Nutrition Journal最新文献

{"title":"Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and incident depression: an exploratory multi-omics analysis of candidate biological mediators.","authors":"Zhirong Li, Yating Miao, Ting Yu, Lina Jin, Yanan Ma, Xinyao Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01352-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01352-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Depression is a leading cause of mental and physical disability globally, with its onset and progression influenced by a complex interplay of dietary, psychological, and biological factors. Recent research suggests a link between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and depression risk, although the potential biological pathways underlying this association remain poorly understood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study utilized data from 192,045 participants in the UK Biobank to examine the prospective association between SSB consumption and incident depression using Cox proportional hazards models. SSBs were defined as the sum of five beverage categories assessed via the Oxford WebQ 24-hour dietary recall. Directional consistency of the association was further examined across three external supporting datasets encompassing diverse populations: NHANES, YRBSS, and the Lianyungang Municipal School Health and Risk Factor Surveillance Study Dataset. We further investigated whether proteins, metabolites, inflammatory markers, and brain imaging phenotypes may serve as candidate mediators statistically consistent with mediation of the SSB-depression association.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>High SSB consumption was associated with an 18% higher risk of incident depression compared with non-consumers (HR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.11-1.25), with consistent directional associations observed across external supporting datasets. A plasma proteomic signature comprising 229 proteins was constructed using elastic net regularization and was associated with an increased risk of incident depression. Exploratory mediation analyses identified 72 proteins, 36 metabolites, and 5 inflammatory markers as candidate mediators, with IL1RN showing the strongest protein-level candidate mediating effect (9.6%), and Unsaturation and neutrophil count showing the strongest metabolite- and inflammatory marker-level effects, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides preliminary evidence that proteins, metabolites, and inflammatory markers may serve as candidate mediators statistically consistent with mediation of the association between SSB consumption and incident depression. These findings are exploratory and hypothesis-generating, and future experimental studies are needed to validate these candidate pathways and assess their potential as targets for dietary interventions in depression prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13563820/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148295817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Area-level socioeconomic status and children's body weight: examining the role of unhealthy food environments.","authors":"Luis Carmona-Rosado, Julia Díez, Luis Cereijo, José Manuel Díaz-Olalla, Luisa N Borrell, Manuel Franco","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01351-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01351-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with inequities in children's body weight. Yet little is known about whether features of the urban food environment modify this association. We assessed whether and to what extent the availability of unhealthy food retailers modifies the association between area-level SES and weight status among children, overall and by sex.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted an ecological study using individual data from a city-wide representative survey of 3505 children, aged 3 to 12 years living in Madrid, Spain. We measured area-level SES at the census-section level using a composite measure and categorized it into tertiles, with T3 representing the highest area-level SES. Our outcome variables were overweight and obesity, measured using anthropometric data on height and weight. As a potential effect modifier, we examined the availability of unhealthy food retailers around children's households. Using Geographic Information Systems, we calculated 400-m street-network buffers and categorized unhealthy retailers' availability into tertiles. We used Poisson regression models with robust standard errors to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for age, sex, and population density.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, the prevalence estimates for overweight and obesity were 26.2% and 16.6%, respectively. Compared with children living in high-SES areas (T3), those living in the lowest-SES areas (T1) showed a higher prevalence of overweight (PR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.51) and obesity (PR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.75, 3.03). Among children with the lowest exposure to unhealthy food retailers, overweight prevalence was higher for children in low-SES areas than in high-SES areas (PR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.96). For obesity, the prevalence was also higher among children living in low- (T1; PR = 3.96, 95% CI: 2.36, 6.65) and medium-SES areas (T2; PR = 2.40; 95% CI: 1.42, 4.07) relative to those living in high-SES areas (T3). We found a statistically significant interaction between area-level SES and unhealthy food retailer availability for obesity on both additive and multiplicative scales.