The American journal of clinical nutrition
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A high intake of white rice is associated with the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Costa Ricans follow a staple dietary pattern that includes white rice and beans, yet the combined role of these foods on cardiometabolic risk factors has not been studied. ⋯ Increasing the ratio of beans to white rice, or limiting the intake of white rice by substituting beans, may lower cardiometabolic risk factors.
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BMI is one factor that is used to determine a child's eligibility for lipid screening and treatment. BMI, which is an indirect measure of body fat, may inadequately represent the biological effect of body fat percentage on lipid concentrations. ⋯ Adverse lipid concentrations and high adiposity are significantly associated in youths.
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De novo lipogenesis (DNL) is an endogenous pathway whereby carbohydrates and proteins are converted to fatty acids. DNL could affect coronary heart disease (CHD) or sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) via generation of specific fatty acids. Whether these fatty acids are prospectively associated with SCA or other CHD events is unknown. ⋯ Higher plasma phospholipid 18:1n-7 and 16:1n-9 concentrations were prospectively associated with an elevated risk of SCA but not of other CHD events, except in secondary analyses.
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Review
Holotranscobalamin, a marker of vitamin B-12 status: analytical aspects and clinical utility.
Approximately one-quarter of circulating cobalamin (vitamin B-12) binds to transcobalamin (holoTC) and is thereby available for the cells of the body. For this reason, holoTC is also referred to as active vitamin B-12. HoloTC was suggested as an optimal marker of early vitamin B-12 deficiency >20 y ago. ⋯ In addition, holoTC is part of the CobaSorb test and therefore useful for assessment of vitamin B-12 absorption. Clinical studies that compare the ability of holoTC and vitamin B-12 to identify individuals with vitamin B-12 deficiency (elevated concentration of methylmalonic acid) suggest that holoTC performs better than total vitamin B-12. To date, holoTC has not been used for population-based assessments of vitamin B-12 status, but we suggest that holoTC is a better marker than total vitamin B-12 for such studies.