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Topic Review
Ketogenic Diet for Preoperative Weight Reduction
Bariatric surgery (BS) is the most effective treatment in patients with severe obesity in terms of durable weight loss and reduction of comorbidity burden and mortality. Pre-operative weight loss can limit anesthesiological and surgical risks. Ketogenic diet (KD) is an “umbrella term” under which different low-carbohydrate dietary protocols are included. The effect of KD for preoperative weight reduction in BS is described. 
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Diet for Gut Microbiota and Dyslipidemia
Diet is understood to be the most important determinant in shaping the microbiota ecosystem as balanced diets of fruits and vegetables are shown to increase gut bacterial richness and diversity. As such, lifestyle changes specifically through dietary interventions represent an effective therapeutic modality for dyslipidemia by creating targeted and beneficial changes in gut microbial composition. Although many dietary choices influence the composition of the gut microbiota, two particular diets have been studied extensively and can lead to significant, yet opposite effects. In this section, the metabolic changes seen in Western Diet (WD)-induced dyslipidemia followed by the role of plant-based diets was first described,  such as the Mediterranean diet (MD) play in optimizing gut microbial composition to restore defective metabolic states.
  • 1.3K
  • 29 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Preventing Obesity among Adolescents
Some authors do understand that the concept of obesity must be a combination of at least BMI over the second standard deviation for age and gender, with some body composition evaluation, as waist/height relation, neck circumference or physical methods to analyse fat deposition (absorciometry or pletismography, and in more debatable concerns impedanciometer (tetrapolar ), skin folder measurements or summ of perimeters.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Sugary Food Consumption on Pregnancy
Obesity in pregnancy has been directly associated with an increased risk of almost all pregnancy complications such as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and premature delivery. Thereby, according to current evidence available, life-style interventions to prevent pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity in women of fertile age are necessary to reduce the negative impact of obesity on mother and child health. Unhealthy dietary patterns, together with the increased consumption of processed foods rich in simple sugar and sweeteners are some of the responsible, among others, for the increase in obesity rates during the last years. Nevertheless, how its consumption can affect pregnancy outcomes and long-term children's health is still uncertain.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Anti-Obesity Effect of Carotenoids
Adipose tissue is a key organ in obesity etiology and the main storage site for carotenoids. We thus first describe carotenoid metabolism in adipocyte and adipose tissue and the effects of carotenoids on biological processes in adipose tissue that may be linked to obesity management in in vitro and preclinical studies.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Applications of Cactus Pear (Opuntia spp.) Peel
Cactus pear is the fruit of the nopal cactus, is native to the arid and semi-arid regions of Mexico and Mesoamerica and has spread to many regions. This fruit is commonly known as cactus pera fruit, prickly pear, tuna (Mexico), higo (Colombia) higo chumbo (Spain), fico d’India, figue de barbarie (France), among others. Cactus pear by-products are rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolics, flavonoids, pigments, fibers, polysaccharides and fatty acids. They can provide many health benefits such as inhibition and protection against free radicals, cytotoxic activity against some cancer cell lines as well as the reduction of atherosclerosis and glycaemia. However, many studies have been performed by using the pear peel for multiple purposes such as for pigment extraction a preservative for margarine, as snacks, a dietary supplement with hypoglycemic properties and in wastewater treatment.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bioactive Compounds Present in Oilseeds
Oilseeds are a great source of affordable and potent bioactive compounds (e.g., carotenes, flavonoids, PUFAs, organosulphur compounds, phytosterols, and polyphenols) generally used in the pharmaceutical (anti-microbial toxins, adjuvants for cancer therapy, cholesterol-lowering therapeutics), agricultural (animal welfare) and cosmetic (oil-based creams) industries. However, oilseeds also contain certain molecules called anti-nutrients, which are toxic compounds synthesized by plants as a defense mechanism. Controlling these compound’s amounts, namely glucosinolates and phytic acid, is essential to maximize beneficial effects over toxicity.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Jul 2022
Topic Review
IDA in Celiac Disease
The iron absorption process develops mainly in the proximal duodenum. This portion of the intestine is typically destroyed in celiac disease (CD), resulting in a reduction in absorption of iron and subsequent iron deficiency anemia (IDA). In fact, the most frequent extra-intestinal manifestation (EIM) of CD is IDA, with a prevalence between 12 and 82% (in relation with the various reports) in patients with new CD diagnosis. The primary treatment of CD is the gluten-free diet (GFD), which is associated with adequate management of IDA, if present. Iron replacement treatment historically has been based on oral products containing ferrous sulphate (FS). However, the absorption of FS is limited in patients with active CD and unpredictable in patients on a GFD. Furthermore, a poor tolerability of this kind of ferrous is particularly frequent in patients with CD or with other inflammatory bowel diseases. Normalization from anemic state typically occurs after at least 6 months of GFD, but the process can take up to 2 years for iron stores to replenish.
