Health-promoting Qualities Research Articles

La maîtrise de la composition et de la qualité du lait à la ferme

Milk and milk products have a reputation for quality among consumers. Yet the raw material--milk collected on the farm--varies widely in its composition and quality depending on the farming conditions, animal genetics, feed, and environmental determinants. The micronutrient content of milk and milk products, their organoleptic qualities, and the factors that influence these characteristics are now better known. Thus, the dairy industry is better able to develop foods meeting modern demands for taste, safety and health-promoting qualities.

The association between caregiving satisfaction, difficulties and coping among older family caregivers

The aim was to study the association between gender, extent and content of care, satisfaction, coping and difficulties in the caregiving situation among older (75+) caregivers and to identify clusters of caregivers. The aim was also to explore psychometrically two instruments assessing satisfaction and difficulties in family caregivers. Caregiving is a complicated phenomenon. Much of the research has focused on negative aspects, such as the burden, stress and emotional strain. Caregiving is known to affect health negatively for the caregivers. Little is known about satisfaction and motivation in voluntary work, such as informal caregiving, especially among older persons. Cross-sectional. The sample for this study consisted of 171 informal caregivers aged 75 and over, identified from an age-stratified sample in a postal survey among older people in the southern part of Sweden. Male caregivers proved to be more satisfied than female caregivers; caregiving had seemingly widened their horizon and had helped them to grow as persons. Based on satisfaction scores, those satisfied had a higher proportion of male caregivers and a significantly higher amount of caregiving hours per week. They used other coping strategies than the respondents in the other cluster, i.e. less satisfied in using more problem-solving strategies. The instruments tested were appropriate for work in clinical and research settings, although the internal dropout indicates that a shorter version would be more useful. Those who found satisfaction in care used more problem-focused coping strategies and were more often men than women. From a salutogenic point of view, this may give important knowledge about factors that can promote health. The findings indicate that women deserve extra attention as informal caregivers as they did not find caregiving as rewarding as the men did. This may in turn make them less protected against the negative consequences of caregiving. Reinforcing the health-promoting qualities in caregivers who are not feeling well, with women as a particularly vulnerable group, may restrict unnecessary suffering for both the caregiver and the person cared for.

Cancer cell antiproliferation activity and metabolism of black carrot anthocyanins

The antiproliferation activity of a black carrot anthocyanin-rich extract (BC-ARE) on human cancer cells (HT-29 colorectal adenocarcinoma and HL-60 promyelocytic leukaemia) and metabolism of its characteristic anthocyanins (acylated and nonacylated forms) in humans were investigated. Cancer cells were exposed for 24 h to 0.0–2.0 mg/mL of BC-ARE. Anthocyanin-rich extract inhibited proliferation of both types of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. After ingestion of a black carrot concentrate, three acylated and two nonacylated anthocyanins were excreted in the volunteers (n = 4) urine (0.048% of the administered dose). The anthocyanins were characterized by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. Urine recovery of nonacylated anthocyanins was 8-fold higher than that of acylated anthocyanins. Natural pigments have achieved commercial significance as food colorants due to the fact that consumers perceive them as safe additives. At present extracts rich in acylated anthocyanins, which are known for their outstanding stability, serve as a major source of natural food colours for the food colorant industry with purple sweetpotato, red cabbage and black carrot being the major sources. Beside aesthetic values, anthocyanins possess enhanced physiological activity due to their potent antioxidant properties and enhance the health-promoting qualities of foods. Our findings on cancer cell antiproliferation activity of an anthocyanin-rich black carrot extract as well as information about the bioavailability of black carrot anthocyanins could lead to an increased application of these natural food colorants by the food industry.

