Veronica Mocanu

Long-term effects of giving nursing home residents bread fortified with 125 μg (5000 IU) vitamin D3 per daily serving

BACKGROUND In older adults, a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration >75 nmol/L lowers the risk of fracture. An oral intake of 125 microg (5000 IU) vitamin D(3)/d may be required to achieve this target. OBJECTIVE The objective was to characterize the safety and efficacy of fortifying bread with a biologically meaningful amount of vitamin D(3). DESIGN In a single-arm design, 45 nursing home residents consumed one bun daily that had been fortified with 125 microg (5000 IU) vitamin D(3) and 320 mg elemental calcium. RESULTS The initial mean (+/-SD) serum 25(OH)D concentration was 28.5 +/- 10.8 nmol/L. After 12 mo, the 25(OH)D concentration was 125.6 +/- 38.8 nmol/L, and it exceeded 74 nmol/L in 92% of the patients. At every 3-mo follow-up, serum parathyroid hormone was lower than at baseline (P = 0.001). No changes in serum calcium or cases of hypercalcemia were observed at the follow-up assessments. Both mean total urinary calcium and the mean urinary calcium-creatinine ratio increased from baseline at one follow-up time point (P < 0.05). Between baseline and the 12-mo visit, z scores for bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and the hip both increased significantly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Fortification of bread with much more vitamin D than used previously produced no evident adverse effects on sun-deprived nursing home residents and improved bone density measures. Fortification of bread with 5000 IU vitamin D(3)/d provided reasonable assurance that vitamin D-deficient older adults attained a serum 25(OH)D concentration greater than the desirable objective of >75 nmol/L. This trial was registered at (ClinicalTrials.gov) as: NCT00789503.

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Urban Elementary School Children in Northeastern Romania: Its Relationship with Socioeconomic Status and Associated Dietary and Lifestyle Factors

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the prevalence of obesity and to identify its potential determinants to optimize the methods of prevention to combat further increases in childhood overweight. The study was carried out on 3444 school children of 6–10 years of age attending 30 schools in northeast Romania. Schools were classified by geographical location and socioeconomic status (SES). Overweight and obesity status were determined using IOTF BMI cut-off points. Prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was found to be 24.6% among boys and 22.6% among girls, whereas the prevalence of obesity was 7.8% in boys and 6.3% in girls. High SES (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.10–1.93) and eating French fries and chips (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.24–2.67) were associated with increased risk of overweight. In high- and medium-SES children, overweight was positively associated with the consumption of French fries and chips (2.93, 95% CI: 1.54–5.60 and 1.82, 95% CI: 1.04–3.21). In low-SES children, overweight was associated with low fruit consumption (0.21, 95% CI: 0.05–1.00) and sedentary behavior (3.37, 95% CI: 1.13–10.05). Therefore, the social and environmental determinants should be considered when constructing and implementing preventive measures regarding overweight and obesity.

Flaxseed Prevents Leukocyte and Platelet Adhesion to Endothelial Cells in Experimental Atherosclerosis by Reducing sVCAM-1 and vWF

We studied the possible effect of flaxseed to prevent leukocytes and platelets adhesion to endothelial cells and to reduce soluble adhesion molecules (sVCAM-1) and endothelial integrity markers (vWF) in ovariectomized rats fed a high-fat diet. Forty-two female Wistar rats were either sham-operated or ovariectomized and randomly assigned for 36 weeks to three different diets: (1) low-fat diet (8% energy as fat); (2) high-fat diet (40% energy as fat, lard based, lard group); (3) high-fat diet enriched with ground flaxseed 15 g/100 g of food (40% energy as fat, lard + flaxseed group). The ovariectomized rats fed with lard + flaxseeds had significantly lower serum concentrations of sVCAM and vWF, reduced platelet adhesiveness, and lower extent of platelet and leukocyte adherence to endothelium in the histological evaluation of the aorta as compared to Ovx + lard group. In our study, high dose of ground flaxseed incorporated to lard-based diet prevented the progression of atherosclerotic lesions in estrogen deficiency rats by decreasing platelet and endothelium reactivity. Assessment of platelet adhesion, serum soluble adhesion molecule sVCAM, and endothelium integrity molecule vWF could be useful to detect the risk for atherosclerotic lesions in estrogen deficiency states and to estimate the effect of flaxseed supplementation.

