Servings Of Cereals Research Articles

Sweet Taste Receptor TAS1R2 Polymorphism (Val191Val) Is Associated with a Higher Carbohydrate Intake and Hypertriglyceridemia among the Population of West Mexico.

Some high-carbohydrate diets may lead to obesity and multiple metabolic disorders, including hypertriglyceridemia (HTG). This lipid abnormality is considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The sweet taste receptor TAS1R2 polymorphism (Ile191Val) has been reported to be associated with carbohydrate intake. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of the TAS1R2 gene polymorphism with carbohydrate intake and HTG among the population of West Mexico. In a cross-sectional study, 441 unrelated subjects were analyzed for TAS1R2 genotypes (Ile/Ile, Ile/Val and Val/Val) by an allelic discrimination assay. Biochemical tests and a three-day food record were assessed. The Val/Val genotype carriers had a higher intake of total carbohydrates, fiber and servings of cereals and vegetables than the other genotype carriers. The Val/Val genotype conferred a higher risk for HTG than the Ile/Val and Ile/Ile genotypes (OR = 3.26, 95%CI 1.35–7.86, p = 0.006 and OR = 2.61, 95%CI 1.12–6.07, p = 0.02, respectively). Furthermore, the Val/Val genotype was associated with approximately 30% higher triglycerides compared with Ile/Val and Ile/Ile genotypes (β = 44.09, 95%CI 9.94–78.25, p = 0.01 and β = 45.7, 95%CI 10.85–80.54, p = 0.01, respectively). In conclusion, the Val/Val genotype of TAS1R2 was associated with a higher carbohydrate intake and HTG.

Sleep pattern is associated with adipokine levels and nutritional markers in resident physicians

Shift work and long hours of work are common in medical training and have been associated with a higher propensity for developing nutritional problems and obesity. Changes in leptin and ghrelin concentrations – two hormones that contribute importantly to the central regulation of food intake – are poorly described in this population. The aim of this study was to identify possible negative associations between sleep patterns, nutritional status and serum levels of adipokines. The study included 72 resident physicians (52 women and 20 men) who underwent the following assessments: nutritional assessment (3-day dietary recall evaluated by the Adapted Healthy Eating Index), anthropometric variables, fasting metabolism, physical activity level, sleep quality and sleepiness. Resident physicians with poor sleep quality reported greater weight gain after the beginning of residency (5.1 and 3.0 kg, respectively; p = 0.01) and higher frequency of abnormal waist circumference (44.2 and 17.6%, respectively; p = 0.04) than those with better sleep quality. Mean ghrelin concentration was greater in volunteers with poor sleep quality (64.6 ± 67.8 and 26.2 ± 25.0 pg/mL, respectively; p = 0.04). Women identified as having excessive daytime sleepiness had lower levels of leptin (9.57 ± 10.4 ng/mL versus 16.49 ± 11.4 ng/mL, respectively; p = 0.03) than those without excessive sleepiness. Furthermore, correlations were found between hours of additional work per week and: intake of cereals, bread and pasta (r = 0.22, p = 0.01); intake of servings of fruits (r = −0.20; p = 0.02) and beans (r = −0.21; p = 0.01); and global score for Adapted Healthy Eating Index (r = −0.23; p = 0.008; Table 3). The sleep quality total score correlated with servings of beans (r = −0.22; p = 0.01) and servings of oils (r = 0.23; p = 0.008). Significant correlations were found between mean of time of sleep and servings of cereals, bread and pasta (r = 0.20; p = 0.02), servings of meat (r = −0.29; p = 0.02) and cholesterol levels (r = 0.27; p = 0.03). These observations indicate that sleep patterns and long working hours of resident physicians are negatively associated with biological markers related to central food control, the lipid profile, cholesterol levels and eating healthy foods. These factors may predispose these shift workers to become overweight and develop metabolic disorders.

