Nutrition Research

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Nitrate was once thought to be an inert end-product of endothelial-derived nitric oxide (NO) heme oxidation; however, this view has been radically revised over the past few decades. Following the clarification of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, accumulated evidence has shown that nitrate derived from the diet is a supplementary source of endogenous NO generation, playing important roles in a variety of pathological and physiological conditions. However, the beneficial effects of nitrate are closely related with oral health, and oral dysfunction has an adverse effect on nitrate metabolism and further impacts overall systemic health...

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Lactobacillus paracasei L9 (L9) supplementation prevents diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice. Four-week-old mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks and then supplemented with or without L9 for another 12 weeks. Weight gain, white adipose tissue weight, plasma lipid levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were significantly increased in the HFD group compared with those in the control group and were decreased by L9 treatment...

Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that the dietary inflammatory potential in pregnant women might influence maternal and child health. The objective of this work is to review the literature on the association of Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) during pregnancy with early and late maternal and child health outcomes. We searched Cochrane, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Virtual Health Library. Observational studies on DII in the gestational period that met the objective of this review were selected...

We hypothesized that daily folate consumption may have a beneficial effect on mortality among adults with dysglycemia. This prospective cohort study was conducted on 9266, 12,601, and 16,025 US adults with diabetes, prediabetes, and insulin resistance (IR; homeostasis model assessment of IR >2.6), respectively, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Ⅲ and 1999-2018. Daily folate consumption was obtained from dietary recall. All-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality were obtained by linking to the National Death Index Mortality Data...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a serious global health concern. The objective of this study is to dynamically investigate the changes of metabolic profiles and metabolites in Chinese male MetS subjects after an 18 months diet and exercise intervention. Fifty male MetS patients defined according to International Diabetes Federation 2005 guidelines were subjected to diet and exercise counseling for 18 months. Serum samples were taken at baseline, 12 months, and 18 months, respectively, for clinical evaluation and metabolomics analyses...

The growing rates of obesity worldwide call for intervention strategies to help control the pathophysiological consequences of weight gain. The use of natural foods and bioactive compounds has been suggested as such a strategy because of their recognized antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. For example, polyphenols, especially anthocyanins, are candidates for managing obesity and its related metabolic disorders. Obesity is well known for the presence of metainflammation, which has been labeled as an inflammatory activation that leads to a variety of metabolic disorders, usually related to increased oxidative stress...

Snacking behavior may affect snack quality, overall diet quality, and body weight; however, the associations between these variables have not been studied among college students. The objective of this study was to associate snacking behaviors with snack quality, diet quality, and weight status among college students with overweight and obesity. We hypothesized that a higher snacking frequency, accessibility and availability of unhealthy snacks, and lack of knowledge would be associated with lower snack and diet quality, and higher weight...

Xanthophyll carotenoids (i.e., lutein and zeaxanthin) are plant pigments that selectively deposit in the macula of the eye and provide retinal tissue with protection against photooxidative stress. Although having greater xanthophylls in various tissues is related to lower inflammation in adulthood and infancy, this relationship is underinvestigated in childhood. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the relationships between macular xanthophyll status and inflammation in school-aged children. We hypothesized that greater macular pigment would be associated with lower systemic concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP)...

Protein-energy undernutrition is potentially prevalent among Japanese pregnant women, and biomarkers that objectively indicate the protein nutritional status during pregnancy may help in implementing appropriate protein supplementation to these women. We hypothesized that a serum parameter of pregnant women, the ratio of reduced to total albumin (reduced ALB ratio), would be associated with protein intake during pregnancy. The serum reduced ALB ratio of pregnant women was compared with protein intake and with gestation outcomes (gestation length and infant birth weight) in an observational study of 115 Japanese pregnant women...

Little is known about the associations between dietary aromatic amino acids (AAAs) intake and mortality from all causes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Accordingly, we evaluated these associations in the adult population of the United States using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This was a cohort study. Dietary intake of AAAs (tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan) was determined from the total nutrient intake document. We hypothesized that higher dietary AAA intake would lower all-cause and CVD mortality in adults in the United States...

