Nutrition
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We previously showed that prior oral supplementation of oils rich in omega-3, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, and omega-6, gamma-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid, can prevent the development of alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus in experimental animals. But the effect of individual fatty acids on chemically induced diabetes mellitus is not known. We report the results of our studies with omega-6 fatty acids. ⋯ These results suggest that polyunsaturated fatty acids can prevent chemically induced diabetes in experimental animals and attenuate the oxidant stress that occurs in diabetes mellitus.
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We evaluated the effect of intensive insulin therapy and glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes on biochemical markers of vitamin A and E. ⋯ Patients with type 1 diabetes under intensive insulin therapy tend to normalize the clinical parameters of glycemic control, although this improvement does not significantly affect biochemical markers of vitamin A and E status.
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Although the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease remains unclear, dietary fat is thought to exacerbate intestinal inflammation. Chitosan is a water-insoluble dietary fiber, and a chitosan and ascorbic acid mixture has been shown in rats to increase fecal fat excretion without affecting protein digestibility. However, it remains unclear whether a chitosan and ascorbic acid mixture is safe and effective for patients with Crohn's disease. We designed a pilot trial to investigate the tolerability and amount of fat excretion after the oral administration of a chitosan and ascorbic mixture for inactive Crohn's disease. ⋯ These results indicated that oral administration of a chitosan and ascorbic acid mixture in patients with Crohn's disease is tolerable and increases fecal fat excretion without affecting disease activity.