Albert Sanchez

Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians have a quiescent proliferative activity in colonic mucosa

The proliferation of epithelial cells in colonic mucosa was studied in humans at varying degrees of risk for colon cancer. Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarians, known to have significantly lower mortality from colon cancer than the general U.S. population, had the most quiescent proliferative activity of mucosal epithelial cells. Increased replication and expansion of the proliferative compartment accompanied increased colon cancer risk. The analytical methods of this study may be useful in assessing the influence of dietary components involved in the initiation, promotion or inhibition of colon cancer, and in developing strategies for nutritional intervention.

Plasma amino acids and the insulin/glucagon ratio as an explanation for the dietary protein modulation of atherosclerosis.

The amino acid composition of the diet influences the postprandial levels of plasma amino acids along with the hormones insulin and glucagon in humans fed single test meals identical in composition except for protein source. Soy protein (hypocholesterolemic), versus casein (hypercholesterolemic), contains a higher amount of arginine and glycine and induces an increase in postprandial arginine and glycine. Soy protein induces a low postprandial insulin/glucagon ratio in both hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic subjects. Casein induces a high postprandial insulin/glucagon ration among hypercholesterolemic subjects. Amino acids such as arginine and glycine are associated with a decrease, while lysine and branched-chain amino acids are associated with increased serum cholesterol levels. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that the control of cholesterol by insulin and glucagon is regulated by dietary and plasma amino acids. From this hypothesis the insulin/glucagon ratio is proposed as an early metabolic index of the effect of dietary proteins on serum cholesterol levels, a risk factor and a common mechanism through which dietary and lifestyle factors influence cardiovascular disease.

Allium sativum (garlic) and atherosclerosis: A review

Abstract This paper reviews research published in recent years concerning the effects of garlic on lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. In both animal and human studies, components of garlic have been shown to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Garlic has also been shown to change blood lipoproteins and to affect coagulation parameters. The available data suggest that garlic may be of value in either the prevention or treatment of atherosclerotic diseases. Further research in this area is warranted.

The association of dietary factors with the age of menarche

Abstract The relationship between dietary factors and the age of menarche (AOM) was investigated using prospective data. Dietary intake was assessed by multiple 24-hour recalls during 1 or more years immediately prior to menarche for each of 230 white, non-hispanic girls from southern California. The study population was well nourished with an average intake of calories and 13 nutrients well within the recommended dietary allowances of the National Research Council. The data show a significant association between meat and age of menarche (p

Effect of dietary protein on serum insulin and glucagon levels in hyper- and normocholesterolemic men

This study was designed to test the effect of dietary protein on blood levels of insulin and glucagon. Twelve normocholesterolemic (less than 200 mg/dl) and 11 hypercholesterolemic greater than 240 mg/dl) healthy male subjects, 31-62 years of age, were randomly given 3 liquid test meals 1 week apart. Meals were identical except for the protein source (soybean, casein, or protein free). Blood was drawn at fasting, and 0.5 and 2 h postprandially. Insulin and glucagon levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Hypercholesterolemic subjects had a higher (P less than 0.05) insulin/glucagon ratio (1.5) than normocholesterolemic subjects (0.7) 2 h post-prandially when fed the casein test meal. There was no significant difference following the soybean test meal. This implies that the post-prandial insulin/glucagon ratio was affected by the amino acid composition of the diet. There was a consistently higher insulin response to all test meals among hyper- versus normocholesterolemic subjects. These results are consistent with our hypothesis that the hypocholesterolemic effects of soybean protein and the hypercholesterolemic effects of casein were mediated by altered levels of insulin and glucagon.