Dairy and nondairy plant-based alternative proteins are reported to differentially influence body weight; however, most research has compared plant-based alternatives with isolated dairy proteins rather than a complete milk protein (containing casein and whey). This is notable given that people do not generally consume isolated dairy proteins. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of a soy protein isolate (SPI) on factors influencing body weight gain in male and female mice in comparison to skim milk powder (SMP)...

Green tea extract (GTE) is a potential mitigator of oxidative stress, and F2 -isoprostanes are a reliable biomarker of oxidative stress. Genetic polymorphisms in the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene may modify tea catechin metabolism, prolonging exposure. We hypothesized that GTE supplementation would decrease plasma F2 -isoprostanes concentrations compared with placebo and that participants with the COMT genotype polymorphisms would experience a more significant expression of this outcome. This study was a secondary analysis of the Minnesota Green Tea Trial, a randomized placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial investigating the effects of GTE in women who were generally healthy and postmenopausal...

Whether renal health biomarkers can benefit from resveratrol supplements is unknown. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize evidence from randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of resveratrol supplementation on renal health biomarkers. We hypothesized that resveratrol supplementation is associated with improved renal health biomarkers. Four electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science, and Cochrane Central, were searched for relevant articles up to February 2023...

Accumulating evidence has suggested that curcumin may protect against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI). However, biological mechanisms vary across studies, limiting the clinical applicability of these findings. We performed a meta-analysis on publications evaluating curcumin administration in rat models of CIRI. Furthermore, we sought to test the hypothesis that curcumin alleviates CIRI through diminishing oxidation and inflammation. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane from the starting date of each database to May 2022 for experimental rat studies exploring the use of curcumin after ischemia reperfusion...

Healthy dietary patterns with adequate fiber improve cardiometabolic (CM) outcomes and attenuate disease progression. Resistant starch (RS) is a fermentable fiber that affects CM outcomes; however, studies are heterogeneous and inconsistent. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review is to assess the impact of RS intake by type and amount on CM outcomes while considering subject characteristics and trial duration. Randomized crossover or parallel studies (n = 31) were selected and compared according to acute (1 day; n = 12), medium (>1-30 days; n = 8), or long (>30 days; n = 11) duration...

Evidence on the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Asians, especially Koreans, is limited. We hypothesized that high concentrations of 25(OH)D are associated with lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the general Korean population. This study included 27,846 adults participating in the Fourth and Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2012, followed up through December 31, 2019. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer were estimated using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression...

We hypothesized that the prevalence of hypertension is related to B-vitamin intake in the general population, but it has not been sufficiently studied. This study aimed to investigate the intakes of dietary folate, vitamin B6 , and vitamin B12 concerning hypertension in US adults. A total of 55 569 adults from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III and 1999-2014 were included in this study. Nutrient intake was collected from subjects through one or two 24-hour dietary reviews. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between these nutrient intakes and hypertension...

Vitamin D insufficiency induces calcification disorder of bone or a decrease in bone mineral density, increasing the risk of fracture. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, a differentiation marker for intestinal epithelial cells, is regulated by vitamin D. It has also been suggested that ALP may prevent metabolic endotoxemia by dephosphorylating lipopolysaccharide. We hypothesized that vitamin D restriction and/or a high-fat diet influences ALP activity in each tissue and serum lipopolysaccharide concentrations and increases the risk of metabolic endotoxemia...

The composition and function of microbes harbored in the human gastrointestinal lumen have been underestimated for centuries because of the underdevelopment of nucleotide sequencing techniques and the lack of humanized gnotobiotic models. Now, we appreciate that the gut microbiome is an integral part of the human body and exerts considerable roles in host health and diseases. Dietary factors can induce changes in the microbial community composition, metabolism, and function, thereby altering the host immune response, and consequently, may influence disease risks...