Nutrition
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Kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), are common legumes, consumed worldwide. The delicacy of kidney beans is highly appreciable but, at the same time, their toxicity has raised an alarming concern. Kidney bean toxicity may be divided into two subcategories: toxicity caused by its lectins, saponins, phytates, and protease inhibitors or allergenicity induced by its allergenic proteins. The purpose of this review is to unravel the facts behind the different aspects of toxicity and allergenicity induced by kidney beans and try to fill the gaps that exist currently.
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The hormone glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) is secreted from gut endocrine L cells in response to ingested nutrients. The activities of GLP-1 include stimulating insulin gene expression and biosynthesis, improving β-cell proliferation, exogenesis, and survival. Additionally, it prevents β-cell apoptosis induced by a variety of cytotoxic agents. ⋯ Hormones secreted from the gut including GLP-1, which are involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and secretions, have been found to be affected by nutrient intake. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the effect nutrients may have on GLP-1 secretion; some frequently studied dietary constituents include monounsaturated fatty acids, fructooligosaccharides, and glutamine. This review focuses on the influence that the carbohydrate, fat, and protein components of a meal may have on the GLP-1 postprandial responses.
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In addition to the importance of adequate calcium and vitamin D status for health and prevention of several chronic diseases, a high prevalence of both nutrient inadequacy and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) insufficiency has been observed. The aim of this study was to estimate calcium and vitamin D status correlates and adequacy from a population-based epidemiologic study. ⋯ The present study demonstrates important inadequacies regarding the nutritional status of calcium and vitamin D and indicates an urgent need not only for health professionals, but also for government and food industries to undertake new initiatives that could result in a real improvement in terms of calcium and vitamin D nutrition.
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Phytosterols have been used alone, or combined with lipid-altering drugs, to reduce cholesterol levels and the burden of cardiovascular disease. Considerable variation in the composition of phytosterols exists and its consumption, in a regular diet, by the Brazilian population is still unknown. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the phytosterols content of the most consumed plant foods and to estimate the phytosterols intake by this population. ⋯ Analysis of phytosterols composition in most consumed plant foods has shown that phytosterols content varied among food groups. Dietary intake of phytosterols in a large population of the city of São Paulo is in the same range of some countries.
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Evidence on the relation of saturated fatty acids (SFA) with inflammatory markers and adipokines is scarce and inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association of the intake of total SFA, their subtypes (lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids), and SFA to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) ratio (SFA/PUFA ratio) with serum concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), adiponectin, and leptin among Portuguese adults. ⋯ A detrimental role of lauric and myristic acids and of high SFA/PUFA ratio is suggested by their association with elevated hs-CRP concentrations in men. Our findings may be helpful in the planning of dietary modifications aimed at the modulation of inflammatory activity that could be an intermediate step to coronary events.