Tocopherols and tocotrienols in Finnish foods: human milk and infant formulas

Individual tocopherols and tocotrienols in human milk, mother's milk substitutes and other infant formulas have been determined by an HPLC method. 107 human milk samples (23 colostral, 22 transitional and 62 mature) obtained from six healthy mothers throughout the lactation were found to contain all the tocopherols, although delta-tocopherol occurred only in traces. A high content of alpha-tocopherol was found in colostrum (average 1.90 +/- 1.62 (SD) mg/100 g), as compared with transitional (0.65 +/- 0.22 mg/100 g) and mature milk (0.47 +/- 0.16 mg/100 g). The content of beta-tocopherol averaged 0.05 +/- 0.03, 0.02 +/- 0.01 and 0.02 +/- 0.01 and gamma-tocopherol 0.11 +/- 0.09, 0.07 +/- 0.04 and 0.07 +/- 0.04 mg/100 g in colostral, transitional and mature milk respectively. The alpha-tocopherol equivalents thus were 1.93, 0.66 and 0.49 mg/100 g; their ratios to the contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids meet the nutritional need of the newborn and young infant: 5.7, 2.1 and 1.4 mg/g in colostral, transitional and mature milk. Mother's milk substitutes and gruel and porridge powders are enriched with tocopherol acetate to vitamin E levels similar to or higher than those in human milk: substitutes contained on average 1.4 mg alpha-tocopherol equivalents/100 g and reconstituted powders 1.1 mg/100 g. The ratio of vitamin E to polyunsaturated fatty acids of these infant formulas was higher than the recommended value of 0.6 mg/g. The average values for alpha-tocopherol equivalents in fruit-berry and meat-vegetable infant formulas were 0.46 and 0.38 mg/100 g.     

The perceived healthiness of functional foods. A conjoint study of Danish,Finnish and American consumers' perception of functional foods

Functional foods presumably enable the consumer to lead a healthier life without changing eating habits. Whether consumers accept this proposition or not is potentially influenced by their perceptions of the healthiness of the processing methods, enrichment components, food-types, and health claims used in the production and marketing of functional foods. Because consumers may perceive functional enrichment as interfering with nature, cultural values pertaining to man's manipulation of nature may also influence consumer acceptance of functional foods.The purpose of the study described here is to clarify to which extent Danish, Finnish and American consumers' perceptions of the healthiness of functional foods are explained by the factors mentioned above. The general results indicate that values pertaining to man's manipulation of nature is only modestly related to the acceptance of functional foods, whereas the use of different health claims, processing methods, enrichments, product types, and especially the interactions between the two latter, are important determinants of consumers' perceptions of the healthiness of functional foods.     

锶与骨质疏松症

骨质疏松是以骨密度、强度下降,脆性增加以及易于发生骨折为主要症状的一种全身性骨胳疾病。大量的研究表明,锶元素对体内骨骼中代谢有显著影响,锶既可抑制骨吸收,又可促进骨形成的作用。因此,锶盐具有抗骨吸收和增进骨形成双重作用,代表了在骨质疏松症治疗上一个新的重要发展方向。针对锶对骨代谢的影响进行综述。     

Priority-setting in Finnish healthcare

The characteristics which affect priority setting in the Finnish healthcare system include strong municipal (local) administration, no clear separation between producers and purchasers, a duality in funding, and the potential for physicians in public hospitals to practice in the private sector. This system has its strengths, such as the possibility to effectively co-ordinate social and healthcare services, and a strong incentive to take care of local needs, because of municipal responsibility to finance these services largely through local taxes. However, the municipalities are typically too small to take advantage of these potentials, their knowledge is scarce especially of secondary care and their negotiating power with respect to hospitals is low. Local politicians also have a dual role: they represent the needs of the local population but simultaneously they are decision-makers in hospitals. Full-time physicians are allowed to act in a dual role as well; they can run a private practice, which is paid for on a fee-for-service basis, while the hospital pays (mostly) a fixed monthly salary. The share of financing which flows from the National Sickness Insurance system to healthcare users may have adverse effects on the local use of resources. The broad national consensus statement on patient-level priorities did not reach any general rules on priorities. Strong support was given to citizens' equal right to access all healthcare services. In healthcare practice, this general rule has some exemptions. First, the reimbursement schemes for prescribed drugs vary depending on the severity and chronic nature of the disease. Secondly, the tax-financed dental services for the young are clearly prioritised over those of older citizens. In the consensus statement, emphasis was put on improving the efficiency of producing health services in order to avoid having to impose patient-level priorities.     

Strontium And Dental Caries

The possibility that strontium is a mildly cariostatic agent has been explored in epidemiological surveys and by analyses of the strontium concentration in teeth.     

