Joanna Wyka

Estimation of dietary exposure to acrylamide of Polish teenagers from an urban environment.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary exposure to acrylamide (AA) in a group of teenagers (nu2009=u2009261) from an urban environment. The intake of AA from food was estimated based on a 7-day food record diary (consecutive days). The food rations obtained (nu2009=u20091827) were used to calculate the amounts of the consumed food products, which were the main sources of AA. In the case of girls, the estimated dietary intake of AA per kg body weight (BW) amounted to 0.09u2009µg/kg BW/day (50th percentile), 0.32u2009µg/kg BW/day (75th percentile) and 1.04u2009µg/kg BW/day (95th percentile), and among boys it was 0.13, 0.41, and 1.18u2009µg/kg BW/day, respectively. The main sources of AA exposure were French fries, potato crisps, corn flakes, bread and salty sticks. The lowest values for margin of exposure (MOE) were calculated for the P95th percentiles of exposure, and ranged from 152 to 173.

Intake of bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease by inducing favorable changes in lipoprotein profiles

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death, and lifestyle modification, including dietary changes, is recommended to improve this condition. In this study, regular consumption of bilberries was hypothesized to have beneficial effects on CVD risk reduction, by changes in human health indicators such as decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TGs) and increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The research involved women (n=25) and men (n=11) who consumed 150 g of frozen stored bilberries 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, lipid profile, glucose, liver enzymes, creatinine, albumin, magnesium, and antiradical activity were measured. Except for the body mass index of women (P=.019), no significant changes were found for anthropometric indicators. The consumption of bilberries led to a decrease in the following parameters: total cholesterol (P=.017), LDL-C (P=.0347), TG (P=.001), glucose (P=.005), albumin (P=.001), γ-glutamyltransferase (P=.046), and a positive increase in HDL-C (P=.044). In men, additionally, favorable changes were observed in total cholesterol (P=.004), glucose (P=.015), albumin (P=.028), aspartate aminotransferase (P=.012), γ-glutamyltransferase (P=.013), and HDL-C (P=.009; in this group, LDL-C increased [P=.007]). Changes in other parameters were not significant, for both women and men. Thus, the regular intake of bilberries can be important to reduce CVDs risk, by decreasing LDL-C/TG and increasing HDL-C.