A hypothesis on the etiological role of diet on age of menarche

Body size and body composition have been suggested as the best explanation for the temporal trend toward early menarche over the last 100 years. There is evidence from human and animal studies that indicates that body size is not the primary factor in influencing the occurrence of menarche. The data actually show that diet may be a primary environmental control mechanism of menarche especially since it alters hormone levels. We see diet as an etiological factor in both the long term and immediate control of menarche. In the long term it influences body size and development leading to menarche. In the short term it acts at a critical state to precipitate the onset of menarche and related physiological changes. This hypothesis does not exclude other less important factors associated with menarche. Our data shows that the present trend toward early menarche can be reversed when a balanced vegetarian diet is selected in place of the ordinary American diet.

Testing a mechanism of control in human cholesterol metabolism: relation of arginine and glycine to insulin and glucagon

Eight men were given 2 casein meals, one with and one without a supplement of arginine and glycine, to measure the effect on plasma amino acids, insulin and glucagon. Supplementation resulted in increased levels of plasma glucagon, glycine and arginine, a tendency to decreased insulin and significantly lower insulin/glucagon ratio, tryptophan and tyrosine. The data suggest that insulin and glucagon, which control cholesterol metabolism, respond to dietary and postprandial plasma amino acid levels of arginine and glycine.

Carotid intima-media thickness, dietary intake, and cardiovascular phenotypes in adolescents: relation to metabolic syndrome.

Little is known about the interrelationships between metabolic syndrome (MS), uric acid, and early carotid atherosclerosis with diet in adolescents. We investigated associations among diet, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), MS, uric acid, and other cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents. Two hundred forty-nine adolescents from 3 high schools in Central California-a predominately Hispanic (n = 119, 16.1 +/- 0.9 years old, 94% Hispanic), a mixed-ethnicity (n = 94, 15.7 +/- 1.2 years old), and a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) (n = 33, 17.0 +/- 1.3 years old) high school-were assessed for cIMT, blood lipids, uric acid, blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and dietary intake. Compared with SDA adolescents, the predominately Hispanic and mixed-ethnicity high school adolescents exhibited higher low-density lipoprotein and BMI percentile, whereas adolescents from the SDA and mixed-ethnicity high schools exhibited lower uric acid and fasting glucose levels than those from the Hispanic high school. After adjusting for age and sex, cIMT was only correlated with systolic blood pressure percentile (r = 0.16, P < .01). Controlling for age, levels of uric acid were correlated with BMI percentile (males: r = 0.59, P < .001; females: r = 0.24, P < .01), low-density lipoprotein (males: r = 0.40, P < .001; females: r = 0.20, P < .01), and total cholesterol in males (r = 0.38, P < .001). Despite no significant differences in the high school frequency of MS risk factors, 59% of adolescents had one or more MS risk factors. A relationship was noted between the number of MS risk factors and uric acid (P < .002). Most of the adolescents presented MS risk factors independent of ethnicity or a purportedly healthier lifestyle (SDA). Uric acid association with MS and its risk factors suggests its potentially heightened importance for the assessment of adolescent cardiovascular health.

Complementation of proteins from one meal to the next

The delayed-time complementation of rice and mungbeans was tested in weanling rats pair-fed 4 times a day at 5-hour intervals for 28 days. The mean growth SD was rice 41 3g, mungbean 41 10g, rice and mungbean 60 5g, and rice and mungbean fed alterately 62 7g, mungbeans and rice fed alternately 58 5g. Growth was the same whether the proteins were fed together in the same meal or in alternate meals, but significantly greater (p<.001) than rats fed single foods. The data suggest that proteins from one meal can effectively complement the protein of the previous meal.

Nutritive Value of Selected Proteins and Protein Combinations II. Biological Value Predictability

E STIMATION of the biological value of proteins, on the basis of amino acid composition, has become useful in attempting to prediet biological values of proteins and in eliminating the labor and time required to determine the biological value experimentally. Mitchell and Block’ proposed the “chemical score” method which defines the calculated biological value as the per cent deficit of the most limiting essential amino acid in a protein as cornpared with the content of this amino acid in egg protein. A more complete estimate of protein quality can be obtained by the “essential amino acid index” which was developed by Kuehnau2 and Oser3 and later modified by