Background: Some intervention studies have suggested that dairy products may influence body weight, but the results remain controversial.Objective: We identified and quantified the effects of dairy ...consumption on body weight and fat mass from randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Design: We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE databases (to April 2012) of English reports of RCTs regarding dairy consumption on body weight, body fat, or body weight and body fat in adults. The results across studies were pooled by using a random-effects meta-analysis.Results: Twenty-nine RCTs were included with a total of 2101 participants. Overall, consumption of dairy products did not result in a significant reduction in weight (−0.14 kg; 95% CI: −0.66, 0.38 kg; I2 = 86.3%). In subgroup analysis, consumption of dairy products reduced body weight in the context of energy restriction or short-term intervention (<1 y) trials but had the opposite effect in ad libitum dietary interventions or long-term trials (≥1 y). Twenty-two RCTs that reported results on body fat showed a modest reduction in the dairy group (−0.45 kg; 95% CI: −0.79, −0.11 kg; I2 = 70.9%), and further stratified analysis indicated significant beneficial effects of dairy intervention on body fat in energy-restricted or short-term trials but not in long-term or ad libitum studies.Conclusions: This meta-analysis does not support the beneficial effect of increasing dairy consumption on body weight and fat loss in long-term studies or studies without energy restriction. However, dairy products may have modest benefits in facilitating weight loss in short-term or energy-restricted RCTs.
Carbohydrate quality may be an important determinant of type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, relations between various carbohydrate quality metrics and T2D risk have not been systematically investigated.
...The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the association between carbohydrates, starch, fibers, and different combinations of these nutrients and risk of T2D in women.
We prospectively followed 70,025 women free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes at baseline from the Nurses' Health Study (1984-2008). Diet information was collected with the use of a validated questionnaire every 4 y. Cox regression was used to evaluate associations with incident T2D.
During 1,484,213 person-years of follow-up, we ascertained 6934 incident T2D cases. In multivariable analyses, when extreme quintiles were compared, higher carbohydrate intake was not associated with T2D (RR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.08; P-trend = 0.84), whereas starch was associated with a higher risk (RR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.35; P-trend <0.0001). Total fiber (RR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.89; P-trend < 0.0001), cereal fiber (RR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.78; P-trend < 0.0001), and fruit fiber (RR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.85; P-trend < 0.0001) were associated with a lower T2D risk. The ratio of carbohydrate to total fiber intake was marginally associated with a higher risk of T2D (RR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.20; P-trend = 0.04). On the other hand, we found positive associations between the ratios of carbohydrate to cereal fiber (RR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.39; P-trend < 0.0001), starch to total fiber (RR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.23; P-trend = 0.03), and starch to cereal fiber (RR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.27, 1.53; P-trend < 0.0001) and T2D.
Diets with high starch, low fiber, and a high starch-to-cereal fiber ratio were associated with a higher risk of T2D. The starch-to-cereal fiber ratio of the diet may be a novel metric for assessing carbohydrate quality in relation to T2D.
Temporal patterns over the past three to four decades have shown a close parallel between the rise in added sugar intake and the global obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) epidemics. Sugar-sweetened ...beverages (SSBs), which include the full spectrum of soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy and vitamin water drinks, are composed of naturally derived caloric sweeteners such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, or fruit juice concentrates. Collectively they are the largest contributor to added sugar intake in the US diet. Over the past 10 years a number of large observational studies have found positive associations between SSB consumption and long-term weight gain and development of T2D and related metabolic conditions. Experimental studies provide insight into potential biological mechanisms and illustrate that intake of SSBs increases T2D and cardiovascular risk factors. SSBs promote weight gain by incomplete compensation of liquid calories and contribute to increased risk of T2D not only through weight gain, but also independently through glycemic effects of consuming large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars and metabolic effects of fructose.
The worldwide prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities is staggering, and elevated body mass index represents a leading risk factor of death globally. Consistent evidence demonstrates a ...high-quality plant-based diet as an effective intervention for weight management, although it may be particularly challenging to adopt in its entirety for habitual meat consumers or individuals with especially poor-quality diets. Plant-based diets are increasingly studied using indices such as the overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful PDI, and unhealthful PDI, which offer more flexibility than a binary classification of vegetarianism and better facilitate translation into dietary recommendations. We summarized these recently accumulated studies to comprehensively evaluate plant-based diets in relation to obesity risk. We searched Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases through January 2022 and identified 9 prospective adult cohorts. Reporting of results was consistent with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines and certainty of the evidence was assessed using domains from GRADE. The PDI had a protective association with body weight gain and adiposity. Emphasis of healthful plant foods strengthened this association and emphasis of unhealthful plant foods demonstrated either a positive or null association. The certainty of the evidence was considered moderate. These findings have wide application to inform dietary interventions and sustainable policy recommendations. (Prospero ID: CRD42020198143)
Increased nut consumption has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as a healthy lipid profile. However, the associations between nut consumption ...and inflammatory biomarkers are unclear.
We investigated habitual nut consumption in relation to inflammatory biomarkers in 2 large cohorts of US men and women.
