Nutrition
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The lifestyle of postindustrial society has undergone major shifts characterized by changes in demographic and epidemiologic profiles, eating habits, and job structures, with irregular working hours, particularly night shifts. The investigation of dietary patterns is of great importance for the discussion and devising of effective dietary strategies for shift and night workers in general, particularly in view of the increased sleepiness reported during night work. ⋯ The results of the present study revealed an association between dietary patterns and short-haul driving, in which the healthy pattern produced low sleepiness during the day. The sleepiness curve of long-haul drivers appears to have a flattening pattern, probably because of irregular working times.
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Chlorella is a type of unicellular green algae that contains various nutrients. Habitual exercise and chlorella treatment can improve insulin resistance in obese or diabetic animal models. However, the additive effects of combined chlorella intake and aerobic exercise training remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a combination of chlorella intake and aerobic exercise training would produce greater effects on improving glycemic control in rats with type 2 diabetes. ⋯ These results suggested that chlorella intake combined with aerobic exercise training had more pronounced effects on the improvement of glycemic control via further activation of muscle PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 signaling in rats with type 2 diabetes.
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In humans, the effects of lysine-fortified wheat on growth measures was much lower than that of animal experimentations that used phosphorus-containing mineral mix. It is known that wheat contains a limited amount of available phosphorus, which is believed to support growth. The aim of this study was to determine the involvement of phosphorus in growth measures of rats maintained on a lysine-supplemented wheat gluten diet. ⋯ When using gluten protein, concomitant lysine and phosphorus availability is required to support growth measures, although phosphorus seems to have an independent effect on protein metabolism. Thus, human interventions should consider the improvement of the amino acid profile and phosphorus availability.
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The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of dietary carbohydrates with fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) expression in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue. ⋯ Dietary intake of total sugars, sucrose, glucose, and lactose in obese participants only was inversely and dietary fructose was positively associated with FTO gene expression from the subcutaneous adipose tissue.
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It has been suggested that probiotics have beneficial effects on a variety of health problems including immunologic diseases and metabolic disorders, however, the effects on brain function are yet to be fully studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between probiotic food consumption and depression status through a cross-sectional analysis of a nationwide, large population-based data. ⋯ These results suggest that probiotic food consumption might have beneficial effects on depression, particularly in men. Further studies are required to identify the mechanistic relations between probiotics and depression.