Torben Leth

High vitamin A content in some small indigenous fish species in Bangladesh: Perspectives for food-based strategies to reduce vitamin A deficiency

Recognising the importance of fish in the Bangladeshi diet, the objective of the present study was to screen commonly consumed fish species for vitamin A content to evaluate the potential of fish as a vitamin A source in food-based strategies to combat vitamin A deficiency. Samples of 26 commonly consumed fish species and one crustacean were collected in Kishoreganj and Mymensingh, Bangladesh. To obtain edible parts, the fish were cleaned by Bangladeshi women according to traditional practices. Distribution of vitamin A in parts of the fish and the effect of the cleaning practices on the vitamin A content in edible parts were assessed. The content of vitamin A compounds was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The vitamin A content in small fish ranged from 2680 retinol equivalents (RE)/100 g raw edible parts in mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) to 20 RE/100 g raw edible parts in chata (Colisa lalia; an alternative scientific name is Colisa lalius). The vitamin A content in cultured species, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), rui (Labeo rohita), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was low, <30 RE/100 g raw edible parts. In mola, 90% of the vitamin A was found in the eyes and viscera. The vitamin A content in the screened fish species was highly variable, by more than a factor of 100. The existence of commonly consumed fish in Bangladesh belonging to the categories of very high and high vitamin A content offers a great unexploited potential for food-based strategies to improve the vitamin A intake by promoting the production and consumption of these species.

Estimated intake of intense sweeteners from non-alcoholic beverages in Denmark

In 1999, 116 samples of non-alcoholic beverages were analysed for the intense sweeteners cyclamate, acesulfame-K, aspartame and saccharin. High contents of cyclamate close to the maximum permitted level in 1999 of 400 mg l−1 were found in many soft drinks. The estimated intake of the sweeteners was calculated using the Danish Dietary Survey based on 3098 persons aged 1–80 years. The estimated intake with 90th percentiles of 0.7, 4.0 and 0.2 mg kg−1 body weight (bw) day−1 for acesulfame-K, aspartame and saccharin, respectively, was much lower than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) values of 15, 40 and 2.5 mg kg−1 bw day−1 for acesulfame-K, aspartame and saccharin, respectively. However, the 90th percentile of the estimated cyclamate intake in 1–3 year olds was close to the ADI value of 7 mg kg−1 bw day−1; and the 99th percentile in the 1–10 year olds far exceeded the ADI value. Boys aged 7–10 years had a significantly higher estimated intake of cyclamate than girls. The 90th percentile for the whole population was 1.8 mg kg−1 bw day−1. After the reduction in the maximum permitted level in the European Union in 2004 from 400 to 250 mg cyclamate l−1, the exposure in Denmark can also be expected to be reduced. A new investigation in 2007 should demonstrate whether the problem with high cyclamate intake is now solved.

Intake of ruminant trans fatty acids in the Danish population aged 1-80 years

Objective:To estimate the intake of ruminant trans fatty acids (TFA) in the Danish population aged 1–80 years.Design:Descriptive study.Subjects:A sex- and age-stratified random sample drawn from the Danish Civil Registration System. A total of 3098 participants (51% female) aged 1–80 years were included. The participation was 66%.Dietary information:A 7-day dietary record.Results:The estimated median intake of ruminant TFA was 1.4 g/day with the 80% central range being from 0.9 to 2.1 among children aged 1–6 years and 1.6 g/day (1.0–2.4) among children aged 7–14 years. The median TFA intake was 1.8 g/day (0.9–2.9) among adults aged 15–29 years and among adults aged 30–80 years. The intake expressed as percentage of energy intake was 0.8, 0.6, 0.7, and 0.7, respectively. Dairy products were the main source of ruminant TFA.Conclusions:The median intake of ruminant TFA in the Danish population aged 1–80 years is estimated to be 1.7 g/day (0.9–2.7), corresponding to 0.7% of energy intake (0.5–1.0), with dairy products being the main source of ruminant TFA.Sponsorship:The Danish Heart Foundation (Grants 02-2-9-8-22010 and 03-2-9-4-22087) and the Female Researchers in Joint Action (FREJA) programme from the Danish Medical Research Council.

