Human nutrition. Applied nutrition最新文献

The value of nutritionally-informed caterers should not be overlooked in the practical implementation of healthy eating. A description of a new course on nutrition for caterers is presented. It is designed to satisfy the requirements of students with varied, non-scientific backgrounds. Social and applied aspects of nutrition are emphasised. Information technology is used extensively to support concentrated learning activity. The qualitative evaluation by students of the 'pilot implementation' of the course indicated a successful educational outcome. Such initiatives need the support of up-to-date software.

Blood pressure, plasma renin activity and the concentrations of aldosterone and cholesterol in plasma and sodium and potassium in urine (48-h collections) and nutrient intakes were determined in 22 vegans (11 male and 11 female) and omnivore controls matched for age, sex and body build. The vegan diets contained less protein, sodium, calcium and sulphur but more carbohydrate, potassium and fibre than the diets of their controls. The mean urinary potassium sodium ratio was 1.13 in the vegans compared with 0.64 in the omnivores. Plasma renin and cholesterol concentrations were lower in the male but not female vegans compared with their respective controls. Blood pressures of the vegan subjects were inside the normal range but they tended to have higher mean diastolic blood pressures than their controls.

In a study of the Asian pregnancy, the dietary intakes of 813 Asians and 54 Europeans living in Harrow were compared. Results of calculation of intakes of iron and vitamins are presented in this paper. The key findings were that vitamins D and B12 intakes were markedly lower amongst the Asians, particularly the Hindu vegetarians. Asians had lower intakes of other vitamins but these levels are unlikely to lead to deficiency and therefore not relevant in clinical terms. The Hindu vegetarians can be regarded as a fairly homogenous group with differences occurring within the group only in vitamin B12 intake. From the nutritional data it appears unnecessary to advocate any change in the Gujarati diet other than supplementation with vitamin D.

The aim of the present work is to investigate the interrelationship between phytate and zinc in some Italian diets. Phytic acid and zinc content were determined and the phytate:zinc molar ratios calculated in 13 Italian diets. This ratio, rather than the values of phytate and zinc separately, allows a more correct understanding of the zinc availability in these diets. Only one diet, with a molar ratio of 11, indicates some risk of zinc deficiency. All other diets show a satisfactory phytate:zinc molar ratio.

The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional content of the foods provided to, and the confectionary purchased by, personnel serving at sea in British warships. Data were collected from the stores accounts of six ships over a period of 32,354 man-victualling-days. Analysis was carried out at the Nuffield Laboratories of Comparative Medicine. The food from the ships' gallies provided mean daily intakes of 3750 kcal, of which 42 per cent were derived from fats (17 per cent from saturated fats) and 9 per cent from added sugars. In taking account of confectionary purchased from NAAFI sources the total energy intake was raised to 4200 kcal of which 40 per cent were derived from fats (15 per cent saturated fats) and 12 per cent from added sugars. The results do not compare favourably with the recommendations of the reports of expert committees.

The food intakes of 40 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) (0.7 to 23 years) on low-fat diets were assessed in relation to the appropriate recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and intakes of healthy children. Mean energy intakes of the subjects with CF were similar to the control groups but fell well short of the frequently cited goal of 120-150 per cent of the RDA. Failure to achieve this may account for their marked growth failure. The study highlights the inability of CF patients to maintain a high energy intake despite nutritional counselling when dietary fat is restricted. When energy per kg body weight was considered, children with CF ate more than their peers and it may be unrealistic to expect them to increase their spontaneous oral intake above this level.

