Nutrition

While animal products are rich in protein, the adequacy of dietary protein intake from vegetarian/vegan diets has long been controversial. In this review, we examine the protein and amino acid intakes from vegetarian diets followed by adults in western countries and gather information in terms of adequacy for protein and amino acids requirements, using indirect and direct data to estimate nutritional status. We point out that protein-rich foods, such as traditional legumes, nuts and seeds, are sufficient to achieve full protein adequacy in adults consuming vegetarian/vegan diets, while the question of any amino acid deficiency has been substantially overstated...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Recent evidence documents the negative impact of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and other metabolic dysregulation on neurocognitive function. This review highlights a key dietary factor in these relationships: refined carbohydrates. RECENT FINDINGS: Chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates has been linked to relative neurocognitive deficits across the lifespan. Hippocampal function is especially impacted, but prefrontal and mesolimbic reward pathways may also be altered...

CONTEXT: Three natural forms of vitamin B12 are commercially available: methylcobalamin (MeCbl), adenosylcobalamin (AdCbl), and hydroxycobalamin (OHCbl), all of which have been shown in clinical studies to improve vitamin B12 status. They are bioidentical to the B12 forms occurring in human physiology and animal foods. In contrast, cyanocobalamin (CNCbl), a synthetic B12 compound used for food fortification and in some supplements, occurs only in trace amounts in human tissues as a result of cyanide intake from smoking or other sources...

BACKGROUND: The association between intake of fruits, vegetables, and legumes with cardiovascular disease and deaths has been investigated extensively in Europe, the USA, Japan, and China, but little or no data are available from the Middle East, South America, Africa, or south Asia. METHODS: We did a prospective cohort study (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology [PURE] in 135 335 individuals aged 35 to 70 years without cardiovascular disease from 613 communities in 18 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries in seven geographical regions: North America and Europe, South America, the Middle East, south Asia, China, southeast Asia, and Africa...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic evidence, reinforced by clinical and laboratory studies, shows that the rich Western diet is the major underlying cause of death and disability (e.g, from cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) in Western industrialized societies. The objective of this study is to document the effects that eating a low-fat (≤10% of calories), high-carbohydrate (~80% of calories), moderate-sodium, purely plant-based diet ad libitum for 7 days can have on the biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes...

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that vegetarian diets can provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain health conditions, including atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Well-designed vegetarian diets that may include fortified foods or supplements meet current nutrient recommendations and are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Vegetarians must use special care to ensure adequate intake of vitamin B-12...

The present randomised cross-over clinical trial investigated the effects of two intervention diets (non-soya legume-based therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) diet v. isoenergetic legume-free TLC diet) on inflammatory biomarkers among type 2 diabetic patients. A group of thirty-one participants (twenty-four women and seven men; weight 74.5 (SD 7.0) kg; age 58.1 (SD 6.0) years) were randomly assigned to one of the two following intervention diets for 8 weeks: legume-free TLC diet or non-soya legume-based TLC diet...

Amyloid diseases are characterized by the deposition of typically aggregated proteins/peptides in tissues, associated with degeneration and progressive functional impairment. Alzheimer's disease is one of the most studied neurodegenerative amyloid diseases and, in Western countries, a significant cause of dementia in the elderly. The so-called "Mediterranean diet" has been considered for long as the healthier dietary regimen, characterised by a great abundance in vegetables and fruits, extra virgin olive oil as the main source of fat, a moderate consumption of red wine and a reduced intake of proteins from red meat...

BACKGROUND: Vegetarian diets may promote weight loss, but evidence remains inconclusive. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE and UpToDate databases were searched through September 22, 2014, and investigators extracted data regarding study characteristics and assessed study quality among selected randomized clinical trials. Population size, demographic (i.e., gender and age) and anthropometric (i.e., body mass index) characteristics, types of interventions, follow-up periods, and trial quality (Jadad score) were recorded...

During the last few years the popularity for the plant based butters (nut and seed butters) has increased considerably. Earlier peanut butter was the only alternative to the dairy butter, but over the years development in the technologies and also the consumer awareness about the plant based butters, has led the development of myriad varieties of butters with different nuts and seeds, which are very good source of protein, fiber, essential fatty acids and other nutrients. These days' different varieties of plant based butters are available in the market viz...

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BACKGROUND: Vegetarian diets exclude all animal flesh and are being widely adopted by an increasing number of people; however, effects on blood lipid concentrations remain unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively assess the overall effects of vegetarian diets on blood lipids. METHODS AND RESULTS: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library through March 2015. Studies were included if they described the effectiveness of vegetarian diets on blood lipids (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride)...

Current knowledge on the effects of nut consumption on human health has rapidly increased in recent years and it now appears that nuts may play a role in the prevention of chronic age-related diseases. Frequent nut consumption has been associated with better metabolic status, decreased body weight as well as lower body weight gain over time and thus reduce the risk of obesity. The effect of nuts on glucose metabolism, blood lipids, and blood pressure is still controversial. However, significant decreased cardiovascular risk has been reported in a number of observational and clinical intervention studies...

OBJECTIVES: Research concerning the link between dairy product intake and cognition is scant while experimental studies suggest links through various biological mechanisms. This study's objective was to examine the cross-time associations of total and specific dairy product consumption with cognitive performance in aging adults. We also explored compliance with dairy intake recommendations in France. DESIGN: The study was based on the «Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants» randomized trial (SU...

BACKGROUND: Beneficial effects of vegetarian and vegan diets on health outcomes have been supposed in previous studies. OBJECTIVES: Aim of this study was to clarify the association between vegetarian, vegan diets, risk factors for chronic diseases, risk of all-cause mortality, incidence, and mortality from cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, total cancer and specific type of cancer (colorectal, breast, prostate and lung), through meta-analysis. METHODS: A comprehensive search of Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar was conducted...

Background: Controversies persist concerning the association between intake of dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and cardiovascular disease risk. Objective: We compared the impact of consuming equal amounts of SFAs from cheese and butter on cardiometabolic risk factors. Design: In a multicenter, crossover, randomized controlled trial, 92 men and women with abdominal obesity and relatively low HDL-cholesterol concentrations were assigned to sequences of 5 predetermined isoenergetic diets of 4 wk each separated by 4-wk washouts: 2 diets rich in SFAs (12...