Estimated intake of benzoic and sorbic acids in Denmark

The monitoring of food additives and recent dietary surveys carried out in Denmark have earlier been used to estimate the intake of sweeteners and nitrite in relation to acceptable daily intakes. The ubiquitous use of the preservatives benzoic and sorbic acids raises the question of the magnitude of the intake of these preservatives in relation to acceptable daily intakes. This area is explored in this paper. The content of benzoic and sorbic acids in all food groups, where they are allowed, was monitored in Denmark 17 times between 2001 and 2006 with a total of 1526 samples. Transgressions of maximum limits, illegal use or declaration faults were found in about 3% of samples. From repeated investigations on fat-based foods (salads and dressings), marmalade and stewed fruit, it is concluded that the amounts used in industry have been relatively stable throughout the whole period, although limited data for marmalade show some variation. Most foods in the categories soft drinks, dressings, fat-based salads, pickled herrings, and marmalade contain benzoic and sorbic acid, and sliced bread also contains in some cases sorbic acid. The median daily intake and intake distribution of benzoic and sorbic acids were calculated with data from the Danish National Survey of Dietary Habits and Physical Activity (age from 4 to 75 years) conducted in 2000–2004 with 5785 participants. The median intakes of both benzoic acid and sorbic acid are well below the acceptable daily intakes of 0–5 and 0–25 mg kg−1 body weight (bw) day−1 for benzoic and sorbic acid, respectively. However, the 90th percentile based on the average of the samples with a content of benzoic acid is higher than the acceptable daily intake for both men and women, with the highest value of 16 mg kg−1 bw day−1 for both boys and girls in the 4–6-year-old age group. Based on the average of all samples, the 95th percentile is over the acceptable daily intake for men up to 34 years and for women up to 24 years, and the 90th percentile for men up to 18 years and for women up to 10 years. Soft drinks, salads and dressings are the main contributors to benzoic acid intake. The sorbic acid intake based on the average of all samples is well below the acceptable daily intake. However, for the intake based on the average of samples with content, the 95th percentile exceeds the acceptable daily intake. This is caused by the dominating contribution to the intake of sorbic acid from sliced bread, but since only seven out of 42 samples have added sorbic acid, the calculation based on the average of samples with content will exaggerate the intake. With a built-in safety factor of 100 in the acceptable daily intakes and judging from the literature, the high intakes of benzoic acid should not cause any concern for ill-effects. However, there must be a reason to reconsider the maximum limits especially for benzoic acid in soft drinks, dressings and salads and for sorbic acid in sliced bread.

Nitrite and nitrate content in meat products and estimated intake in Denmark from 1998 to 2006

The content of nitrite and nitrate in cured meat products has been monitored in Denmark seven times between 1995 and 2006. The maximum permitted added amounts of sodium nitrite in Denmark (60 mg kg−1 for most products up to 150 mg kg−1 for special products) have not been exceeded, except for a few samples back in 2002. The intake, mean and intake distribution of sodium nitrite have been calculated from 1998 to 2006 with data from the Danish dietary survey conducted in 2000–02 on Danes from four to 75 years of age. The amounts used by industry have been relatively stable through the whole period with levels varying between 6 and 20 mg sodium nitrite kg−1 with sausages, meat for open sandwiches and salami-type sausages being the greatest contributors. The mean intake of sodium nitrate was around 1 mg day−1, which is very low compared with the total intake of 61 mg day−1. The mean intake of sodium nitrite was 0.017 and 0.014, 0.009 and 0.008, and 0.007 and 0.003 mg kg−1 body weight day−1 for men and women in the age groups 4–5, 6–14 and 15–75 years, respectively, which was much lower than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0.09 mg kg−1 body weight day−1. The 99th percentile for the group of 4-year-olds was 0.107 and 0.123 mg kg−1 body weight day−1 for boys and girls, respectively, and the 95th percentile was 0.057 and 0.073 mg kg−1 body weight day−1 for boys and girls, respectively, highest for the girls. With fewer than 100 boys and girls in the 4–5-year age group, only very few persons were responsible for the high intake. The conversion of nitrate to nitrite in the saliva and the degradation of nitrite during production and storage must also be considered when evaluating the intake of nitrite.

