The American journal of clinical nutrition
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Oral supplementation with probiotics in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Although recent reports suggest that supplementation with probiotics may enhance intestinal function in premature infants, the mechanisms are unclear, and questions remain regarding the safety and efficacy of probiotics in extremely low-birth-weight infants. ⋯ Supplementation with BB536-LGG may not improve the gastrointestinal tolerance to enteral feeding in very-low-birth-weight infants but may improve gastrointestinal tolerance in infants weighing >1000 g. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT 00290576.
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This article reviews recent epidemiologic evidence on nut intake and health outcomes. It focuses on studies in which nut consumption is directly assessed or when nuts are included in a dietary score or pattern. Epidemiologic studies have been remarkably consistent in showing an association between nut consumption and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). ⋯ Long-term nut consumption is linked with lower body weight and lower risk of obesity and weight gain. A dietary pattern or score that includes nuts is consistently related with beneficial health outcomes, and this provides an indirect evidence of the salutary benefits of nut consumption. More longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the possible effects of nuts on diseases other than CHD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in free-living adults >=64 y of age.
Older adults may be more prone to developing vitamin D deficiency than younger adults. Dietary requirements for vitamin D in older adults are based on limited evidence. ⋯ To ensure that the vitamin D requirement is met by the vast majority (>97.5%) of adults aged >/=64 y during winter, between 7.9 and 42.8 microg vitamin D/d is required, depending on summer sun exposure and the threshold of adequacy of 25(OH)D. This trial was registered at http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN20236112 as ISRCTN registration no. ISRCTN20236112.
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Nuts are energy-dense foods, rich in total fat and unsaturated fatty acids. The favorable fatty acid profile probably contributes to the beneficial effects of nut consumption observed in epidemiologic studies (prevention of coronary heart disease and diabetes) and feeding trials (cholesterol lowering). Besides fat, the complex matrices of nuts contain many bioactive compounds: vegetable protein, fiber, minerals, tocopherols, and phenolic compounds. ⋯ Walnut consumption also reduced expression of endothelin 1, a potent endothelial activator, in an animal model of accelerated atherosclerosis. Beneficial effects on vascular reactivity may be ascribed to several constituents of walnuts: l-arginine, the precursor of nitric oxide, alpha-linolenic acid, and phenolic antioxidants. Although more studies are warranted, the emerging picture is that nut consumption beneficially influences cardiovascular risk beyond cholesterol lowering.
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Multicenter Study
Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies.
Saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake increases plasma LDL-cholesterol concentrations; therefore, intake should be reduced to prevent coronary heart disease (CHD). Lower habitual intakes of SFAs, however, require substitution of other macronutrients to maintain energy balance. ⋯ The associations suggest that replacing SFAs with PUFAs rather than MUFAs or carbohydrates prevents CHD over a wide range of intakes.