NutriProfiel® is a tool to measure micronutrient status and to assess diet quality. It consists of measurement of micronutrient status in blood and a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) (‘Eetscore-FFQ’). Based on the results, individuals receive a dietary advice. In this study, we evaluated the application of NutriProfiel in athletes (‘NutriProfiel-Sport’) by assessing the coverage of nutrient intake of the Eetscore-FFQ (part 1) and by evaluating athlete's dietary behaviour after using NutriProfiel-Sport and their satisfaction with this tool (part 2). For part 1, data of 419 athletes were used. We evaluated the coverage of nutrient intake of the Eetscore-FFQ using first and second MOMents (MOM1 and MOM2) sum scores of food items in the questionnaire. Forty-eight athletes were involved in part 2. They gave blood samples for micronutrient status measurement and were asked to complete the Eetscore-FFQ at baseline and after 3 months, as well as a questionnaire on their satisfaction with NutriProfiel-Sport. Results showed that for most nutrients, MOM1 and MOM2 scores were above 80 %, meaning that nutrient intake was sufficiently covered by the Eetscore-FFQ. No difference in diet quality was observed between baseline and after 3 months. Nevertheless, a majority of athletes reported the NutriProfiel-Sport results and advice as useful. On a scale from 0 to 10, NutriProfiel-Sport was graded with a mean (±sd) score of 7⋅6 (±0⋅8). In conclusion, NutriProfiel-Sport is a potential valuable and appreciated tool for athletes and the Eetscore-FFQ as part of this tool sufficiently covers nutrient intake in athletes.

The nutritional status is a determinant of the immune response that promotes a cellular homeostasis. In particular, adequate selenium levels lead to a better antioxidant and immune response. The aim of this work is to assess whether blood selenium levels, at time of SARS-CoV-2 infection, have an impact on the development and severity of COVID-19. A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative and descriptive studies using MeSH terms, selenium and COVID-19 was performed. We searched bibliographic databases up to 17 July 2022 in PubMed and ScienceDirect. Studies that reported data on blood selenium levels were considered. A total of 629 articles were examined by abstract and title, of which 595 abstracts were read, of which 38 were included in the systematic review and 11 in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was conducted to mean difference (MD) with a 95 % confidence interval (CI), and heterogeneity was tested by I2 with random factors with a MD between selenium levels, mortality, morbidity and healthy subjects with a P-value of 0⋅05. Selenium levels were higher in healthy people compared to those in patients with COVID-19 disease (six studies, random effects MD: test for overall effect Z = 3⋅28 (P = 0⋅001), 97 % CI 28⋅36 (11⋅41–45⋅31), P < 0⋅00001), but without difference when compared with the degree of severity in mild, moderate or severe cases. In conclusion, the patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection had lower selenium levels than the healthy population. More studies are needed to evaluate its impact on clinical severity through randomised clinical trials.

An 8-week experiment was performed to investigate the influence on growth performance, plasma biochemistry, glucose metabolism and the insulin pathway of supplementation of dietary taurine to a high-carbohydrate diet for grass carp. In this study, fish were fed diets at one of two carbohydrate levels, 31·49 % (positive control) or 38·61 % (T00). The high-carbohydrate basal diet (T00), without taurine, was supplemented with 0·05 % (T05), 0·10 % (T10), 0·15 % (T15) or 0·20 % (T20) taurine, resulting in six isonitrogenous (30·37 %) and isolipidic (2·37 %) experimental diets. The experimental results showed that optimal taurine level improved significantly weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed utilisation, reduced plasma total cholesterol levels, TAG and promoted insulin-like growth factor level. Glucokinase, pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activities showed a quadratic function model with increasing dietary taurine level, while hexokinase, fatty acid synthetase activities exhibited a positive linear trend. Optimal taurine supplementation in high-carbohydrate diet upregulated insulin receptor (Ir), insulin receptor substrate (Irs1), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (pi3k), protein kinase B (akt1), glycogen synthase kinase 3 β (gs3kβ) mRNA level and downregulated insulin-like growth factor (igf-1), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (igf-1R) and Fork head transcription factor 1 (foxo1) mRNA level. The above results suggested that optimal taurine level could improve growth performance, hepatic capacity for glycolipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, thus enhancing the utilisation of carbohydrates in grass carp. Based on SGR, dietary optimal tributyrin taurine supplementation in grass carp was estimated to be 0·08 %.

Hypertension remains a public health issue in Cameroon, though lifestyle and dietetic measures are the main approaches for the prevention and management of hypertension. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet using local foodstuffs on the status of hypertensive patients at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital. A case–control study was carried out with 160 hypertensive patients divided into two groups, a test and a control group. A food questionnaire was used to evaluate the food habits of patients and design the sheet of the DASH diet to provide a maximum of 2000 kcal/d. The DASH diet was administered to the test group (eighty-eight patients), while the control group (seventy-two patients) consumed their normal diet. Both groups were followed up for 8 weeks. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, HDL-c, LDL-c and total-cholesterol levels of patients of the two groups were measured before and after the intervention. The results indicate that the DASH diet improves all the markers of hypertension in the test group with significant decreases in BMI, SBP, DBP, LDL-c and total-cholesterol. Patients of the control group had fourteen and seven times more risk of having increased systolic and diastolic pressures, respectively, and are thus exposed to hypertension complications. The DASH diet established in this study is therefore effective for the management of hypertension.