A Diet Rich in Whole Grain Flaxseeds has Antithrombotic Effects Without Increasing Oxidative Stress in Experimental Atherosclerosis

Abstract We hypothesized that high doses of flaxseed used for antithrombotic effects could increase oxidative stress and vitamin E was added to prevent the lipid oxidation. Therefore, we investigated platelet functions and oxidative stress in ovariectomized hamsters fed on high-fat diet supplemented with flaxseeds and/or vitamin E. Eighty six months-old Golden Syrian hamsters were either sham-operated (Sham) or ova-riectomized (Ovx) and received one of the following diets: 1. high-fat diet (40 % energy as fat); 2. high-fat diet supplemented with flaxseed (15 g Linum usitatissimum /100 g of food) (Linum); 3. high-fat diet supplemented with vitamin E (40 mg alpha-tocopherol/100 g of food) (E); 4. high-fat diet supplemented with flaxseed and vitamin E (Linum+E) for 8 weeks. The ovariectomized groups fed on Linum/Vitamin E enriched diet showed a less advanced stage of atherosclerosis lesions and decreased aortic cholesterol content as compared to the high-fat diet group. The addition of flaxseed led to a significant decreased platelet adhesion in Ovx group. In Ovx hamsters, serum and liver TBARS were significantly decreased and liver GSH was significantly increased by supplementation of diet with flaxseed and combined diet augmented the antioxidative effect of flaxseed. The combined diet (Linum + vitamin E) did not seem to bring more benefits than flaxseed alone. Our results demonstrated that cardio-protective effect of high doses of ground flaxseed could be due to its antiplatelet and antioxidative effects and the addition of supplementary antioxidant is not required.

Bread as a Vehicle Vitamin D Fortification: Application to Nursing Home Residents

Vitamin D deficiency is extremely prevalent in the older adults. Most often the first symptoms are caused by myopathy with muscle pain, fatigue, muscular weakness, and gait disturbances. More severe deficiency causes osteomalacia with deep bone pain, reduced mineralization of bone matrix and fractures. The conditions suggested to be associated with vitamin D insufficiency include total mortality, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, pain, cancer, cardiovascular disease, infections, and falls [1].

Antioxidative and antiatherogenic effects of flaxseed, α-tocopherol and their combination in diabetic hamsters fed with a high-fat diet

Oxidative stress has previously been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. In the present study, the effects of supplementation with dietary antioxidants, flaxseed and α-tocopherol were investigated in diabetic golden Syrian hamsters fed with a high-fat diet. Thirty-five golden Syrian hamsters were randomly divided into a control group (C) and four diabetic groups (DM, DM + flax, DM + E and DM + Flax + E). The hamsters received four different diets for a 20-week period, as follows: i) Groups C and DM received a high-fat diet (40% energy as fat), deficient in α-linolenic acid (ALA); ii) the DM + Flax group received a high-fat diet enriched with ground flaxseed 15 g/100 g of food, rich in ALA; iii) the DM + E group received a high-fat diet enriched with vitamin E, 40 mg α-tocopherol/100 g of food; and iv) the DM + Flax + E group received a high-fat diet enriched with flaxseed and vitamin E. The results of serum lipid and oxidative stress analysis suggested that the antiatherogenic effect of flaxseed, α-tocopherol and their combination added to a high-fat diet in diabetic hamsters was based primarily on their antioxidative role, demonstrated by decreased serum lipid peroxidation and increased liver glutathione content. Improvements of serum glucose and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were observed and may have contributed to the prevention of diabetic macroangiopathy evidenced in the histopathological examination. The antioxidant effect of flaxseed was similar to that of α-tocopherol in diabetic hamsters fed a high-fat diet and combined supplementation did not appear to bring more benefits than flaxseed alone. Moreover, the high dose of ground flaxseed alone may have a better cardioprotective effect than α-tocopherol in diabetic hamsters by reducing total cholesterol and non-HDL-C levels and increasing HDL-C levels.