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings suggest that the urban food environment modifies the association between area-level SES and childhood obesity, whereas the evidence was less consistent for overweight. The persistence of higher obesity prevalence in lower-SES areas, even where exposure to unhealthy food retailers was lower, indicates that food environment interventions may not be sufficient to reduce socioeconomic inequities unless complemented by other structural approaches that address social disadvantage.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13508401/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148265519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food introduction during the first year of life in a Swedish birth cohort - associations with allergy at 6 years of age.","authors":"Mia Stråvik, Anna Sandin, Bill Hesselmar, Agnes E Wold, Malin Barman, Ann-Sofie Sandberg","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01344-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01344-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Diet contains components that may exert broad immunoregulatory properties, including the promotion of tolerance. The timing of food introduction may influence the development of allergies. The aim of this study was to relate the timing of food introduction with doctor's diagnosed allergies (food allergy, atopic eczema, and allergic asthma) at six years of age in a cohort of Swedish infants.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>At six years of age, 430 children from the Swedish NICE birth cohort were assessed for food allergies, atopic eczema, and allergic asthma by a pediatric allergologist. Timing of introduction of 18 predefined foods (potatoes and roots, fruits and/or fruit juice, berries, nuts and/or almonds, peanuts and/or peanut oil, bread and/or biscuits, butter, margarine, vegetable oils, cow's milk, ice cream, sour milk (\"fil\"), yoghurt, meat, fish, eggs, porridge, and gruel) was collected monthly via parent-completed web-based questionnaires. Associations were examined using logistic regression adjusted for allergic heredity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the first year of life, 27% of the children received peanuts and/or peanut oil and 32% nuts and/or almonds. Earlier meat introduction was associated with 24% lower odds of food allergy per month earlier introduced [adjusted OR (95% CI): 0.76 (0.60-0.99), p = 0.028]. A similar tendency was observed for eggs, although not surviving adjustment for allergic heredity. Children with food allergies had been introduced to margarine earlier than non-allergic children [9.0 (5.0-12.0) vs. 12.0 (9.0-12.0) months, p = 0.021], although this finding likely reflects reverse causation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results suggest that earlier introduction of meat may be associated with a lower risk of food allergies later in childhood, although this finding must be interpreted with caution as causality cannot be proven. Timing of food introduction did not appear to be associated with atopic eczema or allergic asthma. Furthermore, our results indicate that recommendations for introduction of potentially allergenic foods during the first year of life were not effectively implemented.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05809479, 12 April 2023, Retrospectively registered.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13274041/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148272345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between food insecurity and healthy ageing: two population-based studies.","authors":"Qi Zhang, Jialu Yang, Yong Wang, Siqi Li, Jiaqi Zhao, Wanlan Chen, Wanying Zhao, Zhaoyan Wu, Feng Li, Liyin Zhang, Yijia Guo, Lei Lu, Min Xia, Xiaotao Zhou, Yan Liu","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01347-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01347-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Food insecurity, defined as limited or uncertain access to enough food, has been epidemiologically associated with cardiovascular diseases, mental health and cognitive decline. However, its association with healthy ageing remains obscure.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine the association between food security and healthy ageing using data from two US population-based surveys: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, a total of 42,147 and 3,020 participants aged 60 years and older were included from NHIS (2011-2018) and NHANES (2011-2014), respectively. Food security was assessed using the USDA Adult Food Security Survey Module, and healthy ageing was defined with the consideration of chronic diseases, cognitive function, physical limitations, mental and self-perceived health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In both cohorts, food security was significantly associated with each component of healthy ageing, even after controlling for demographic, lifestyles and metabolic comorbidities. Notably, food security was linked to substantially increased likelihoods of healthy ageing (NHIS: OR = 2.24, 95%CI: 1.98 to 2.54; NHANES: OR = 3.32, 95%CI: 1.59 to 6.94). The positive association between food security and healthy ageing was largely consistent across subgroups stratified by gender, race, lifestyle factors and obesity status.