Increasingly most people have their meals outside their homes and are vulnerable to illnesses caused by unsafe foods. Unsafe food preparation and supply by vendors have made food safety a concern for public health. The present study evaluated the nutrition knowledge, attitude and food safety and hygienic practices of street food vendors (SFVs) in Northern Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted among 424 SFVs, and the data were collected using questionnaires and observation. The mean ± sd nutrition knowledge score of the SFVs was 7⋅08 ± 1⋅75 in which the majority of the participants (68⋅6 %) knew foods that help fight diseases and build immunity. The mean ± sd food safety and hygienic practice score was 7⋅61 ± 2⋅66 with more than half of the participants reportedly not using hand gloves while preparing and serving food. Factors that were associated with food safety and hygienic practices of the SFVs were level of education (β = −0⋅36, P < 0⋅001), number of hours worked (β = 0⋅15, P = 0⋅002), food hygiene and safety knowledge (β = 0⋅21, P = 0⋅002), having a business certificate (β = −0⋅15, P = 0⋅004) and having medical check-up (β = 0⋅11, P = 0⋅029). The food safety and hygienic practices of the SFVs may constitute a food safety risk to consumers. Improving food safety and hygiene knowledge may be important but regular monitoring and check-up by the FDA could result in SFVs following the required food safety and hygienic practices.

Breast milk is known to contain bioactive peptides that are released during digestion, being a major source of bioactive peptides to the new-born, some of which act against invading pathogens. However, the formation of bioactive peptides during digestion of human colostrum remains largely uninvestigated. This study aimed to investigate the formation of peptides during simulated digestion of human colostrum from adult women and to prospect antimicrobial peptides. For this purpose, we used high-resolution MS to monitor the release of peptides during in vitro digestion. Bioinformatics was used for the prospection of antimicrobial activity of peptides. During simulated digestion (oral, gastric and duodenal phases), 2318 peptide sequences derived from 112 precursor proteins were identified. At the end of simulated digestion, casein-derived peptide sequences were the most frequently observed. Among precursors, some proteins were seen for the first time in this study. The resulting peptides were rich in proline, glutamine, valine and leucine residues, providing characteristic traits of antimicrobial peptides. From bioinformatics analysis, seven peptides showed potentially high antimicrobial activity towards bacteria, viruses and fungi, from which the latter was the most prominent predicted activity. Antimicrobial peptides released during digestion may provide a defence platform with controlled release for the new-born.

Reducing dietary crude protein (CP) concentration while maintaining adequate amino acid (AA) supply by free AA inclusion can contribute to attenuate the negative environmental effects of animal farming. This study investigated upper limits of dietary free AA inclusions without undesirable effects including the dependence on asparagine (Asn) and glutamine (Gln) supply. Ten broilers were allocated to sixty-three metabolism units each and offered nine experimental diets from day (d) 7–21 (n 7). One diet (167 g CP/kg) contained 80 g soya protein isolate (SPI)/kg. In the other diets, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % of the digestible AA from SPI were substituted with free AA. Digestible Asn+aspartic acid (Asp) and Gln+glutamic acid (Glu) were substituted with Asp/Glu or 50/50 mixes of Asp/Asn and Glu/Gln, respectively. Total excreta were collected from d 11–14 and from d 18–21. Growth and nitrogen accretion were unaffected by 25 and 50 % substitution without and with free Asn/Gln, respectively, but decreased at higher substitution (P ≤ 0·024). Circulating concentrations of Asp, Glu and Gln were unaffected by treatment, while Asn decreased at substitution higher than 50 % when Asn/Gln were not provided (P ≤ 0·005). Blood gas analysis on d 21 indicated a compensated metabolic acidosis at substitution higher than 50 and 75 % without and with free Asn/Gln, respectively (P ≤ 0·017). Results suggest that adding Asn/Gln increased an upper limit for proportion of dietary free AA from 10 to 19 % of dietary CP and enabled higher free AA inclusion without affecting the acid–base balance.

The considerable amount of original and generic types of skinfold calipers available is a source of systematic measurement error. This study is a brief report that critically examines the original and illustrated structural configuration of the three main types of skinfold calipers. For more than half a century, the Harpenden®, Lange® and Slim Guide® skinfolds calipers have been widely used in clinical and research settings. It is well established that the physical, mechanical and functional specificity of each type of skinfold caliper makes its interchangeable use impossible. Our report suggests that commercially available technical specifications are insufficient to judiciously choose a skinfold caliper. The area of the jaws, the coefficient of spring and the static and dynamic downward pressure of each type of skinfold caliper must be determined in the metrological laboratory and added to the technical user manual. Choosing a type of skinfold caliper for regular use, without conflict of commercial interest, requires a critical understanding of the physical, mechanical and functional characteristics that configure it. Therefore, a new downward static calibration test and the first eligibility flowchart for a skinfold caliper have been proposed. Finally, the information gathered in this report may be useful for manufacturers of anthropometric instruments and health professionals who use the skinfold technique as a tool for diagnosis and nutritional control.