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Impact of Resveratrol on Pregnancy Complications
Adverse pregnancy outcomes are considered significant health risks for pregnant women and their offspring during pregnancy and throughout their lifespan. Maternal dietary intake of polyphenolic antioxidants is linked to a reduced risk of maternal obesity and cardio-metabolic disorders, positively affecting both the fetus and offspring. The effect/s of the naturally occurring polyphenol antioxidant resveratrol on oxidative stress, inflammation, and other molecular and physiological phenomena associated with pregnancy and pregnancy conditions are discussed, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm labor.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Dietary Interventions for Complementing Celiac Disease and Beyond
Celiac Disease (CeD) is a chronic small intestinal immune-mediated enteropathy caused by ingesting dietary gluten proteins in genetically susceptible individuals. CeD is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, affecting around 1.4% of the population globally. The only acceptable treatment for CeD is strict, lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). However, in some cases, GFD does not alter gluten-induced symptoms. In addition, strict adherence to a GFD reduces patients’ quality of life and is often a socio-economic burden. Therefore, dietary and non-dietary interventions are investigated. This entry concentrates on the recent research on the degradation of gluten through enzymes, the modulation of the microbiome, and the different types of “biotics” strategies, from probiotics to the less explored “viromebiotics” as possible beneficial complementary interventions for CeD management and other less understood gluten-related disorders beyond the GFD.
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
SGLT-2 Inhibitors in Diabetes Mellitus Therapy
The primary treatment for autoimmune Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus-T1DM) is insulin therapy. Unfortunately, a multitude of clinical cases has demonstrated that the use of insulin as a sole therapeutic intervention fails to address all issues comprehensively. Therefore, non-insulin adjunct treatment has been investigated and shown successful results in clinical trials. Various hypoglycemia-inducing drugs such as Metformin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, amylin analogs, and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporters 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, developed good outcomes in patients with T1DM. SGLT-2 inhibitors have remarkably improved the treatment of patients with diabetes by preventing cardiovascular events, heart failure hospitalization, and progression of renal disease. However, their pharmacological potential has not been explored enough. 
  • 1.3K
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Nutrients and Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease that is worsened post-menopause due to oestrogen loss.  The objective of this review was to investigate nutrient and dietary patterns that have been reported to be beneficial for bone health in postmenopausal women. We found calcium, vitamin D, B-vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin K are important nutrient requirements for bone health while foods such as low-fat dairy (including milk, yoghurt, and cheese), fish (with bones), fortified and fruits and vegetables are important for bone health maintenance.
  • 1.3K
  • 14 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Butyrate
Butyrate emerged because it might have a potential in alleviating obesity and related comorbidities. 
  • 1.3K
  • 09 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Vitamin D and Glomerulonephritis
Vitamin D presents a plethora of different functions that go beyond its role in skeletal homeo-stasis. It is an efficient endocrine regulator of the Renin–Angiotensin–Aldosterone System (RAAS) and erythropoiesis, exerts immunomodulatory effects, reduces the cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. In Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients, Vitamin D function is im-paired; the renal hydrolyzation of its inactive form by the action of 1α-hydroxylase declines at the same pace of reduced nephron mass. Moreover, Vitamin D major carrier, the D-binding pro-tein (DBP), is less represented due to Nephrotic Syndrome (NS), proteinuria, and the alteration of the cubilin–megalin–amnionless receptor complex in the renal proximal tubule. In Glomeru-lonephritis (GN), Vitamin D supplementation demonstrated to significantly reduce proteinuria and to slow kidney disease progression. It also has potent antiproliferative and immunomodu-lating functions, contributing to the inhibitions of kidney inflammation. Vitamin D preserves the structural integrity of the slit diaphragm guaranteeing protective effects on podocytes. Acti-vated Vitamin D has been demonstrated to potentiate the antiproteinuric effect of RAAS inhibi-tors in IgA nephropathy and Lupus Nephritis, enforcing its role in the treatment of glomerulo-nephritis: calcitriol treatment, through Vitamin D receptor (VDR) action, can regulate the hepa-ranase promoter activity and modulate the urokinase receptor (uPAR), guaranteeing podocyte preservation. It also controls the podocyte distribution by modulating mRNA synthesis and protein expression of nephrin and podocin. Maxalcalcitol is another promising alternative: it has about 1/600 affinity to vitamin D binding protein (DBP), compared to Calcitriol, overcoming the risk of hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and calcifications, and it circulates principally in un-bound form with easier availability for target tissues. Doxercalciferol, as well as paricalcitol, showed a lower incidence of hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria than Calcitriol. Paricalcitol demonstrated a significant role in suppressing RAAS genes expression: it significantly decreases angiotensinogen, renin, renin receptors, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels, thus reducing proteinuria and renal damage.