The Effect of Microwave Heating on Vitamins B1 and E, and Linoleic and Linolenic Acids, and Immunoglobulins in Human Milk

Breast milk was treated with (1) conventional heating (in water bath) vs microwave heating; (2) microwave heating at two power levels (30% and 100%); (3) increasing final temperatures; and (4) microwave thawing vs refrigerator thawing and examined for changes in specific immunoglobulins to a pool of E. coli and poliovirus type 1 antigens, vitamins E and B1, and the polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic and linolenic acid. Immunoglobulin activities were stable until final milk temperatures of around 60-65 degrees C were reached, and total inactivation occurred at 77 degrees C. Heating even to high final temperatures did not change contents of vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. No differences in immunoglobulins and nutrients were demonstrated between microwave heating and conventional heating, and between power levels or thawing methods. The study shows that microwave heating of human milk can be performed without significant losses of examined immunoglobulins and nutrients, provided that final temperatures are below 60 degrees C.

A cross-sectional study on trans-fatty acids and risk markers of CHD among middle-aged men representing a broad range of BMI

Intake of trans-fatty acids (TFA), especially industrially produced TFA (I-TFA), has been associated with the risk of CHD through influence on serum lipid levels. Other causal pathways remain less investigated. In the present cross-sectional study of middle-aged men representing a broad range of BMI, the association between intake of TFA, I-TFA and ruminant TFA (R-TFA) and obesity-associated risk markers of CHD was assessed. The study comprised 393 Danish men (median age 49 years) with a median BMI of 28·4 kg/m(2). Intake of TFA was estimated based on 7 d dietary records, whereas outcomes of interest (waist circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter, percentage of truncal fat, C-reactive protein, IL-6, blood lipids, blood pressure, HbA1c and insulin sensitivity index) were obtained through clinical examination. The associations were assessed by linear regression analysis. The median intake of total TFA among the 393 men was 1·3 g/d, covering a daily I-TFA intake of 0·4 g (10-90th percentile 0·0-1·0) and R-TFA intake of 0·9 g (10-90th percentile 0·4-1·8). Intake of these amounts of TFA showed no significant associations with abdominal fatness, inflammatory markers, blood lipids, blood pressure and insulin homeostasis. Among middle-aged men with a generally low intake of TFA, neither I-TFA nor R-TFA was significantly related to obesity-associated risk markers of CHD. The decreased average intake of I-TFA in Denmark since 1995 is suggested to effectively prevent occurrence of the adverse metabolic changes and health consequences, which have formerly been observed in relation to, especially, I-TFA intake.

A prospective study of trans fat intake and risk of preeclampsia in Denmark.

Background/Objectives:An association between biomarkers of trans fat intake and greater risk of preeclampsia has been reported, but research in this area is scant. Thus, we examined the association of second trimester intake of trans fats with risk of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia.Subjects/Methods:We followed 67 186 pregnancies of women participating in the Danish National Birth Cohort between 1998 and 2003. Diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire at gestation week 25, and preeclampsia diagnosis was obtained by linkage with the Danish National Patient Registry.Results:There were 1804 cases of preeclampsia and 402 cases of severe preeclampsia identified in the cohort. Intake of trans fats decreased during the study period as a consequence of a reduction in industrial trans fat intake. Second trimester intake of trans fats was unrelated to risk of preeclampsia or severe preeclampsia. The relative risk (95% confidence interval; P, trend) of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia comparing top to bottom quintiles of trans fat intake were 0.95(0.81; 1.11, 0.33) and 1.07 (0.78; 1.48, 0.92), respectively.Conclusion:Second trimester intake of trans fats is unrelated to risk of preeclampsia within the intake range observed in a period of gradual reduction of industrial trans fats from the Danish food supply.