Fluoride concentrations in typical Brazilian foods and in infant foods

OBJECTIVE: To determine fluoride concentrations in the typical Brazilian meal (rice with beans) and in processed infant foods, and to estimate their contribution towards dental fluorosis. METHODS: The foods were purchased at supermarkets in the cities of Piracicaba and Campinas, Southeastern Brazil. The processed infant foods were bought in 2001 and the rice and beans in 2003, and they were analyzed immediately. Three brands of rice, three brands of beans and 36 samples of infant foods were analyzed, divided into five groups: ready-to-eat, porridges, formulated foods, powdered milk and others. For the rice and beans, fluoride concentrations were determined in the raw grains and after they were cooked with fluoridated (0.7 ppm) or distilled water. All the fluoride analyses were performed using a specific electrode. A dose of 0.07 mg/kg/day was considered to be the upper limit of fluoride exposure in terms of fluorosis risks. RESULTS: The fluoride concentrations found in the grains of rice and beans were low. However, they increased 100 to 200-fold after cooking in fluoridated water. Even so, they were lower than what is found in some processed foods. A meal of rice and beans prepared with fluoridated water would be responsible for 29% of the threshold dose for fluoride intake in terms of acceptable fluorosis; the contribution from some processed foods reaches 45%. CONCLUSIONS: The typical Brazilian food, even when prepared with fluoridated water, is safer in terms of the risk of dental fluorosis than are some processed infant foods.     

Salicylates in foods

To determine salicylate content, 333 food items were analyzed. Foods were homogenized with 25% sodium hydroxide, allowed to stand overnight, acidified with concentrated hydrochloric acid, and then extracted with warm diethylether over 5 hours. The extract was dried and taken up in dilute sodium bicarbonate solution for analysis. Salicylic acid was separated by high performance liquid chromatography and quantified by reading at 235 nm. Salicylic acid standards were used throughout to standardize extractions and analyses. This is the most comprehensive set of data on food salicylates yet published; extraction appears to have been more complete for some foods, giving higher values than those previously published. Most fruits, especially berry fruits and dried fruits, contain salicylate. Vegetables show a wide range from 0 to 6 mg salicylate per 100 gm food (for gherkins). Some herbs and spices were found to contain very high amounts per 100 gm, e.g., curry powder, paprika, thyme, garam masala, and rosemary. Among beverages, tea provides substantial amounts of salicylate. Licorice and peppermint candies and some honeys contain salicylates. Cereals, meat, fish, and dairy products contain none or negligible amounts.     

The Strontium Specter Again

Abstract

A 39-year-old African American woman with sarcoidosis developed chylous ascites. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed extensive thoracic, mesenteric, and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Initial therapy with corticosteroids was unsuccessful in managing ascites and she needed frequent large-volume paracentesis for symptomatic relief. Methotrexate was effective in treating the condition and the patient has remained symptom-free for > 2 years. Chylous ascites secondary to sarcoidosis is extremely rare and this is the first reported case of successful treatment with methotrexate.     

Weight and mortality in Finnish women

Mortality in relation to body mass index (BMI) was studied in 17,159 healthy Finnish women aged 25-79 followed up for a median of 12 years. Mortality from all cases was related to BMI only in non-smokers aged 25-64, among whom the mortality pattern was "U"-shaped, with a minimum in the second quintile of BMI (the reference range), and about 1.5 times higher in quintiles I and V. Most of the excess risk of mortality among overweight women was due to cardiovascular diseases. During the first 7 years of follow-up, and high risk (relative risk (RR) = 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0-2.9 for quintile V compared to quintile II) depended on the association of BMI with the initial blood pressure level, but in the later years, the relative risk of cardiovascular death, ranging from 1.6 (95% CI = 1.0-2.5) for women in quintile III up to 2.6 (95% Ci = 1.7-4.0) for those in quintile V, was largely independent of the baseline levels of the main biological risk factors. The excess mortality among thin women under the age of 65 was mainly due to non-cardiovascular diseases (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.3 for quintile I compared to quintile II) and was not attributable to antecedent disease, smoking or the biological risk factors studied. Among women aged 65 and over, overall mortality varied little with BMI, but thinness seemed to predict deaths from cancers (RR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.9-3.0).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Weight and mortality in Finnish men

Mortality rates of 22,995 Finnish men aged 25 and over followed up for a median of 12 years were analyzed in relation to body mass index (BMI) at the initial examination. All-cause mortality followed a "U"-shaped distribution, being greatest for the thinnest and fattest men at all ages, or about 1.5-fold for those with BMI less than 19.0 kg/m2 and BMI greater than or equal to 34.0 kg/m2, as compared with men of normal weight (BMI 22.0-24.9 kg/m2). Mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) increased with increasing BMI beyond the normal range. This depended mostly on the association of BMI with the biological risk factors of CVD. Mortality rates from CVD were also elevated among thin men under age 55, which could not be explained by the effect of the biological variables. Mortality rates from non-cardiovascular diseases, including cancers were inversely related to BMI among men of all ages. The high overall mortality of thin men was partly but not entirely attributable to smoking, low social class and antecedent disease. We conclude that both thinness and overweight are detrimental to longevity, but through differing mechanisms and disease patterns.     

Young children's well-being in Finnish stepfamilies

Changing family relationships as a result of divorce are considered a potential threat to children's well-being. This study investigates the well-being of children under the age of eight years in Finnish stepfamilies from the viewpoint of the mother. The goal of this study is to explore how the structural characteristics of the stepfamily and the functioning of its various relationships are linked to a child's well-being. The survey data used in this research are drawn from a sample of 667 stepfamilies. The results indicate that a child's well-being was best supported by the well-functioning relationships within the stepfamily: there was a distinct connection between a child's problems and negative quality of relationships.