Nutrition reviews
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The Institute of Medicine reported in 2005 that food and beverage marketing to children and youth is "out of balance with healthful diets". The dominant policy response in the United States has been to encourage self-regulation by the food, beverage, advertising, and media industries. ⋯ The empirical literature on this topic has been reinvigorated by new data on marketing practices and expenditures. The article concludes by considering whether more directive policies are possible in the future.
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Studies show that the plant polyphenol resveratrol can extend the life span of yeast, worms, flies, and fish. It also mitigates the metabolic dysfunction of mice fed high-fat diets. ⋯ However, few foods contain resveratrol and humans metabolize it extensively, resulting in very low systemic bioavailability. Substantial research effort now focuses on identifying and testing more bioavailable and potent activators of SIRT1 for use as pharmacologic interventions in aging and age-related disorders.
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Evidence from numerous laboratories using a variety of experimental models, including humans, shows that boron is a bioactive beneficial element. Much evidence has come from studies that did not require nutritional or environmental stressors or fastidious methods in diet preparation or environmental control. The evidence includes deprivation studies showing that boron is necessary for some higher animals to complete the life cycle, and that realistic low boron intakes result in impaired bone health, brain function, and immune response. Thus, low boron intake is a relevant nutritional concern, which diets rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and pulses can prevent.
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Folic acid (FA) supplementation effectively reduces the rates of children born with neural tube defects (NTDs). Currently, 42 nations practice mandatory FA fortification to combat NTD. In addition to NTD, FA fortification may also have salutary effects on the incidence of orofacial cleft birth defects and have secondary benefits in reducing serum homocysteine concentrations and stroke mortality. However, a recent note of caution has been raised concerning a possible negative effect of mandatory FA fortification on the incidence of colorectal cancer.