Modified Version of Baby-Led Weaning Does Not Result in Lower Zinc Intake or Status in Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Little is known about zinc intakes and status during complementary feeding. This is particularly true for baby-led approaches, which encourage infants to feed themselves from the start of complementary feeding, although self-feeding may restrict the intake of zinc-rich foods.

Changes in Energy Intake and Diet Quality during an 18-Month Weight-Management Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Background

Previous research indicates that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) are at risk for poor diet quality.

Caffeine Transiently Affects Food Intake at Breakfast

Background

Caffeine is frequently added to dietary supplements with claims it facilitates weight loss.

Thirteen week toxicity study of dietary l‐tryptophan in rats with a recovery period of 5 weeks

Although l ‐tryptophan is nutritionally important and widely used in medical applications, toxicity data for its oral administration are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential toxicity of an experimental diet containing added l ‐tryptophan at doses of 0 (basal diet), 1.25%, 2.5% and 5.0% when administered to Sprague–Dawley rats for 13 weeks. There were no toxicological changes in clinical signs, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, necropsy, organ weight and histopathology between control rats and those fed additional l ‐tryptophan. Body weight gain and food consumption significantly decreased throughout the administration period in males in the 2.5% group and in both sexes in the 5.0% group. At the end of the dosing period, decreases in water intake in males in the 5.0% group and in serum glucose in females in the 5.0% group were observed. The changes described above were considered toxicologically significant; however, they were not observed after a 5 week recovery period, suggesting reversibility. Consequently, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect level of l ‐tryptophan in the present study was 1.25% for males and 2.5% for females (mean intake of l ‐tryptophan: 779 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 [males] and 1765 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 [females]). As the basal diet used in this study contained 0.27% of proteinaceous l ‐tryptophan, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect level of overall l ‐tryptophan was 1.52% for males and 2.77% for females (mean intake of overall l ‐tryptophan: 948 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 (males) and 1956 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 (females)). We conclude that l ‐tryptophan has a low toxicity profile in terms of human use.     

Prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in healthy Indian school‐going adolescents from rural and urban localities and its relationship with various anthropometric indices: a cross‐sectional study

Background

Micronutrient deficiency is a global health burden, especially among developing countries. The present cross‐sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency in healthy Indian school‐going adolescents, based on area of residence, sex and body mass index (BMI) . Furthermore, the relationship of serum B₁₂ concentration with dietary vitamin B₁₂ intake and anthropometric indices was assessed among adolescents from rural and urban India.

Methods

A total of 2403 school‐going adolescents (11–17 years) from National Capital Region and rural areas of Haryana, India were selected. Serum B₁₂ concentrations were estimated using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Dietary assessments were conducted on 65% of total participants (n  = 1556) by two 24‐h diet recalls.

Results

The prevalence of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency in the total study population was 32.4% (rural: 43.9% versus urban: 30.1%, P  < 0.001; male: 34.4% versus female: 31.0%, P  < 0.05; normal weight: 28.1%, versus overweight: 39.8%, versus obese: 51.2%, P  < 0.001). More than half (51.2%) of obese adolescents were vitamin B₁₂ deficient. On multiple linear regression analysis, serum B₁₂ in rural adolescents was associated with age (β = ?0.12, P  < 0.05). Among urban adolescents, serum B₁₂ was associated with BMI (β = ?0.08, P  < 0.05) and adjusted dietary vitamin B₁₂ intake (β = 0.14, P  < 0.001). Serum vitamin B₁₂ levels were found to be lower in rural females (β = ?0.12, P  = 0.030) and urban males (β: 0.11, P  < 0.001) compared to their respective contemporaries.

Conclusions

Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency was higher among rural school‐going adolescents. Boys had a higher B₁₂ deficiency than girls. Inverse associations of serum B₁₂ with adiposity indices were observed. Serum B₁₂ levels were positively associated with dietary vitamin B₁₂ intake.

     

Secular trends in salt and soy sauce intake among Chinese adults, 1997–2011

Salt and soy sauce are the main ways of sodium intake in Chinese dietary. In this study, we used the data of the China Health and Nutrition Surveys to describe the secular trends of salt and soy sauce intake among Chinese adults from 1997 to 2011. Trends were tested by multiple linear regression models. During the past 14 years, the consumption of sodium, salt and soy sauce intake values decreased significantly across the six study periods (p?p?相似文献   

Satiety and memory enhancing effects of a high-protein meal depend on the source of protein

Objective: High- protein diets have become increasingly popular with various touted benefits. However, the extent to which protein quantity and source affects cognitive functioning through altering postprandial amino acid profiles has not been investigated. Further, whether all protein sources are similarly anorexigenic is uncertain. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of protein level and source on Barnes maze performance, satiety and plasma amino acid levels in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Methods: Rats were entrained to a meal-feeding schedule consisting of a 30 minutes meal, equivalent to 20% of average daily intake, one hour into the dark phase then ad libitum access to food for 5 h. On test days, rats received one of three isocaloric diets as their first meal, hereafter referred to as Egg White (EW), Wheat Gluten (WG), or Basal, and then were measured for cognitive performance, feeding behavior, or plasma amino acid levels via jugular catheter. Percentage energy from protein was 35% for both EW and WG and 20% for Basal with equal amounts provided by EW and WG proteins.

Results: Rats provided EW performed similarly to Basal on the Barnes maze, whereas WG performed worse. EW increased satiety, whereas WG reduced satiety relative to Basal. Both EW and WG increased postprandial concentrations of large neutral and branched chain amino acids relative to Basal, but in EW, concentrations were slower to peak, and peaked to a higher level than WG.

Discussion: Results demonstrate the importance of protein source for cognition and satiety enhancing effects of a high-protein meal.     

Maternal Multivitamin Intake,Plasma Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels and Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Offspring

Background

To examine the prospective association between multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy and biomarker measures of maternal plasma folate and vitamin B₁₂ levels at birth and child's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk.

Methods

This report included 1257 mother–child pairs, who were recruited at birth and prospectively followed through childhood at the Boston Medical Center. ASD was defined from diagnostic codes in electronic medical records. Maternal multivitamin supplementation was assessed via questionnaire interview; maternal plasma folate and B₁₂ were measured from samples taken 2–3 days after birth.

Results

Moderate (3–5 times/week) self‐reported supplementation during pregnancy was associated with decreased risk of ASD, consistent with previous findings. Using this as the reference group, low (≤2 times/week) and high (>5 times/week) supplementation was associated with increased risk of ASD. Very high levels of maternal plasma folate at birth (≥60.3 nmol/L) had 2.5 times increased risk of ASD [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 4.6] compared to folate levels in the middle 80th percentile, after adjusting for covariates including MTHFR genotype. Similarly, very high B₁₂ (≥536.8 pmol/L) showed 2.5 times increased risk (95% CI 1.4, 4.5).

Conclusion

There was a ‘U shaped’ relationship between maternal multivitamin supplementation frequency and ASD risk. Extremely high maternal plasma folate and B₁₂ levels at birth were associated with ASD risk. This hypothesis‐generating study does not question the importance of consuming adequate folic acid and vitamin B₁₂ during pregnancy; rather, raises new questions about the impact of extremely elevated levels of plasma folate and B₁₂ exposure in‐utero on early brain development.