Research Highlights - January

Nutrition Reviews

• Low zinc status may be a risk factor for pneumonia in the elderly. The magnitude of the problem of pneumonia (its prevalence, morbidity, and mortality) in the elderly, pneumonia's etiology, and the dysregulation of the immune system associated with increasing age is growing. Recent evidence demonstrates that low zinc status (commonly reported in the elderly) impairs immune function, decreases resistance to pathogens, and is associated with increased incidence and duration of pneumonia, increased use and duration of antimicrobial treatment, and increased overall mortality in the elderly. Inadequate stores of zinc might, therefore, be a risk factor for pneumonia in the elderly.

American Journal Clinical Nutrition

• Two reports, which are based largely on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data for the 2003–2006 time period, show how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) models of exposure, which preceded the 1996 mandate that enriched flour be fortified with 140 µg folic acid per 100 g flour to prevent neural tube defect births, got the folic acid dose right. This mandate increased folic acid exposure in women of childbearing age without excessive exposure to those beneficiaries and others in the population. The documentation in these 2 articles of the remarkable predictive value of those models over a decade ago is testimony to the value of prefortification modeling and, at once, a resounding argument for the benefit of such national health and dietary surveys such as NHANES on which the models and their validation is based.

• Trans Fat intake should be reduced as much as possible because of its adverse effects on lipids and lipoproteins. The replacement of Trans Fat with Stearic Acid compared with other saturated fatty acids in foods that require solid fats beneficially affects LDL cholesterol, the primary target for CVD risk reduction; unsaturated fats are preferred for liquid fat applications. Research is needed to evaluate the effects of Stearic Acid on emerging CVD risk markers such as fibrinogen and to understand the responses in different populations. Steve - stearic acid is often use as a stabilizer in dietary supplements.

• Multiple micronutrient supplementation may be associated with a marginal increase in fluid intelligence and academic performance in healthy schoolchildren but not with crystallized intelligence. More research is required, however, before public health recommendations can be given.

Journal Nutrition

• Acute intake of a omega-3 fatty acids shifted the balance between plasma PAI-1 and t-PA, which might indicate a lower capacity for fibrinolysis.

• Higher vitamin B-6 intakes were linked to protection against inflammation and the vitamin B-6 intake associated with maximum protection against vitamin B-6 inadequacy was increased in the presence compared to absence of inflammation.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

• The use of digital images for assessing accuracy of portion size for some food forms, digital images of mounds or household measures are as accurate as images of food and, therefore, are a cost-effective alternative to photographs of foods.

Food and Chemical Toxicology

• Pesticide residues have been found in various fruits and vegetables; both raw and processed. One of the most common routes of pesticide exposure in consumers is via food consumption. Most foods are consumed after passing through various culinary and processing treatments. A few literature reviews have indicated the general trend of reduction or concentration of pesticide residues by certain methods of food processing for a particular active ingredient. In this study, reduction of residue levels was indicated by blanching, boiling, canning, frying, juicing, peeling and washing of fruits and vegetables with an average response ratio ranging from 0.10 to 0.82. Baking, boiling, canning and juicing indicated both reduction and increases for the 95% and 99.5% confidence intervals.