We analyzed cross-sectional data from 5013 participants in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) who were free of diabetes. Nut intake, defined as intake of peanuts and other nuts, was estimated from food-frequency questionnaires, and cumulative averages from 1986 and 1990 in the NHS and from 1990 and 1994 in the HPFS were used. Plasma biomarkers were collected in 1989-1990 in the NHS and 1993-1995 in the HPFS. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the associations of nut consumption with fasting plasma C-reactive protein (CRP, n = 4941), interleukin 6 (IL-6, n = 2859), and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2, n = 2905).
A greater intake of nuts was associated with lower amounts of a subset of inflammatory biomarkers, after adjusting for demographic, medical, dietary, and lifestyle variables. The relative concentrations (ratios) and 95% CIs comparing subjects with nut intake of ≥5 times/wk and those in the categories of never or almost never were as follows: CRP: 0.80 (0.69, 0.90), P-trend = 0.0003; and IL-6: 0.86 (0.77, 0.97), P-trend = 0.006. These associations remained significant after further adjustment for body mass index. No significant association was observed with TNFR2. Substituting 3 servings of nuts/wk for 3 servings of red meat, processed meat, eggs, or refined grains/wk was associated with significantly lower CRP (all P < 0.0001) and IL-6 (P ranges from 0.001 to 0.017).
Frequent nut consumption was associated with a healthy profile of inflammatory biomarkers.
The carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio is a recommended measure of carbohydrate quality; however, its relation to incident coronary heart disease (CHD) is not currently known.
We aimed to assess the ...relation between various measures of carbohydrate quality and incident CHD.
Data on diet and lifestyle behaviors were prospectively collected on 75,020 women and 42,865 men participating in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) starting in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and every 2–4 y thereafter until 2012. All participants were free of known diabetes mellitus, cancer, or cardiovascular disease at baseline. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the relation between dietary measures of carbohydrate quality and incident CHD.
After 1,905,047 (NHS) and 921,975 (HPFS) person-years of follow-up, we identified 7,320 cases of incident CHD. In models adjusted for age, lifestyle behaviors, and dietary variables, the highest quintile of carbohydrate intake was not associated with incident CHD (pooled-RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.14; P-trend = 0.31). Total fiber intake was not associated with risk of CHD (pooled-RR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.03; P-trend = 0.72), while cereal fiber was associated with a lower risk for incident CHD (pooled-RR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.87; P-trend < 0.0001). In fully adjusted models, the carbohydrate-to–total fiber ratio was not associated with incident CHD (pooled-RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.13; P-trend = 0.46). However, the carbohydrate-to–cereal fiber ratio and the starch-to–cereal fiber ratio were associated with an increased risk for incident CHD (pooled-RR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.29; P-trend < 0.0001, and pooled-RR = 1.17; 95%CI: 1.09, 1.27; P-trend < 0.0001, respectively).
Dietary cereal fiber appears to be an important component of carbohydrate quality. The carbohydrate-to–cereal fiber ratio and the starch-to–cereal fiber ratio, but not the carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio, was associated with an increased risk for incident CHD. Future research should focus on how various measures of carbohydrate quality are associated with CHD prevention. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03214861.
Reduction in excess calories and improvement in dietary composition may prevent many primary and secondary cardiovascular events. Current guidelines recommend diets high in fruits, vegetables, whole ...grains, nuts, and legumes; moderate in low-fat dairy and seafood; and low in processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, and sodium. Supplementation can be useful for some people but cannot replace a good diet. Factors that influence individuals to consume a low-quality diet are myriad and include lack of knowledge, lack of availability, high cost, time scarcity, social and cultural norms, marketing of poor-quality foods, and palatability. Governments should focus on cardiovascular disease as a global threat and enact policies that will reach all levels of society and create a food environment wherein healthy foods are accessible, affordable, and desirable. Health professionals should be proficient in basic nutritional knowledge to promote a sustainable pattern of healthful eating for cardiovascular disease prevention for both healthy individuals and those at higher risk.
Nut Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Guasch-Ferré, Marta; Liu, Xiaoran; Malik, Vasanti S. ...
Journal of the American College of Cardiology,
11/2017, Volume:
70, Issue:
20
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The associations between specific types of nuts, specifically peanuts and walnuts, and cardiovascular disease remain unclear.
The authors sought to analyze the associations between the intake of ...total and specific types of nuts and cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke risk.
The authors included 76,364 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980 to 2012), 92,946 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991 to 2013), and 41,526 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986 to 2012) who were free of cancer, heart disease, and stroke at baseline. Nut consumption was assessed using food frequency questionnaires at baseline and was updated every 4 years.
During 5,063,439 person-years of follow-up, the authors documented 14,136 incident cardiovascular disease cases, including 8,390 coronary heart disease cases and 5,910 stroke cases. Total nut consumption was inversely associated with total cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. The pooled multivariable hazard ratios for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease among participants who consumed 1 serving of nuts (28 g) 5 or more times per week, compared with the reference category (never or almost never), were 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.79 to 0.93; p for trend = 0.0002) and 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.72 to 0.89; p for trend <0.001), respectively. Consumption of peanuts and tree nuts (2 or more times/week) and walnuts (1 or more times/week) was associated with a 13% to 19% lower risk of total cardiovascular disease and 15% to 23% lower risk of coronary heart disease.
In 3 large prospective cohort studies, higher consumption of total and specific types of nuts was inversely associated with total cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.
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