Dayane de Castro Morais

Insegurança alimentar e indicadores antropométricos, dietéticos e sociais em estudos brasileiros: uma revisão sistemática

The scope of this systematic review was to relate food insecurity, detected using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA), with anthropometric, dietary and social indicators. The search was conducted in electronic databases (ScieLO, LILACS, MEDLINE), with a selection of studies by titles and abstracts, and later full reading. Studies identified in bibliographic references were included. Of the 215 reviewed, 15 fulfilled inclusion criteria (association between insecurity and anthropometric, dietary or social indicators, detected by the EBIA), whereby three had more than one variable of interest. A relationship was observed between food insecurity and height/age and weight/age of child indices, as well as obesity in women. Lower consumption of regulating, tissue-building food products and iron, and higher carbohydrate intake are associated with food insecurity. There was a relationship between social indicators, such as lower income and education, lack of employment and basic sanitation. The EBIA was associated in some studies with nutritional and social indicators, but should be used in conjunction with other tools in order to cover the multiple dimensions of food and nutrition security.

Sensory evaluation and nutritional value of cakes prepared with whole flaxseed flour

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional value, the oxidative stabilitiy, and consumer acceptance of cakes containing four different concentrations of flaxseed flour (5, 15, 30 and 45%) as partial replacement for wheat flour. The oxidative stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids was evaluated through the lipid peroxidation test (TBARS) in the flour and cakes. Linolenic acid was determined by gas chromatography as well as contents of protein, lipid, ash, and dietary fiber. Consumer acceptance was assessed using a structured hedonic scale of nine points. The oxidative stability of lipid flaxseeds was not affected by the heat treatment during flour processing and cake baking. Cakes made with 5, 15, and 30% of flaxseed flour, the most accepted by consumers, had dietary fiber levels ranging from 3.5 to 6.2 g and linolenic acid ranging from 445 to 2,500 mg.100 g –1 of the product. The cakes received claims of good and excellent source of dietary fiber and linolenic acid, respectively, both are bioactive compounds. The use of up to 30% of flaxseed flour in the preparation of cakes is a useful strategy to optimize the consumption of food rich in functional ingredients.

Contribution of the production for self-consumption to food availability and food security in households of the rural area of a Brazilian city

ABSTRACT Production for self-consumption can meet the principles of food safety such as respect for food habits and diversity. The participation of production for self-consumption in food availability was compared to the purchase of food for 30 days in 79 households (272 inhabitants) of the rural area of a Brazilian city in 2012. The food security was evaluated by the method “Food energy deficiency in the domicile” that classified 12.7% of the households as insecure. In all households, staple foods (rice, pasta, corn, beans, milk, eggs, meats) were available and more than 60% had processed foods (cookies, soft drinks). Only 22.7% of the calories came from production for own consumption and the biggest expense was the purchase of carbohydrates (91.1%), mainly sugar (12.2%). Evaluating only the energy availability of food is not sufficient since the quality and origin of food is of great relevance in the food security condition.

Escalas de percepção da insegurança alimentar validadas: a experiência dos países da América Latina e Caribe

The scope of this systematic review was to compare the food insecurity scales validated and used in the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and analyze the methods used in validation studies. A search was conducted in the Lilacs, SciELO and Medline electronic databases. The publications were pre-selected by titles and abstracts, and subsequently by a full reading. Of the 16,325 studies reviewed, 14 were selected. Twelve validated scales were identified for the following countries: Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Guatemala. Besides these, there is the Latin American and Caribbean scale, the scope of which is regional. The scales ranged from the standard reference used, number of questions and diagnosis of insecurity. The methods used by the studies for internal validation were calculation of Cronbachs alpha and the Rasch model; for external validation the authors calculated association and /or correlation with socioeconomic and food consumption variables. The successful experience of Latin America and the Caribbean in the development of national and regional scales can be an example for other countries that do not have this important indicator capable of measuring the phenomenon of food insecurity.

Mechanisms involved in the cardioprotective effect of avocado consumption: A systematic review

ABSTRACT The objective of this review was to verify the effects of avocado consumption on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk factors. A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases using the descriptor avocado, combined with CVD, monosaturated fat, antioxidant, lipoprotein, and inflammation, and their respective terms in Spanish. The review was carried out in pairs, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) recommendations. Initially, 234 studies were identified. After selection, eight articles were included. All the studies were randomized, most were crossover studies, and involving adult subjects. Total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides (TG), platelet aggregation, and apolipoproteins reductions; besides high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) and serum lipid peroxidation increases; Ikappa-B protein (IkB-α) protein preservation; and NF-kappa B (NFκB) inactivation were observed. Thus, avocado consumption exerts a beneficial effect on CVDs prevention, which can be attributed to its monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) content, especially oleic fatty acid. However, there is no consensus on the amount of avocado needed to confer such benefits.

Aspectos metodológicos da avaliação da qualidade da dieta no Brasil: revisão sistemática

This systematic review analyzes the methodologies of Brazilian studies that have used indices to evaluate dietary quality. A systematic search was performed of electronic databases (Lilacs, Medline, SciELO and Scopus) with no restriction on the year of publication of the studies. Original, Brazilian articles were selected that assessed dietary quality using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) or its revised versions. The descriptors were as follows: dietary quality; healthy eating index; and dietary quality index. Atotal of 45 articles were selected, of which 60% analyzed dietary quality using an instrument called the Healthy Eating Index and the rest used an index of dietary quality. Of the analyzed studies, 68.9% classified dietary quality. Most of the studies used ten items to evaluate dietary quality and were not standardized regarding methodologies. A total of 33.3% of the studies related the index to socioeconomic and demographic factors, food items and health conditions. Differences in terms of nomenclature and methodologies made it difficult to compare these studies of dietary quality.