In studies that contain repeated measures of variables, longitudinal analysis accounting for time-varying covariates is one of the options. We aimed to explore longitudinal association between diet quality (DQ) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Participants from the 1973–1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) were included, if they; responded to survey 3 (S3, 2003, aged 25–30 years) and at least one survey between survey 4 (S4, 2006) and survey 8 (S8, 2018), were free of NCDs at or before S3, and provided dietary data at S3 or S5. Outcomes were coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension (HT), asthma, cancer (except skin cancer), diabetes mellitus (DM), depression and/or anxiety, and multimorbidity (MM). Longitudinal modelling using generalised estimation equation (GEE) approach with time-invariant (S4), time-varying (S4–S8) and lagged (S3–S7) covariates were performed. The mean (± standard deviation) of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) of participants (n = 8022) was 51·6 ± 11·0 (range: 19–91). Compared to women with the lowest DQ (AHEI-2010 quintile 1), those in quintile 5 had reduced odds of NCDs in time-invariant model (asthma: OR (95 % CI): 0·77 (0·62–0·96), time-varying model (HT: 0·71 (0·50–0·99); asthma: 0·62 (0·51–0·76); and MM: 0·75 (0·58–0·97) and lagged model (HT: 0·67 (0·49–0·91); and asthma: 0·70 (0·57–0·85). Temporal associations between diet and some NCDs were more prominent in lagged GEE analyses. Evidence of diet as NCD prevention in women aged 25–45 years is evolving, and more studies that consider different longitudinal analyses are needed.

Age is a risk factor for numerous diseases. Although the development of modern medicine has greatly extended the human lifespan, the duration of relatively healthy old age, or ‘healthspan’, has not increased. Targeting the detrimental processes that can occur before the onset of age-related diseases can greatly improve health and lifespan. Healthspan is significantly affected by what, when and how much one eats. Dietary restriction, including calorie restriction, fasting or fasting-mimicking diets, to extend both lifespan and healthspan has recently attracted much attention. However, direct scientific evidence that consuming specific foods extends the lifespan and healthspan seems lacking. Here, we synthesized the results of recent studies on the lifespan and healthspan extension properties of foods and their phytochemicals in various organisms to confirm how far the scientific research on the effect of food on the lifespan has reached.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education identified food pantries as a targeted setting for policy, system, and environmental (PSE) interventions to promote healthy eating among households who rely on pantries to supplement their food needs. The present study sought to identify factors influencing capacity and readiness to implement healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries. Qualitative interviews were conducted via zoom with twenty-six community residents with experience receiving SNAP benefits and twelve SNAP-Ed staff in rural and urban counties in Ohio to identify themes and indicators related to community/organisational capacity and readiness to implement healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries. Themes and related indicators generated based on inductive and deductive coding of interview transcripts were prioritised and weighted by eleven community nutrition experts during a virtual consensus conference. Five themes emerged; expert-derived weights (scaled low, 0 to high, 1) reflect the perceived importance of each to implementation of healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries: food pantry capacity and logistics [0⋅252], networks and relationships [0⋅228], community nutrition practitioner capacity [0⋅212], food pantry user characteristics [0⋅156], and stigma and stereotypes [0⋅1⋅52]. Overall, seventeen indicators were identified reflecting these themes. Successful and sustained PSE interventions at food pantries will require a tailored approach that considers food pantries’ capacity, needs and opportunities within the community, and capacity of community nutrition practitioners. The themes and indicators identified provide guidance for responsive PSE approaches in food pantries that meet communities where they are.

Although studies show that the intake of ultra-processed products (UPP) has a negative impact on health, diet quality and dietary vitamin D, its influence on serum concentrations of this vitamin remains unknown; therefore, it is essential to verify the association between the UPP consumption and vitamin D deficiency. This is a cross-sectional, household, population-based study, carried out with 229 individuals aged 20 years or older, residents of the city of Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. Socio-demographic, lifestyle, food consumption and anthropometric data were collected. Food consumption was obtained using a 24-h food recall, and foods were grouped according to the NOVA classification. Plasma concentrations of calcidiol–25 (OH) D3 were determined by HPLC. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regression was applied to estimate the association between UPP consumption and vitamin D deficiency. Most individuals aged 20–39 years were vitamin D deficient (52·1 %). UPP contributed 19·9 % to the energetic intake of the participant’s diet. This contribution was higher for individuals with vitamin D deficiency (22·5 %, P = 0·04). In addition, a high intake of UPP was associated with twice the risk of vitamin D deficiency in comparison with low consumption of UPP (OR: 2·05; CI 1·06, 4·50; P: 0·04). Our results suggest that the consumption of UPP may have a negative impact on serum concentrations of vitamin D; more studies are needed.