Nutrition
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Sarcopenia is a muscle disease which previously was associated only with aging, but in recent days it has been gaining more attention for its predictive value in a vast range of conditions and its potential link with overall health. Up to this point, evaluating sarcopenia with imaging methods has been time-consuming and dependent on the skills of the physician. ⋯ We searched the PubMed database to find articles concerning the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostic imaging and especially in body-composition analysis in the context of sarcopenia. We found that artificial-intelligence systems could potentially help with evaluating sarcopenia and better predicting outcomes in a vast range of clinical situations, which could get us closer to the true era of precision medicine.
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The market for food supplements is booming thanks to their increased consumption. European regulations include different ways in which vitamins and minerals are administered, without making it clear to the consumer whether one formulation has advantages over the other. The aim of this review was to compare the bioavailability of different forms of magnesium and analyze the differences between them. ⋯ All magnesium dietary supplements can maintain physiological levels in healthy people without prior deficit, although this cannot be assured in older people or those with illnesses or previous subphysiological levels.
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The market for food supplements is booming thanks to their increased consumption. European regulations include different ways in which vitamins and minerals are administered, without making it clear to the consumer whether one formulation has advantages over the other. The aim of this review was to compare the bioavailability of different forms of magnesium and analyze the differences between them. ⋯ All magnesium dietary supplements can maintain physiological levels in healthy people without prior deficit, although this cannot be assured in older people or those with illnesses or previous subphysiological levels.
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Lifestyle modification, including a healthy diet, is of paramount importance in the management of diabetes mellitus. To this end, diets have been proposed with low glycemic index (an index of carbohydrate food expressing how quickly this nutrient can increase blood glucose) and glycemic load (an index obtained by multiplying the glycemic index by the grams of carbohydrate, then dividing by 100). The aim of this review was to discuss the potential contribution of diets with low glycemic index and glycemic load in diabetic microvascular complications. Currently, their role to the prevention and delay of microvascular complications in diabetes mellitus remains unclear, and further knowledge is desirable.
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Dietary fiber is a group of heterogeneous substances that are neither digested nor absorbed in the small intestine. Some fibers can be classified as prebiotics if they are metabolized by beneficial bacteria present in the hindgut microbiota. ⋯ Other fibers are considered candidates to prebiotics or have prebiotic potential, and apparently some have no prebiotic effect on humans. This dietary fiber classification by the prebiotic categories contributes to a better understanding of these concepts in the literature, to the stimulation of the processing and consumption of foods rich in fiber and other products with prebiotic properties, and to the development of protocols and guidelines on food sources of prebiotics.