Nutrition
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Review Meta Analysis
Green tea and liver cancer risk: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies in Asian populations.
The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether an association existed between green tea consumption and the risk for liver cancer in prospective cohort studies in Asian populations. ⋯ The present analysis indicated the preventive effects of green tea intake on the risk for liver cancer in female Asian populations. However, additional studies are needed to make a convincing case for this association.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effect of garlic on plasma lipoprotein(a) concentrations: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.
Garlic can play an essential role in the prevention of atherosclerosis, but the research addressing the effect of garlic on the concentration of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has not been fully demonstrated. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of garlic on plasma Lp(a) concentrations through systematic review of literature and meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials. ⋯ The present meta-analysis did not suggest a significant effect of garlic supplementation on the reduction of Lp(a) levels.
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Obesity is a significant quality of life-impairing health problem affecting industrialized nations. However, despite carrying a large fat mass, some very obese individuals exhibit normal metabolic profiles (metabolically healthy obesity). The physiological factors underlying their protective and favorable metabolic profiles remain poorly defined. ⋯ Despite the knowledge that visceral fat deposition is the seminal factor that ultimately causes insulin resistance (IR) and the detrimental inflammatory and hormonal profile that contributes to increase risk for cardiovascular disease, it remains unknown whether metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) has genetic predisposing factors, and whether MHO ultimately succumbs to IR and the metabolic syndrome, indicating a need for prophylatic bariatric surgery.
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Loss of skeletal muscle in patients who have undergone gastric bypass is a consistent observation. Skeletal muscle constitutes the largest protein/amino acid pool in the body, and loss of skeletal muscle has important implications in health and disease. Sustaining a given level of muscle protein requires a balance between the rates of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown. ⋯ Ingesting essential amino acids (EAAs), which cannot be synthesized de novo and have the primary role in the regulation of muscle protein synthesis, can potentially ameliorate loss of muscle protein after gastric bypass. At the same time, ingestion of EAAs provides a more efficient nutritional approach (i.e., greater stimulation of protein synthesis relative to the amount of amino acids ingested) to enhance muscle protein synthesis compared with the ingestion of intact protein. Changing current dietary practices toward increasing ingestion of EAAs provides an approach that can potentially prevent loss of lean body tissue and ultimately achieve a more sustained level of health in patients who have undergone gastric bypass.
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The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) varies among migrants from different geographic regions. The aim of this study was to estimate the pooled prevalence of VDD among dark-skinned migrants. ⋯ Immigrants with dark skin, and in particular those from the extended Middle East region, have high prevalence of VDD. Migrants who are at high risk for VDD should be educated, screened, and monitored for VDD.