1 to 28%.Transfatty acids content in sweet pastry ranged from practically 0 to 33%. Croissants and doughnuts had varying amounts oftransfatty acids, with the highest value of 15% in croissants and 32% in doughnuts. The totaltransfatty acid content in pizzas was mostly in the same order and varied from <1% to 5%. Most hydrogenated marine oil-based bakery products were found in Iceland and in Norway. In Finland, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, and United Kingdom no bakery products based on hydrogenated marine oils could be identified. Bakery products based on hydrogenated vegetable fats were present in almost every country. It can be concluded that in bakery products it is difficult to identify the presence oftransfatty acids. © 1998 Academic Press

Voeding bij intensieve sportbeoefening

Voeding is een belangrijke factor die het prestatievermogen van een sporter kan beïnvloeden. Gezien het hoge energiegebruik van een actieve sporter is het belangrijk dat zijn energie-inname gelijke tred houdt met zijn energiegebruik. Behalve aan de hoeveelheid voeding die geconsumeerd moet worden, dient ook aandacht besteed te worden aan de samenstelling. Een juiste verhouding tussen vetten, koolhydraten en eiwitten in de voeding is noodzakelijk. Om prestaties te optimaliseren bestaan gerichte adviezen voor een optimale voeding vóór, tijdens en na inspanning. De kwaliteit van de voeding is eveneens van groot belang, waarbij een adequate aanvoer van vitaminen en mineralen de aandacht behoeft. De vraag of een sporter een verhoogde behoefte heeft aan vitaminen en mineralen is onderwerp van discussie. Aan sommige voedingsstoffen worden – te pas en te onpas – prestatiebevorderende effecten toegeschreven