Regulating the composition of anthocyanins and phenolic acids in a sweetpotato cell culture towards production of polyphenolic complex with enhanced physiological activity

Recent confirmation in the scientific literature of the health-promoting qualities of natural food colorants prompted their increased application in food products. Anthocyanins, a large group of natural pigments, include compounds with diverse molecular structures and different physiological activities. Therefore, selection of specific anthocyanins with enhanced bioactivity for application in functional foods needs to be addressed. Biotechnology offers an opportunity for ongoing production of selected phytochemicals for application in pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food industries. However, application of plant cell culture for commercial production of natural food colorants is still not an achieved goal due to lack of economical viability. One of the ways of improving the efficiency of the system is the production of high-value compounds superior to those accumulated in field-grown plant. This paper presents a review of our earlier works aiming to establish a plant cell culture-based system for the production of anthocyanin–phenolic acid complex with enhanced stability and physiological activity from a high-anthocyanin accumulating cell line generated from the storage root of sweetpotato ( Ipomoea batatas L.), cv. Ayamurasaki. Modifications of the physical and chemical environment of culture growth have been employed to direct the in vitro production of anthocyanins towards the generation of components with enhanced stability and radical scavenging ability. Under the same conditions we have enhanced the accumulation of caffeic acid and chlorogenic (caffeoylquinic) acid and induced accumulation of derivatives: 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3,4,5-tricaffeoylquinic acid. In vitro generation of polyphenolic complex consisting of selected anthocyanins and phenolic acids with enhanced nutraceutical value has been achieved.

Anthocyanins—More Than Nature′s Colours

Anthocyanins—More Than Nature′s Colours

ON THE BORDERLINE OF FOOD AND DRUG: Constructing Credibility and Markets for a Functional Food Product

This article addresses the subject matter of functional foods by analysing commercialization and marketing of a functional food product. Functional food is an evolving hybrid concept: certain substances in a food product are claimed to have health-promoting or disease-preventing qualities (e.g. Best, 1996). Consequently, functional food advertises a food product with medical qualities, which evokes various debates and difficulties in its definition from the point of view of the medical community, regulatory authorities, food industry and consumers.Globally, the approval of functional foods is a complex matter, as it depends on national criteria and practice. For instance, functional food is not a legal term in many countries, such as the USA, but the health claims of functional foods that are used in package labelling and marketing are strictly regulated. With respect to clinical evidence, the approval criteria of health claims may even resemble the approval criteria of drugs. Through the health claims, functional foods challenge the clear distinction between food and drugs that has been incorporated into regulatory systems for a long time (Kwak and Jukes, 2000, 2001a).

The sense of coherence, occupation and all-cause mortality in the Helsinki Heart Study

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that people with a strong sense of coherence (SOC) have decreased all-cause mortality. The effect of occupation and the SOC on all-cause mortality was studied among 4405 Finnish middle-aged employed men in a prospective 8-year follow-up study. Using Cox proportional hazards models the crude relative risk for all-cause mortality for the low SOC tertile when compared to the high SOC tertile was 1.23 (95% CI: 0.90-1.68). Adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol and occupation increased the risk slightly to 1.35. Occupation was an effect modifier, since among white-collar workers the corresponding relative risk of the low SOC tertile was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.12-4.59, p = 0.02) and among blue-collar workers the relative risk for all-cause mortality was stable (1.33-1.52) in each SOC tertile. The classic risk factors, smoking and alcohol, showed higher relative risks than the SOC. The effect of the health-promoting qualities of the SOC upon all-cause mortality was significant among white-collar workers, but not among blue-collar workers.

Telling stories: the health benefits of narrative.

Pennebaker summarizes and highlights the work he and his colleagues from around the world have done over more than ten years in their studies of the health-promoting qualities of writing. His essay focuses primarily on the physical health benefits of writing about traumatic or difficult experience.

Mediterranean diet, Italian-style: prototype of a healthy diet

Since Keys' first observations in the 1960s, the Mediterranean diet has been under scrutiny by researchers and public health specialists for its health-promoting qualities. Detailed analyses of food surveys carried out in Italy at that time permitted a definition of an Italian-style Mediterranean diet, characterized by low total fat (< 30% of energy), low saturated fat (< 10% of energy), high complex carbohydrates, and high dietary fiber. The importance of the plant components of this dietary pattern became increasingly recognized as a result of advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic and degenerative diseases. Thus, the Mediterranean diet was found not only to produce favorable effects on blood lipid profiles, but also to protect against oxidative stress and carcinogenesis. However, possible unwanted effects, such as those on micronutrient bioavailability, also must be taken into account. In recent years, despite an increase in consumption of animal foods, the dietary profile of southern Italy has maintained its basic features, and vital statistics still demonstrate a comparative advantage of eating behaviors in Mediterranean countries.