One hundred and eighty-nine women aged 25-64 years living in Preston and Southampton completed a postal questionnaire on their usual consumption of the major dietary sources of iodine. A subsample of 56 women collected 24-h urine specimens. Median iodine intakes based on the questionnaire responses and food consumption tables were 99 micrograms and 97 micrograms per day, respectively, but these figures rose to 105 micrograms and 118 micrograms when the women were given the opportunity to revise their original responses and analysed values for milk iodine were used. Median urinary iodine excretion (determined by the dry-ashing method) was 70 micrograms/day in Preston and 76 micrograms/day in Southampton. Although positive associations between intake and excretion were observed, the study lacked sufficient statistical power to validate the questionnaire as a measure of iodine intake. Some problems of questionnaire validation are discussed.

Nutrition education messages should take into account the food habits of those who are to be educated. These can be revealed by computer analysis of weighed intake data, which has been collected for calculation of nutrient intakes. Seventy-six students and staff at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology weighed their food for 1 week and the records were used to determine the frequency of consumption of foods and portion sizes, as well as nutrient intakes. There were only very minor relationships between the number of different foods chosen and nutritional variables. Nutrition students had successfully changed the frequency of consumption of certain foods relative to others and as a result consumed diets containing a lower proportion of energy from fat. Messages to non-nutrition students might profitably incorporate those beneficial changes that nutrition students had easily accomplished. This study revealed that certain (otherwise common and nutritionally unsound) food choices were not a major part of the subjects' habits, and could be given low priority in educational messages. It was suggested that foods exhibiting high variability of portion weight might be under greater individual control and hence more amenable to change. A study of the distribution of portion weights reveals information about number of slices, biscuits, etc, taken in each portion. This varied for different kinds of biscuit. It was concluded that messages should target specific foods rather than stress variation in the diet. It is suggested that educators should consider whether messages would be more effective in terms of frequency of consumption or size of portion for particular groups. The meal distribution pattern also shows which foods are most commonly consumed at home or in the canteen, hence whether education might be best directed to the individual or the caterer, respectively.

A detailed questionnaire was administered by mail to a random sample of 1000 Melbourne residents in June 1984 in order to assess their understanding of the Australian dietary guidelines. Seven hundred and thirty people returned questionnaires. The respondents were categorized as regular dietary supplementers (RS, n = 245); irregular dietary supplementers (IS, n = 84), or non-supplementers (NS, n = 370). Comparisons of the responses of these groups showed that more RS and IS women reported that they drank alcohol and experienced occupational stress; more RS and IS practised meditation-relaxation, and fewer RS were smokers. More of the RS expressed satisfaction with their nutrient status, whereas more of the IS and NS were dissatisfied about their intakes of fibre, starch, salt, sugar and calories. More of the RS practised a range of specific activities related to both orthodox and non-orthodox dietary recommendations, and they attached greater importance to them for their health. They had also referred to more sources of nutrition information in the year preceding the study. The results suggest that regular dietary supplementers are more oriented toward both orthodox and 'alternative' nutrition information than other people. However, they are likely to be a more receptive audience for nutritional or dietary recommendations, such as the dietary guidelines, than other sections of the general population.

In view of the apparent paradox of low dietary intakes of vitamin A by rural Gambian women, which is not accompanied by deficient biochemical or physiological indices (Bates, 1983), a detailed study was undertaken, in which dietary intake was remeasured by direct weighed food intakes, coupled with chemical analysis of the carotene content of key food components. This was combined with recall data on dietary patterns in order to obtain a precise picture of carotene intakes throughout a twelve month period, with supplementary information spanning 4 years. Major contributors to dietary carotene intake were mangos (brief period of local availability during the dry season), leaf sauces (mainly rainly season), and small amounts of red palm oil (purchased by the more wealthy families). Preformed vitamin A made only a very small contribution to the diet. For 35 subjects studied during pregnancy in the village of Manduar, the geometric mean home food carotene intake was 0.81 mg/day, and for 61 pregnant subjects from the village of Keneba, the geometric mean home food carotene intake was 0.62 mg/day. However, there were large individual variations. While the efficiency of conversion of carotene to retinol is not known precisely, it is clear that these intakes are considerably below the current recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A during pregnancy, and especially during lactation.