International journal of food sciences and nutrition
-
Int J Food Sci Nutr · Mar 2013
Analysis of ingredient lists of commercially available gluten-free and gluten-containing food products using the text mining technique.
Ingredients mentioned on the labels of commercially available packaged gluten-free and similar gluten-containing food products were analyzed and compared, using the text mining technique. A total of 324 products' labels were analyzed for content (162 from gluten-free products), and ingredient diversity in gluten-free products was 28% lower. Raw materials used as ingredients of gluten-free products were limited to five varieties: rice, cassava, corn, soy, and potato. ⋯ Salt and sodium also were among these ingredients. Presence of hydrocolloids, enzymes or raw materials of high nutritional content such as pseudocereals, suggested by academic studies as alternatives to improve nutritional and sensorial quality of gluten-free food products, was not identified in the present study. Nutritional quality of gluten-free diets and health of celiac patients may be compromised.
-
Int J Food Sci Nutr · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of substituting saturated with monounsaturated fatty acids on serum visfatin levels and insulin resistance in overweight women: a randomized cross-over clinical trial.
This study aimed to determine the effects of a monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)-rich diet on serum visfatin, interleukin-6 and insulin levels among overweight women. ⋯ Our findings did not support any significant effect of a MUFA-rich intake on serum IL-6 and insulin levels as compared with a SFA-rich diet; however, it has the potential to favourably affect serum visfatin levels.
-
Int J Food Sci Nutr · Mar 2012
ReviewIncreasing the antioxidant content of food: a personal view on whether this is possible or desirable.
A commonly held belief is that higher intake of antioxidants will promote better health through enhanced antioxidant status and lowered oxidative stress. However, the benefits of antioxidant-rich foods have not been reproduced in supplementation trials with pure antioxidants. This has driven research and commercial interest in foods, including traditional foods and their components, with enhanced antioxidant content and improved antioxidant bioavailability, which in many cases is very low. In this paper, evidence for the health benefits of antioxidant-rich foods and methods to increase the antioxidant content and bioavailability of food antioxidants are reviewed briefly, and the concept that increased food antioxidant content/intake per se is beneficial is examined from a cautionary perspective, considering issues of low bioavailability, rapid catabolism, biotransformation and the paradoxical pro-oxidant effects of dietary antioxidants.
-
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently highlighted the need to provide scientific requirements for health claims and to find new regulatory issues for healthy food products. For this reason, EFSA asked its Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) panel to draft additional guidelines on scientific assessment of these claims. ⋯ The new system was not only a necessary support for consumers to make the correct choice of products, but rather a way for EFSA to demonstrate transparency of this new approach. This was the field of the pharmaceutical industry, this new regulation is, therefore, also for EFSA, an expensive learning process.
-
Int J Food Sci Nutr · Jun 2011
Clinical TrialChemical compositions and glycemic responses to banana varieties.
Chemical compositions and glycemic indices of four varieties of banana (Musa spp.) (kolikuttu-Silk AAB, embul-Mysore AAB, anamalu-Gros Michel AAA, seeni kesel-Pisang Awak ABB) were determined. Silk, Gros Michel, Pisang Awak and Mysore contained the highest percentages of starch (14%), sucrose (38%), free glucose (29%) and fructose (58%) as a percentage of the total available carbohydrate content respectively. ⋯ A single banana of the four varieties elicited a low glycemic load. Thus, consumption of a banana from any of these varieties can be recommended as a snack for healthy or diabetic patients who are under dietary management or pharmacological drugs to regulate blood glucose responses in between meals.