Promotion of Whole Grain Consumption for Health in Australia

As a professional in the grains industry, how many days a week do you stop and count the number of servings of whole grain foods you have eaten that day? You may do so once a week, and as grains industry professionals you are more often than not thinking about grains and grain-based foods every day. So how do we communicate to the community to eat at least half your servings of grain foods as whole grains and have them embrace whole grain foods every day? This paper presents an overview of the work of the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC) in Australia, the independent voice for grains in nutrition and health. To set the scene, Australians eat more cereal and cerealbased foods than any other food group (1). In fact, we eat more than 21 billion servings a year, which are worth close to A$7 billion at the retail level. Over 80% of these foods are wheatbased. The Australian Dietary Guidelines (7) and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (2) recommend, “Eat plenty of cereals—breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, ‘preferably wholegrain.’” Males and females should eat at least four servings of cereals a day. In Australia, a serving of grain food is • 2 slices of bread • 1/2 cup muesli • 1 cup porridge • 11/3 cups of breakfast cereal or 2 wheat flake biscuits • 1 cup cooked rice, noodles, or pasta For simple messaging we term breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, and noodles as “core” grain foods, and those foods containing higher levels of saturated fat, added sugar, and salt as “extra foods” or “non-core” grain foods. Australian national nutrition surveys confirm grain based foods are primary contributors of fiber, thiamine, folate, magnesium, and iron (1,3). In fact, Australians get more fiber from grain foods than they do from fruit and vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines tell us how much grain we should be eating each day, but how much are Australians actually eating? In the absence of recent national nutrition survey data, GLNC conducted a study to understand attitudes and behaviors towards grain foods in 2009 and 2011 (8). The results (Table I) show that in 2011 Australians were not eating enough core grain foods or whole grain foods and there was a significant decrease in intake from 2009 to 2011. Correspondingly, there was a significant increase in intake of noncore grain foods. The attitudinal questions uncovered misconceptions and a general lack of knowledge about grain foods which GLNC has hypothesized contributed to the decline in consumption from 2009 to 2011. The primary contributors were: • lack of awareness of the health benefits of grains and the importance of grain foods in the diet • the limiting of grain foods to assist with weight loss • the limiting or avoidance of wheat based foods Counter to this feedback, Australians said whole grain messaging was compelling at the point of purchase: 62% of Australians said they would be more likely to purchase a product that mentioned whole grains on the pack. When you analyze the headlines in the print and electronic media, there are a number of conflicting views being presented by “experts.” The benefits of whole grains in the diet are the most prevalent; however, these important messages are competing with negative messages on gluten, carbohydrates, and specific diets such as the Paleo Diet. It is not hard to understand why Australians are confused and hold a number of misconceptions.

Nutritional status and epidemiological profile of elderly people

We intended to identify and evaluate the association between the socio-demographic and epidemiological characteristics of elderly people with their nutritional characteristics. This is a transversal study PMTI (from the Portuguese name of “Programa Municipal da Terceira Idade”), conducted at Viçosa, MG, Brazil. We analyzed 93 records of elderly people registered since 2006 and who underwent nutritional care. After having analyzed the questionnaire, we performed the descriptive and association analyses in the Epi Info (version 6.04) and Minitab softwares. Of the 93 analyzed records, most elderly people were women (80.4%), with an average of 72 years of age, of which 13.0% were long-lived people. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.4kg/m2, and 50.5% were overweight. We have found 26.8% elderly patients with hypertension, and 31.6% took antihypertensives. Elderly patients who were overweight are 4.54 times more likely to have arterial hypertension (odds ratio (OR)=4.54; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2–2.45). Only 7.5% smoked, 30.1% were alcoholics and 60.2% made physical activities. Inadequacies were found regarding the servings of fruits, dairy products, vegetables and sugars consumed. However, the servings of cereals, leguminous, meat and fat consumed were appropriate. This study showed that the nutritional diagnosis and the epidemiological and socio-demographic studies are critical tools to understand this population group, in addition to being important to the planning of health actions.