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Food Selectivity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Food selectivity (FS) in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is common, and its impact on a nutritional level is known.
  • 1.3K
  • 05 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Nutriepigenomics in Environmental-Associated Oxidative Stress
Complex molecular mechanisms define our responses to environmental stimuli. Beyond the DNA sequence itself, epigenetic machinery orchestrates changes in gene expression induced by diet, physical activity, stress and pollution, among others. Importantly, nutrition has a strong impact on epigenetic players and, consequently, sustains a promising role in the regulation of cellular responses such as oxidative stress. As oxidative stress is a natural physiological process where the presence of reactive oxygen-derived species and nitrogen-derived species overcomes the uptake strategy of antioxidant defenses, it plays an essential role in epigenetic changes induced by environmental pollutants and culminates in signaling the disruption of redox control. 
  • 1.3K
  • 18 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Glycemic Index
Glycemic Index is an indicator originally used to help obese and diabetic people to manage their weight in glucose level by helping them choose adapted food. However, dietary interventions using low glycemic index food have shown encouraging improvements in people with brain diseases.
  • 1.3K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
DHA Supplementation during Pregnancy
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation during pregnancy has been recommended by several health organizations due to its role in neural, visual, and cognitive development. There are several fat sources available on the market for the manufacture of these dietary supplements with DHA. These fat sources differ in the lipid structure in which DHA is esterified, mainly phospholipids (PL) and triglycerides (TG) molecules. The supplementation of DHA in the form of PL or TG during pregnancy can lead to controversial results depending on the animal model, physiological status and the fat sources utilized. The intestinal digestion, placental uptake, and fetal accretion of DHA may vary depending on the lipid source of DHA ingested by the mother. The form of DHA used in maternal supplementation that would provide an optimal DHA accretion for fetal brain development, based on the available data obtained most of them from different animal models, indicates no consistent differences in fetal accretion when DHA is provided as TG or PL. Other related lipid species are under evaluation, e.g., lyso-phospholipids, with promising results to improve DHA bioavailability although more studies are needed. In this review, the evidence on DHA bioavailability and accumulation in both maternal and fetal tissues after the administration of DHA supplementation during pregnancy in the form of PL or TG in different models is summarized.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Dietary Polyphenols and NAFLD
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a clinical condition primarily characterized by fat accumulation in liver parenchyma (>5% of hepatocytes). Its clinical burden is encompassed in its pathologic spectrum, which ranges from simple fatty liver (Simple Fatty Liver – SFL) to steato-hepatitis (Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis – NASH), ending with hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma, through a progressive fibrosis of the organ. These advanced stages are associated with higher mortality, but all stages of NAFLD can significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases since these are the most prevalent clinical features in NAFLD. 
  • 1.3K
  • 23 Feb 2021
Topic Review
VitD and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone traditionally connected to phosphocalcium metabolism. The discovery of pleiotropic expression of its receptor and of the enzymes involved in its metabolism have led to exploration of the other roles of this vitamin, namely on autoimmune thyroid disease. Most of the existing data support a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and a greater tendency for development and/or higher titers of antibodies linked to Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, and/or postpartum thyroiditis. The nature of this relationship is yet unknown, it may be due to vitamin D's immunoregulatory role, emerge as a consequence of the autoimmune disease, or be a result physiopathological process underlying the autoimmune disease. Our thesis is that, due to its immunoregulatory role, vitamin D plays a minor role in conjunction with myriad other factors. In some cases, a vicious cycle is generated, thus contributing to the deficiency and aggravating the autoimmune process.
  • 1.3K
  • 21 Sep 2020
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