Nutrients

Many Americans are attempting to lose weight with the help of healthcare professionals. Clinicians can improve weight loss results by using technology. Accurate dietary assessment is crucial to effective weight loss. The aim of this study was to validate a computer-led dietary assessment method in overweight/obese women. Known dietary intake was compared to Automated Self-Administered 24-h recall (ASA24) reported intake in women (n = 45), 19–50 years, with body mass index of 27–39.9 kg/m2. Participants received nutrition education and reduced body weight by 4%–10%. Participants completed one unannounced dietary recall and their responses were compared to actual intake. Accuracy of the recall and characteristics of respondent error were measured using linear and logistic regression. Energy was underreported by 5% with no difference for most nutrients except carbohydrates, vitamin B12, vitamin C, selenium, calcium and vitamin D (p = 0.002, p < 0.0001, p = 0.022, p = 0.010, p = 0.008 and p = 0.001 respectively). Overall, ASA24 is a valid dietary assessment tool in overweight/obese women participating in a weight loss program. The automated features eliminate the need for clinicians to be trained, to administer, or to analyze dietary intake. Computer-led dietary assessment tools should be considered as part of clinician-supervised weight loss programs.

In recent years, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide has become a research hotspot because of its essential role in maintaining human blood pressure balance. In this study, two novel ACE inhibitory peptides of Val-Glu-Arg-Gly-Arg-Arg-lle-Thr-Ser-Val (Valine-Glutamate-Arginine-Glycine-Arginine-Arginine-Isoleucine-Threonine-Serine-Valine, VERGRRITSV) and Phe-Val-Ile-Glu-Pro-Asn-Ile-Thr-Pro-Ala (Phenylalanine-Valine-Isoleucine-Glutamate-Proline-Asparagine-Isoleucine-Threonine-Proline-Alanine, FVIEPNITPA) were isolated and purified from defatted walnut meal hydrolysates through a series of preparation processes including ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-15 gel chromatography, and reverse high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Both peptides showed high ACE inhibitory activities. The molecular docking study revealed that VERGRRITSV and FVIEPNITPA were primarily attributed to the formation of strong hydrogen bonds with the active pockets of ACE. The binding free energies of VERGRRITSV and FVIEPNITPA with ACE were −14.99 and −14.69 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, these ACE inhibitory peptides showed good stability against gastrointestinal enzymes digestion and common food processing conditions (e.g., temperature and pH, sugar, and salt treatments). Furthermore, animal experiment results indicated that the administration of VERGRRITSV or FVIEPNITPA exhibited antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Our results demonstrated that walnut could be a potential source of bioactive peptides with ACE inhibitory activity.

The dietary pattern that characterizes the Western diet is strongly associated with obesity and related metabolic diseases, but biological mechanisms supporting these associations remain largely unknown. We argue that the Western diet promotes inflammation that arises from both structural and behavioral changes in the resident microbiome. The environment created in the gut by ultra-processed foods, a hallmark of the Western diet, is an evolutionarily unique selection ground for microbes that can promote diverse forms of inflammatory disease. Recognizing the importance of the microbiome in the development of diet-related disease has implications for future research, public dietary advice as well as food production practices. Research into food patterns suggests that whole foods are a common denominator of diets associated with a low level of diet-related disease. Hence, by studying how ultra-processing changes the properties of whole foods and how these foods affect the gut microbiome, more useful dietary guidelines can be made. Innovations in food production should be focusing on enabling health in the super-organism of man and microbe, and stronger regulation of potentially hazardous components of food products is warranted.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a global pandemic, and the incidence of DM continues to grow worldwide. Nutrients and dietary patterns are central issues in the prevention, development and treatment of this disease. The pathogenesis of DM is not completely understood, but nutrient-gene interactions at different levels, genetic predisposition and dietary factors appear to be involved. Nutritional genomics studies generally focus on dietary patterns according to genetic variations, the role of gene-nutrient interactions, gene-diet-phenotype interactions and epigenetic modifications caused by nutrients; these studies will facilitate an understanding of the early molecular events that occur in DM and will contribute to the identification of better biomarkers and diagnostics tools. In particular, this approach will help to develop tailored diets that maximize the use of nutrients and other functional ingredients present in food, which will aid in the prevention and delay of DM and its complications. This review discusses the current state of nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics and epigenomics research on DM. Here, we provide an overview of the role of gene variants and nutrient interactions, the importance of nutrients and dietary patterns on gene expression, how epigenetic changes and micro RNAs (miRNAs) can alter cellular signaling in response to nutrients and the dietary interventions that may help to prevent the onset of DM.

Oxalate is both a plant-derived molecule and a terminal toxic metabolite with no known physiological function in humans. It is predominantly eliminated by the kidneys through glomerular filtration and tubular secretion. Regardless of the cause, the increased load of dietary oxalate presented to the kidneys has been linked to different kidney-related conditions and injuries, including calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis, acute and chronic kidney disease. In this paper, we review the current literature on the association between dietary oxalate intake and kidney outcomes.

