Int J Vitam Nutr Res
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Edible fats are important food components that enhance palatability by providing texture and enhancing flavour. They also provide essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins. In addition, we enjoy eating foods containing fat, but there is also a negative side; excessive consumption may not be good for health, but we still have doubts to answer the question, What are the right amounts and types of fat we should use and eat?. ⋯ Educational and other public health efforts to address obesity should focus on the need for people to consume smaller portions. Another questions that should be discussed but difficult to answer are: What role can the food industry, marketing and advertising play? And schooling? And to what extent can and should the Governments influence lifestyle choices? "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do" Goethe.
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Int J Vitam Nutr Res · May 2006
The effect of repeated blood donations on the iron status of Iranian blood donors attending the Iranian blood transfusion organization.
Blood donation leads to substantial iron loss, as about 0.5 mg iron is lost per each milliliter of blood donated. If not compensated for efficiently, the iron loss may eventually lead to anemia, though non-anemic iron deficiency per se may be problematic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of blood donation, and its frequency over a year's time, on iron status of Iranian male blood donors attended blood transfusion stations of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO). ⋯ Though repeated blood donations might diminish iron status, it could be safe to donate 2-3 U/year without an appreciable incidence of iron deficiency, provided that the pre-donation Hb and ferritin values are >/= 14.7 g/dL and 58.9 mug/L, respectively. The male volunteers with Hb >/= 14.2 g/dL and serum ferritin >/= 57.2 mug/L could donate 1-2 U/year and those with Hb >/= 13.1 g/dL and serum ferritin >/= 35.3 mug/L could donate just once a year. Volunteers who undergo (repeated) blood donation should receive special nutritional care, especially in terms of iron and energy.
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Int J Vitam Nutr Res · Jul 2003
In vitro effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion by blood leukocytes from young and adult cattle vaccinated with Mycobacterium bovis BCG.
Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are critical in the development of an effective immune response. Vitamin D, essential in short-term calcium homeostasis and recently shown to modulate proliferation and function of blood mononuclear cells from adult dairy cattle, may be an effective modulator of the calf's immune system. Effects of antigen sensitization and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25-(OH)2D3] on cytokine secretion by cells from calves vaccinated with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were examined. ⋯ Only IFN-gamma responses of vaccinated adults were affected by 1,25-(OH)2D3. Vitamin D caused a concentration-dependent decrease in IFN-gamma response and an increase in TNF-alpha response in PWM-stimulated cultures. These results indicate that animal maturity (i.e., age) and antigenic experience affect IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha secretion by bovine leukocytes and suggest that 1,25-(OH)2D3 can alter secretion of both cytokines under specific conditions of culture.
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Int J Vitam Nutr Res · Jul 1999
Plasma vitamin A, E, and beta-carotene levels in adult post-partum Algerian women.
Vitamins A and E are essential for foetal growth, reproduction, and lactation. In this article we report the results of a study, lead in three Eastern Algeria cities, that involved 786 post-partum women and 250 control. Plasma levels of vitamins A, E, beta-carotene, and some nutritional indexes were measured in both groups. ⋯ Vitamin E concentration was higher during pregnancy, but the vitamin E/total lipid ratio was significantly lower, which shows a relative deficiency at the end of pregnancy. Comparisons of plasma vitamin E levels, at delivery, in primiparous and in multiparous women reveal a better tocopherol status in multiparous women. This difference could reflect an adaptive response to oxidative stress in multiparous women.
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Int J Vitam Nutr Res · Jan 1993
Comparative StudyUse of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes--effects on plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins.
In a population-based sample of 40-49-year-old men, plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins were measured in 17 regular users of smokeless tobacco (oral snuff), 26 regular smokers and 54 non-tobacco users. Vitamin intake by tobacco use was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire in 174 men in the 40-49 year age range. ⋯ Smokers, but not snuff dippers, had plasma levels of ascorbate significantly below those expected from ascorbic acid intake, indicating enhanced expenditure of ascorbate in smokers but not in snuff dippers. The results show that plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins are not reduced in snuff dippers as they are in smokers, possibly as the combined result of higher intake and lower expenditure of ascorbate and tocopherols in those who use smokeless tobacco.