The British journal of nutrition
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High meat intake has been related to chronic diseases such as cancer and CVD. One hypothesis is that heterocyclic amines (HCA), which are formed during the cooking process of meat, can generate reactive species. These compounds can cause oxidation of lipids, proteins and DNA, resulting in oxidative stress, cell damage and loss of biological function. ⋯ Oxidative stress was estimated by malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the plasma, after derivatisation with thiobarbituric acid and quantification by HPLC/diode array. Analyses were performed using multivariate logistic regressions adjusted for smoking, sex, age, BMI, skin colour, energy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity. A positive association between HCA intake and MDA concentration (OR 1·17; 95% CI 1·01, 1·38) was observed, showing that HCA from meat may contribute to increase oxidative stress, and may consequently increase the risk of chronic diseases.
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Socio-economic groups differ in their material, living, working and social circumstances, which may result in different priorities about their daily-life needs, including the priority to make healthy food choices. Following Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, we hypothesised that socio-economic inequalities in healthy food choices can be explained by differences in the levels of need fulfilment. Postal survey data collected in 2011 (67·2 % response) from 2903 participants aged 20-75 years in the Dutch GLOBE (Gezondheid en Levens Omstandigheden Bevolking Eindhoven en omstreken) study were analysed. ⋯ Inequalities in other healthy food choices hardly changed after the hierarchy of needs score was included. People who are satisfied with higher-level needs make healthier food choices. Studies aimed at understanding socio-economic inequalities in food choice behaviour need to take differences in the priority given to daily-life needs by different socio-economic groups into account, but Maslow's pyramid offers little help.
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Nuts are nutrient-dense foods with complex matrices rich in unsaturated fatty acids and other bioactive compounds, such as l-arginine, fibre, healthful minerals, vitamin E, phytosterols and polyphenols. By virtue of their unique composition, nuts are likely to beneficially affect cardiovascular health. Epidemiological studies have associated nut consumption with a reduced incidence of CHD in both sexes and of diabetes in women, but not in men. ⋯ Recently, the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea randomised clinical trial of long-term nutrition intervention in subjects at high cardiovascular risk provided first-class evidence that regular nut consumption is associated with a 50 % reduction in incident diabetes and, more importantly, a 30 % reduction in CVD. Of note, incident stroke was reduced by nearly 50 % in participants allocated to a Mediterranean diet enriched with a daily serving of mixed nuts (15 g walnuts, 7.5 g almonds and 7.5 g hazelnuts). Thus, it is clear that frequent nut consumption has a beneficial effect on CVD risk that is likely to be mediated by salutary effects on intermediate risk factors.