Infant formulas have been conventionally prepared with an excess of total protein in order to provide sufficient amounts of essential amino acids to the rapidly growing infant. However, this practice leads to higher than necessary protein intake during early infant development, inducing accelerated growth patterns correlated with the development of chronic diseases later in life. This study was aimed at assessing the safety of an infant formula enriched with bovine alpha-lactalbumin containing a total protein concentration very close to that of human milk, and determining its efficacy in the support of healthy infant growth from the first month to the fourth month of age. Healthy full-term infants ≤40 days of age were randomized in this controlled single blind trial to one of the following infant formulas: IF 1 (containing 1.0 g protein/dL; n = 30), IF 2 (containing 1.3 g protein/dL; n = 24), and IF 3 (containing 1.5 g protein/dL; n = 42). A control group consisting of exclusively breastfed infants (HM; n = 212) was included in the study. Anthropometric measurements and Z-scores were evaluated at baseline, at 1 month of age, and at 4 months of age. Weight gain (g/day) was similar in the IF 1 and the HM groups (p = 0.644), and it was significantly greater in the IF 2 and IF 3 groups than in the HM group. Growth patterns in both breastfed or IF-fed infants were in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards. At four months of age, the mean weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) adjusted for initial value in the IF 1 group was similar to that of the HM group and significantly lower than that of the IF 2 and IF 3 groups (p = 0.031 and p = 0.014 for IF 2 and IF 3, respectively). Length-for-age (LAZ) adjusted for initial value was similar among all groups at four months of age. From 1 to 4 months of life, IF 1 containing 1.0 g protein/dL promotes growth and weight gain similar to those observed in exclusively breastfed infants. As this is a first approach to studying an IF containing total protein in a level below that recommended by international committees on nutrition, further investigations are needed to support these findings evaluating infant’s metabolic profile and growth in the long term.

Nowadays, obesity and its associated metabolic disorders, including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, continue to be a health epidemic in westernized societies, and there is an increased necessity to explore anti-obesity therapies including pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds. Considerable attention has been placed on the identification of bioactive compounds from natural sources to manage the metabolic stress associated with obesity. In a previous work, we have demonstrated that a CO2 supercritical fluid extract from yarrow (Yarrow SFE), downregulates the expression of the lipogenic master regulator SREBF1 and its downstream molecular targets FASN and SCD in a tumoral context. Since obesity and diabetes are strongly considered high-risk factors for cancer development, herein, we aimed to investigate the potential therapeutic role of Yarrow SFE in the metabolic stress induced after a high-fat diet in mice. For this purpose, 32 C57BL/6 mice were distributed in four groups according to their diets: standard diet (SD); SD supplemented with Yarrow SFE (SD + Yarrow); high-fat diet (HFD); and HFD supplemented with Yarrow SFE (HFD + Yarrow). Fasting glycemia, insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid profile, gene expression, and lipid content of liver and adipose tissues were analyzed after three months of treatment. Results indicate improved fasting glucose levels in plasma, enhanced insulin sensitivity, and diminished hypercholesterolemia in the HFD + Yarrow group compared to the HFD group. Mechanistically, Yarrow SFE protects liver from steatosis after the HFD challenge by augmenting the adipose tissue buffering capacity of the circulating plasma glucose.

Tanshinone I (Tan I) is a diterpenoid isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and exhibits antitumor effects in several cancers. However, the anti-obesity properties of Tan I remain unexplored. Here, we evaluated the anti-obesity effects of Tan I in high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms in 3T3-L1 cells. HFD-induced obese mice were orally administrated Tan I for eight weeks, and body weight, weight gain, hematoxylin and eosin staining and serum biological parameters were examined. The adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes was assessed using Oil Red O staining and measurement of intracellular triglyceride (TG) levels, and mitotic clonal expansion (MCE) and its related signal molecules were analyzed during early adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells. The administration of Tan I significantly reduced body weight, weight gain, and white adipocyte size, and improved obesity-induced serum levels of glucose, free fatty acid, total TG, and total cholesterol in vivo in HFD-induced obese mice. Furthermore, Tan I-administered mice demonstrated improvement of glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Treatment with Tan I inhibited the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in vitro, with this inhibition mainly occurring at an early phase of adipogenesis through the attenuation of MCE via cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase transition. Tan I inhibited the phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and Akt during the process of MCE, while it stimulated the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase. Furthermore, Tan I repressed the expression of CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ), histone H3K9 demethylase JMJD2B, and subsequently cell cycle genes. Moreover, Tan I regulated the expression of early adipogenic transcription factors including GATAs and Kruppel-like factor family factors. These results indicate that Tan I prevents HFD-induced obesity via the inhibition of early adipogenesis, and thus improves glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This suggests that Tan I possesses therapeutic potential for the treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases.