Dietetics News

Reduced protein consumption, according to one study, can help manage metabolic syndrome and several of its primary symptoms, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure (hypertension).

The study’s findings were published in the journal Nutrients. Hypertension, excessive blood sugar, extra body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels are all symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a group of disorders that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.

“The study showed that cutting protein intake to 0.8 g per kg of body weight was sufficient to achieve almost the same clinical results as restricting calories, but without the need to reduce calorie intake. The results suggest that protein restriction may be one of the key factors leading to the known benefits of dietary restriction. Protein restriction dieting may therefore be a more attractive nutritional strategy and easier to follow for people with metabolic syndrome,” said Rafael Ferraz-Bannitz, first author of the article and currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Harvard Medical School in the United States.

FAPESP supported the study through a PhD scholarship provided to Ferraz-Bannitz at the University of Sao Paulo’s Ribeirao Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP) in Brazil. The study also benefited from a FAPESP Thematic Project on methodologies for simulating the effects of dietary restriction, which was supervised by Marcelo Mori, a professor at Brazil’s State University of Campinas (UNICAMP).

The study was carried out by a multidisciplinary team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the University of Sao Paulo and the National Cancer Institute (INCA) in Brazil, as well as the Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center (OCRC), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and hosted by UNICAMP.

Controlled protein diet

In the study, 21 volunteers with metabolic syndrome were analyzed for a period of 27 days during which their diet was monitored. Throughout the period, they were inpatients at FMRP-USP’s teaching hospital (Hospital das Clinicas in Ribeirao Preto).

Each volunteer’s daily calorie intake was calculated as a function of baseline metabolism (energy expenditure at rest). One group was fed what the authors call a standard Western diet (50% carbohydrate, 20% protein and 30% fat) but with 25% fewer calories.

For the second group, protein intake was reduced to 10%. Calorie intake was tailored to each volunteer’s baseline energy expenditure. Both groups consumed 4 g of salt per day.

The results showed that both the calorie and protein restriction groups lost weight owing to a decrease in body fat and that the symptoms of metabolic syndrome improved. Decreased body fat is known to be associated with reduced blood sugar and more normal levels of lipids and blood pressure.

“After 27 days of monitoring, both groups had similar results in terms of lower blood sugar, weight loss, controlled blood pressure, and lower levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Both diets improved insulin sensitivity after treatment. Body fat decreased, as did waist and hip circumference, but without loss of muscle mass,” said Maria Cristina Foss de Freitas, last author of the article and a professor at FMRP-USP.

The findings confirmed those of previous studies involving experiments on mice. “Here, however, we succeeded in conducting a fully controlled randomized clinical trial lasting 27 days, with a personalized menu designed to meet each patient’s needs,” Foss de Freitas said.

Manipulation of dietary macronutrients – protein, carbohydrate and fat – is sufficient to obtain the beneficial effects of dietary restriction. “We demonstrated that protein restriction reduces body fat while maintaining muscle mass. That’s important since the weight loss resulting from restrictive diets is often associated with loss of muscle mass,” Ferraz-Bannitz said.

The study did not investigate the molecular mechanisms that could explain the beneficial effects of protein restriction diets, but the researchers believe low protein intake triggered a change in the metabolism or enhanced the organism’s energy management by leading it to burn fat in order to produce energy for cells. “We only have hypotheses so far. One is that molecular pathways are activated to interpret the reduction in essential amino acids as being a signal to reduce food intake while leading to the production of hormones that typically increase when we’re fasting,” Mori said. “Studies in animal models have shown the involvement of such pathways in the effects of both protein and calorie restriction, both of which lead to fat loss.”

Despite the promising results of their studies, the researchers point out that the diets involved were personalized. Mori also stressed that they focused on a specific population of patients with metabolic syndrome (obesity, diabetes, hypertension and abnormal levels of cholesterol).

“Nevertheless, it’s tempting to extrapolate the results. We know research has shown vegan diets to be positive for cases of metabolic syndrome. It’s also been found that the excessive protein intake common in the standard Western diet can be a problem. Every case should be analyzed on its own merits. We shouldn’t forget protein deficiency can lead to severe health problems, as has been well-described in pregnant women, for example,” he added.

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Dementia affects over 55 million individuals globally, and its incidence has gradually increasing. The population is predicted to quadruple by 2050, with the greatest growth occurring in low- and middle-income nations. Dementia not only diminishes people’s quality of life, but it also imposes huge financial costs on families and society meal.

Epidemiological studies have found a link between the time distribution of energy intake throughout the day (TPEI) and the risk of developing chronic illnesses including diabetes and hypertension. However, research on the link between TPEI and cognitive performance in the general population is limited. Previous research in animal models has demonstrated that disrupting meal time might change clock rhythms in the hippocampus, impacting cognitive performance.

A short-term intervention study of 96 young people found that splitting similar amounts of food over four meals between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. improved cognitive performance more than eating twice between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. However, long-term research on TPEIs and cognitive performance is insufficient.

Recently, Drs Changzheng Yuan and Dongmei Yu at Zhejiang University published a paper in Life Metabolism entitled “Temporal patterns of energy intake and cognitive function and its decline: a community-based cohort study in China” Based on the China Nutrition Health Survey (CHNS) public database, a total of 3,342 participants were included in this study, who were middle-aged and older adults (mean age 62 years) from nine provinces in China with a baseline age >= 55 years.

The researchers used: 1) A data-driven k-means algorithm to identify six patterns of TPEIs, including “evenly-distributed” pattern, “breakfast-dominant” pattern, “lunch-dominant” pattern, “dinner-dominant” pattern, “snack-rich” pattern, and “breakfast-skipping” pattern; 2) Cognitive function was assessed using the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m), comprising immediate and delayed word recalls (20 points), backward counting (2 points), and serial-7 subtraction test (5 points).

The total global cognitive score ranged from 0 to 27, with a higher score representing a better cognitive function; 3) The correlation of TPEIs to cognitive function over 10 years was assessed using linear mixed models (LMMs), which were adjusted for age, gender, residence, total energy, physical activity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, household income, education level, and body mass index (BMI).

The result showed that, compared with those with an “evenly-distributed” pattern, the long-term cognitive function scores were significantly lower in those who had unbalanced TPEIs, especially those with a “breakfast-skipping” pattern. Thus, maintaining balanced TPEIs has potentially positive effects on cognitive health, whereas skipping breakfast may significantly increase the risk of cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of optimal TPEIs in cognitive function.

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A new research headed by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and outside colleagues builds on previously published work by integrating more races and ethnicities.

The researchers discovered that particular plasma metabolites—substances produced by the body when it digests food—were linked to global cognitive function scores across a wide range of races and ethnicities. Their findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Alzheimer’s Association Journal.

“Our study has huge strengths in expanding the sample size and in adding demographics compared to what previous research has done,” said Tamar Sofer, Ph.D., and director of the Biostatistics Core Program in Sleep Medicine Epidemiology and a member of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at the Brigham.

Tamar added, “It also illustrates that studies that begin by focusing on minorities can give rise to insights that may be beneficial to other populations. We hope our findings will help people in making specific nutritional choices and in improving their cognitive health.”

Researchers may now find biomarkers linked to health changes and illnesses using techniques such as metabolomic profiling, which can assess hundreds of compounds in blood samples. An first investigation in Boston of elderly persons of Puerto Rican heritage discovered a variety of metabolites linked to evaluated cognitive abilities.

Researchers may now find biomarkers linked to health changes and illnesses using techniques such as metabolomic profiling, which can assess hundreds of compounds in blood samples. An first investigation in Boston of elderly persons of Puerto Rican heritage discovered a variety of metabolites linked to evaluated cognitive abilities.

Building off that work, Brigham researchers tested metabolite-cognitive function associations in 2,222 U.S. Hispanic/Latinx adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), and in 1,365 Europeans and 478 African Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study. They then applied Mendelian Randomization (MR) analyses to determine causal associations between the metabolites and cognitive function, as well as between a Mediterranean diet and cognitive function.

The team discovered that six metabolites were consistently associated with a lower global cognitive function across all of the studies. Four of them were sugars or derivatives of sugars. Another metabolite, beta-cryptoxanthin, was associated with a higher global cognitive function in the HCHS/SOL and is also strongly correlated with fruit consumption.

“It is possible that these metabolites are biomarkers of a more direct relationship between diet and cognitive function,” said lead author Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Ph.D., who worked on this study as a postdoctoral fellow in Sofer’s lab at Brigham.

Diet itself can be an important source of many metabolites, including some with positive or negative associations with cognitive function. In this study, the Mediterranean diet score was associated with higher levels of beta-cryptoxanthin, which was positively associated with cognitive function. The Mediterranean diet was also negatively associated with the levels of other metabolites, which were associated with lower cognitive function. Previous research has also shown that adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with cognitive benefits.

While the study did have limitations like its cross-sectional, observational design which limited conclusions about the potential influence of modifying metabolite levels on cognitive function (causal inference), the researchers attempted to use MR analyses to account for unmeasured confounding and establish some level of causal inference. Their results showed weak causal effects between specific metabolites and global cognitive function.

The researchers recommend that future studies assess metabolite associations with cognitive function and work to evaluate whether observed associations indeed indicate that changes in diet – manifesting in changing metabolite levels – can improve cognitive health.

“While the causal effect seen in our study may be weak, repeated research has shown that the Mediterranean diet is associated with better health outcomes, including cognitive health,” said Sofer. “Our study further supports the importance of a healthy diet towards safeguarding cognitive function, consistent across races and ethnicities.”

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According to new research, taking a daily pill may boost memory in older persons. Researchers projected that three years of multivitamin treatment would result in a 60% reduction in cognitive deterioration (about 1.8 years).

The findings were just published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Alzheimer’s Association Journal. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 6.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and one in every three seniors dies from the illness or another type of dementia.

“There is an urgent need for safe and affordable interventions to protect cognition against decline in older adults,” said Laura D. Baker, Ph.D., co-principal investigator of the trial with Mark Espeland, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study for the Mind (COSMOS-Mind) was an ancillary study to the COSMOS trial, which was led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and randomised 21,442 men and women across the United States. It was funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

The study looked at whether taking a cocoa extract supplement or a multivitamin-mineral supplement on a regular basis reduced the chance of acquiring heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other health consequences.

According to Baker, cocoa extract is high in flavanols, and previous study shows that these components may improve cognition. Baker also stated that a variety of micronutrients and minerals are required to maintain normal body and brain function, and that shortages in older persons may raise the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Researchers evaluated whether daily administration of cocoa extract against placebo and a multivitamin-mineral supplement versus placebo improves cognition in older individuals in COSMOS-Mind. More than 2,200 people aged 65 and up signed up and were tracked for three years.

Participants performed telephone tests to assess memory and other cognitive functions at baseline and yearly.

“While cocoa extract had no effect on cognition, regular multivitamin-mineral intake resulted in statistically significant cognitive improvement,” Baker explained. “This is the first indication of cognitive advantage in a major longer-term investigation of multivitamin supplementation in older persons,” the researchers write.

The researchers calculated that three years of multivitamin treatment would result in a 60% reduction in cognitive deterioration (about 1.8 years). The advantages were more obvious in patients who had substantial cardiovascular illness, which is noteworthy because these people are already at a higher risk of cognitive impairment and decline.

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“It is too soon to advocate regular multivitamin intake to avoid cognitive impairment,” Baker says. “While these first findings are encouraging, more study in a broader and more varied group of people is required. Furthermore, further research is needed to determine why multivitamins may help cognition in older persons.”

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A dieter who struggles with cravings for fatty foods could be inclined to put the blame on their tongue since it can be difficult to resist the delightful flavour of butter or ice cream. However, brand-new studies looking into what makes us hungry have found a brand-new link between the gut and the brain that fuels our hunger for fat.

Fat entering the intestines causes a signal to be triggered, according to research conducted on mice at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute. This signal triggers a craving for fatty meals when it travels via nerves to the brain. The new research, which will be published in Nature on September 7, 2022, suggests that it may be possible to interfere with this gut-brain link in order to avoid bad decisions and solve the escalating worldwide health issue brought on by overeating.

“We live in unprecedented times, in which the overconsumption of fats and sugars is causing an epidemic of obesity and metabolic disorders,” said first author Mengtong Li, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of the Zuckerman Institute’s Charles Zuker, PhD, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. “If we want to control our insatiable desire for fat, science is showing us that the key conduit driving these cravings is a connection between the gut and the brain.”

This new view of dietary choices and health started with previous work from the Zuker lab on sugar. Researchers found that glucose activates a specific gut-brain circuit that communicates to the brain in the presence of intestinal sugar. Calorie-free artificial sweeteners, in contrast, do not have this effect, likely explaining why diet sodas can leave us feeling unsatisfied.

“Our research is showing that the tongue tells our brain what we like, such as things that taste sweet, salty or fatty,” said Dr. Zuker, who is also a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and of neuroscience at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “The gut, however, tells our brain what we want, what we need.”

Dr. Li wanted to explore how mice respond to dietary fats: the lipids and fatty acids that every animal must consume to provide the building blocks of life. She offered mice bottles of water with dissolved fats, including a component of soybean oil, and bottles of water containing sweet substances known to not affect the gut but that are initially attractive. The rodents developed a strong preference, over a couple of days, for the fatty water. They formed this preference even when the scientists genetically modified the mice to remove the animals’ ability to taste fat using their tongues.

“Even though the animals could not taste fat, they were nevertheless driven to consume it,” said Dr. Zuker.

According to the researchers, fat must be activating particular brain circuits that are responsible for the animals’ behavioural response to fat. Dr. Li examined brain activity in mice while feeding them fat in an effort to identify that circuit.

The caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNST), a specific area of the brainstem, had an uptick in its population of neurons.

This was noteworthy because the lab’s earlier finding of the neurological basis of sugar desire also included the cNST.

The communication channels that sent the message to the cNST were later discovered by Dr. Li. When mice had fat in their intestines, the vagus nerve, which connects the gut to the brain, also twittered with activity.

Having identified the biological machinery underlying a mouse’s preference for fat, Dr. Li next took a close look at the gut itself: specifically the endothelial cells lining the intestines. She found two groups of cells that sent signals to the vagal neurons in response to fat.

“One group of cells functions as a general sensor of essential nutrients, responding not only to fat, but also to sugars and amino acids,” said Dr. Li. “The other group responds to only fat, potentially helping the brain distinguish fats from other substances in the gut.”

Dr. Li then went one important step further by blocking the activity of these cells using a drug. Shutting down signaling from either cell group prevented vagal neurons from responding to fat in the intestines. She then used genetic techniques to deactivate either the vagal neurons themselves or the neurons in the cNST. In both cases, a mouse lost its appetite for fat.

“These interventions verified that each of these biological steps from the gut to the brain is critical for an animal’s response to fat,” said Dr. Li. “These experiments also provide novel strategies for changing the brain’s response to fat and possibly behavior toward food.”

The stakes are high. Obesity rates have nearly doubled worldwide since 1980. Today, nearly half a billion people suffer from diabetes.

“The overconsumption of cheap, highly processed foods rich in sugar and fat is having a devastating impact on human health, especially among people of low income and in communities of color,” said Dr. Zuker. “The better we understand how these foods hijack the biological machinery underlying taste and the gut-brain axis, the more opportunity we will have to intervene.”

Scott Sternson, PhD, a professor of neuroscience at University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new research highlighted its potential for improving human health.

“This exciting study offers insight about the molecules and cells that compel animals to desire fat,” said Dr. Sternson, whose work focuses on how the brain controls appetite. “The capability of researchers to control this desire may eventually lead to treatments that may help combat obesity by reducing consumption of high-calorie fatty foods.”

The paper, titled “Gut-Brain Circuits for Fat Preference,” was published September 7, 2022, in Nature. Its authors are Mengtong Li, Hwei-Ee Tan, Zhengyuan Lu, Katherine S. Tsang, Ashley J. Chung and Charles S. Zuker.

The Russell Berrie Foundation’s initiative on the neuroscience of obesity helped fund some of this study. Investigator Charles Zuker works with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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According to a new study from the NYU School of Global Public Health, women with special needs are nearly twice as likely to feel hungry and think their diet is subpar.

The results were reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The capacity to hear, see, think clearly, move about freely, or take care of oneself is impaired in at least one way for one in five American women between the ages of 18 and 44. Researchers have paid less attention to the diets of women with disabilities, though.

“A healthy diet is essential for avoiding many chronic diseases. A nutritious diet can also help pregnant and postpartum outcomes for women of reproductive age, according to study author and associate professor of public health nutrition at NYU School of Global Public Health Andrea Deierlein. Women with disabilities may encounter challenges because of their medical issues or physical limits if they don’t have access to healthy foods or the means to prepare them.

The researchers examined information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys’ 2013-2018 waves to gain a better understanding of the diets of women with impairments (CDC). 3,579 women between the ages of 18 and 44 were questioned about their daily dietary intake, which was used to determine their diet quality ratings, as well as other diet-related issues such as food security and involvement in food assistance programmes.

Women were also asked if they had a handicap, which was described as having extreme trouble with one or more of the following: hearing, seeing, focusing, walking, dressing, and/or doing errands. A disability was reported by 16% of respondents, and 6% said they had two or more different disabilities.

Except that women with two or more types of disabilities had slightly lower diet quality scores in relation to their consumption of fruit and protein-rich foods like meat, nuts, and seafood, there were few differences in the diet quality scores of women by their disability status.

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Women with disabilities were more likely than women without disabilities to describe their diet as poor and to say that they had little to no access to food. Additionally, they were more likely to use food assistance programmes and consume frozen goods.

Diet of women

Additionally, it was less common for women with disabilities to be the primary cook, meal planner, and grocery shopper in their homes.

The researchers point out that additional study is necessary to pinpoint possible intervention areas among all persons with impairments. There is a need for study that specifically looks at how socioeconomic determinants of health including housing circumstances, social support, and the food environment in one’s neighbourhood impact food preparation and storage.

The goal of developing tailored nutrition programmes and policies, according to Deierlein, is to reduce health disparities. “Learning more about the diets of women with disabilities will help us better to assess this population’s diet quality and nutrient intake, identify barriers to improving diet, and develop tailored nutrition programmes and policies,” she said.

Vegetarians had a 33% greater risk of hip fracture than meat eaters, according to a study of nearly 26,000 middle-aged UK women.

University of Leeds research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, investigated the risk of hip fracture in occasional meat-eaters; pescatarians, people who eat fish but not meat; and vegetarians compared to regular meat-eaters. Among 26,318 women, 822 hip fracture cases were observed over roughly 20 years – that represented just over 3% of the sample population. After adjustment for factors such as smoking and age, vegetarians were the only diet group with an elevated risk of hip fracture.

This is one of only a few studies that examine the risk of hip fracture in vegetarians and meat eaters using hospital data to confirm the occurrence of hip fracture.

More investigation into the specific explanations of why vegetarians were at a higher risk of hip fracture is needed, according to the experts.

Vegetarian diets can be ‘healthy or unhealthy’

Study lead author James Webster, a doctoral researcher from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, said: “Our study highlights potential concerns regarding risk of hip fracture in women who have a vegetarian diet. However, it is not warning people to abandon vegetarian diets. As with any diet, it is important to understand personal circumstances and what nutrients are needed for a balanced healthy lifestyle.

“Vegetarian diets can vary widely from person to person and can be healthy or unhealthy, just like diets that include animal products.

“However, it is concerning that vegetarian diets often have lower intakes of nutrients that are linked with bone and muscle health. These types of nutrients generally are more abundant in meat and other animal products than in plants, such as protein, calcium, and other micronutrients.

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“Low intake of these nutrients can lead to lower bone mineral density and muscle mass, which can make you more susceptible to hip fracture risk. This makes it especially important for further research to better understand factors driving the increased risk in vegetarians, whether it be particular nutrient deficiencies or weight management, so that we can help people to make healthy choices.”

Plant-based diets growing in popularity

Vegetarian diets have gained popularity in recent years, with a 2021 YouGov survey putting the size of the UK vegetarian population at roughly 5-7%. It is often perceived as a healthier dietary option, with previous evidence that shows a vegetarian diet can reduce the risks of several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer compared to omnivorous diets.

There is also a worldwide call for reducing the consumption of animal products in an effort to tackle climate change.
Understanding hip fracture risk in vegetarians is therefore becoming increasingly important to public health.

Study co-author Professor Janet Cade, leader of the Nutritional Epidemiology Group in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, said: “Hip fracture is a global health issue with high economic costs that causes loss of independence, reduces quality of life, and increases risk of other health issues.

“Plant-based diets have been linked with poor bone health, but there has been a lack of evidence on the links to hip fracture risk. This study is an important step in understanding the potential risk plant-based diets could present over the long-term and what can be done to mitigate those risks.”

The team used data from the UK Women’s Cohort Study to investigate possible links between diet and hip fracture risk. The national cohort of middle-aged women was established at the University of Leeds to explore links between diet and chronic disease, encompassing a wide range of different eating patterns. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire and was validated using a 4-day food diary in a subsample of women.

At the time they were recruited into the cohort study, the women ranged in age from 35 to 69 years.

Effect of low BMI

The research team found that the average BMI among vegetarians was slightly lower than the average among the regular meat eaters. Previous research has shown a link between low BMI and a high risk of hip fracture.

Lower BMI can indicate people are underweight, which can mean poorer bone and muscle health, and higher risk of hip fracture. Further investigation is needed to determine if low BMI is the reason for the observed higher risk in vegetarians.

Study co-author, Dr Darren Greenwood, a biostatistician in the School of Medicine at Leeds, said: “This study is just part of the wider picture of diet and healthy bones and muscles in older age.

“Further research is needed to confirm whether there could be similar results in men, to explore the role of body weight, and to identify the reasons for different outcomes in vegetarians and meat-eaters.”

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Poor eating habits and weight increase are associated with emotional eating, which is the act of utilising food as a coping mechanism for unpleasant, elevating, or stressful sensations. An investigation into teen vulnerability to emotional eating was released by Elsevier in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The article also covers how various feeding techniques, such as child engagement, food as a reward, and limitation, impact eating behaviour.

“It has previously been discovered that emotional eating is more learned than inherited. This study looked at how parents interact when feeding their kids as well as what kids learn from seeing their parents eat “said the study’s primary author, Joanna Klosowska, MSc, of the Ghent University’s Department of Public Health and Primary Care in Ghent, Belgium. With 218 families, the pilot study was done in 2017. Longitudinal data gathered in 2013 were furthermore accessible. The Child Feeding Questionnaire, the Child Feeding Practices Questionnaire, and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire were each completed by one parent from each home. With the help of the child-reported FEEL-KJ questionnaire, emotion control was evaluated. The researchers measured the adolescent’s height and body weight.

During the four years from 2013 to 2017, which spanned late childhood to middle adolescence, several parenting techniques evolved. Parents reported enhanced monitoring and good feeding habits modelling, despite the stated levels of food restriction and the healthy atmosphere remaining the same. During the same time period, teenagers reported a considerable increase in emotional eating, from below average in 2013 to above average in 2017, according to norms for the Dutch population. Additionally, the inappropriate method in which they handled their emotions was connected to emotional eating.

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Emotional eating was made worse by food as a reward and food monitoring, especially when teenagers utilised unhealthy coping techniques to handle their emotions. Child involvement in meals had the opposite effect because it was associated with higher levels of emotion regulation and lower levels of emotional eating. It’s noteworthy to observe that adolescents consumed less food out of emotion when their parents practised restrained eating.

This study shows that parental influence on children’s eating behaviours persists far into adolescence, according to Klosowska. More study is needed to completely comprehend how a parent’s regulated eating influences a child’s emotional eating.

For the first time, research has demonstrated the link between diet-related chemicals in the gut and aggressive prostate cancer, suggesting dietary changes may lower risk. Although additional research is required, the study’s principal author asserts that conclusions from the team’s examination of over 700 individuals may have therapeutic ramifications for identifying and averting deadly prostate cancer.

Nima Sharifi, M.D., the study’s principal author, believes findings from the team’s examination of over 700 individuals may have clinical significance for identifying and treating fatal prostate cancer, though additional research is required. According to research, men are more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer if they have greater amounts of certain chemicals associated to nutrition.

Sharifi, director of the Genitourinary Malignancies Research Center at Cleveland Clinic. As we carry out more study in this area, we hope that one day these molecules will serve as early prostate cancer biomarkers and assist in identifying people whose disease risk can be reduced by dietary and lifestyle modifications.

Dr. Sharifi and his associates, Eric Klein, M.D., and Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., conducted this study. — examined patient data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial of the National Cancer Institute.

Prior to receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis, researchers looked at the baseline levels of specific dietary components and metabolites (byproducts created when a substance is broken down in the stomach) in patients’ blood serum.

Patients in good health and those who later acquired a prostate cancer diagnosis and succumbed to the condition had their blood levels compared.

Men with increased levels of the metabolite phenylacetylglutamine (PAGln) were around two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with fatal prostate cancer, the researchers discovered. Phenylalanine, an amino acid present in several plant- and animal-based protein sources including meat, beans, and soy, is broken down by gut microorganisms to form this metabolite.

In addition to PAGln, researchers also found a relationship between greater levels of two nutrients called choline and betaine with an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer. These nutrients are plentiful in animal sources including red meat, egg yolks, and high-fat dairy products.

This is the first clinical study of gut microbiome metabolites in connection to prostate cancer outcomes, despite the fact that these nutrients and gut metabolites have previously been investigated in heart disease and stroke.

The connection between PAGln and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease was initially discovered by Dr. Hazen. In 2020, Cell published the findings. Dr. Hazen, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Microbiome & Human Health and chair of the Lerner Research Institute’s Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, said: “Interestingly, we found that PAGln binds to the same receptors as beta blockers, which are drugs commonly prescribed to help lower blood pressure and subsequently risk of cardiac events.” This implies that inhibiting the action of the metabolite may account for some of the powerful effectiveness of beta blockers.

Dr. Sharifi is a staff physician in the Department of Cancer Biology at Lerner Research Institute. “New insights are emerging from large-scale clinical datasets that reveal usage of beta blockers is also related with decreased mortality due to prostate cancer,” she added. In order to find novel treatment targets for our patients, “we will continue to collaborate to research the potential pathways relating PAGln activity and prostate cancer disease processes.”

The investigation team will also keep looking into the validity of choline, betaine, and PAGln as biomarkers of aggressive prostate cancer, as well as how dietary treatments might be utilised to control their levels and lower patients’ chance of developing the illness in the future.

The study’s co-first authors are Bryan Naelitz, a current urology resident who was once a medical student in Dr. Sharifi’s lab, and Chad Reichard, M.D., a urologic oncologist at Urology of Indiana and a former urology trainee at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Klein is a urologist and the former chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute. The National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and other National Institutes of Health entities provided funding for the study.

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