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Food security was associated with higher odds of healthy ageing, highlighting the public health relevance of food security in relation to multidimensional healthy ageing, especially in resource-constrained areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13632121/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148252183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Breastfeeding and subsequent risk of 24 types of maternal cancer: a cohort study of Chinese women.","authors":"Zhicheng Luo, Wenqiong Wu, Xianzhen Liao, Kekui Xu, Yanhua Zou, Zhaohui Shi, Yingyun Hu, Haifan Xiao, Can Li, Shiyu Cao, Shiyu Wang, Jia Guo, Senmao Zhang, Shipeng Yan","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01346-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01346-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Existing epidemiological evidence on breastfeeding and cancer risks is inconsistent, and no studies have thoroughly examined the relationship between breastfeeding and each site-specific cancer in China. We aimed to investigate these associations among parous Chinese women.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 157,454 participants aged 40-75 years from 2012 to 2021 were recruited. Cox proportional hazards model was applied to explore the association between breastfeeding behaviors and cancer risks by hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>5,542 incident cancer cases were identified with a median follow-up of 4.81 years. The history of breastfeeding was statistically significantly associated with lower risk of breast cancer in the multivariate-adjusted model (HR = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.65-0.94). In addition, the risk of gallbladder cancer increased with increasing months of total breastfeeding (P-trend = 0.039), with a 51% increase in risk for each additional 12 months of breastfeeding (HR = 1.51, 95%CI: 1.12-2.02). The risk of breast cancer decreased with increasing months of total breastfeeding (P-trend = 0.015), with a 15% reduction in risk for each additional 12 months of breastfeeding (HR = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.76-0.95). The subgroup analyses according to menopausal status shows significant separations for colon-rectum cancer, uterus cancer, oesophagus cancer, and larynx cancer (all P-interaction < 0.05). In addition, significant linear associations were suggested concerning gallbladder cancer (P-overall = 0.0302, P-nonlinear = 0.6558) and breast cancer (P-overall = 0.0175, P-nonlinear = 0.5544).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides further support for the role of breastfeeding behavior in overall cancer and its 24 site-specific cancers.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13487942/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148218755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of L-BAIBA supplementation with and without grains of paradise on changes in resting metabolic rate, body composition, and cardiometabolic risk factors.","authors":"Leah E Allen, Paige J Sutton, Alex Schrautemeier, Kevin Holley, Connor J Gaige, Joesi M Krieger, Anthony M Hagele, Karenina Antequera Gutierrez, Petey W Mumford, Chad M Kerksick","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01349-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01349-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Strategies to augment weight loss, fitness, and body composition are in high demand. The myokine beta-amino-isobutyric acid (BAIBA) has been shown to increase fat loss, while grains of paradise (GOP), a member of the ginger family, may aid weight loss by reducing appetite and increasing thermogenesis.Purpose To evaluate the impact of 56 days of supplementing with L-BAIBA or L-BAIBA + GOP (BGOP) on resting metabolic rate, body composition, perceptual indicators of mood and affect, and cardiometabolic markers in overweight and obese men and women. MethodsHealthy men and women (43.2 ± 11.4 years, 169.4 ± 7.6 cm, 90.3 ± 15.6 kg, 31.4 ± 4.4 kg∙m-2) completed a weekly exercise program and followed a calorie-restrictive diet and were randomly assigned in a double-blind and blocked manner according to sex and DXA lean mass to consume daily either a placebo (PLA) (n=12 [11F, 1M]), 500 mg L-BAIBA (L-BAIBA: MitoBurn™, NNB Nutrition) (n=13 [9F, 4M]), or 500 mg L-BAIBA + 40 mg GOP (BGOP: CaloriBurn™, NNB Nutrition) (n=12 [8F, 4M]). After 0, 14, 28, and 56 days of supplementation, participants were evaluated for changes in body mass, body composition using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), resting metabolic rate, perceptual indicators of hunger, appetite, energy, focus, attention, and concentration using 100-mm anchored visual analog scales (VAS) and mood using the Profile of Mood States along with evaluation of selected cardiometabolic markers. Dietary intake was evaluated using 3-day dietary recalls using ASA24 throughout the study. Mixed factorial ANOVAs with repeated measures assessed the main and interaction effects. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine statistical outcomes.ResultsNo statistically significant group × time interactions (p>0.05) were found for body mass, resting metabolic rate, DXA fat mass, DXA fat-free mass, DXA % fat, VAS ratings for appetite, energy, focus, attention, and concentration, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, or lipid panel component. A significant group × time interaction (p = 0.011) for hunger VAS ratings was observed. Compared with PLA, BAIBA reported reduced hunger ratings after 14, 28, and 56 days of supplementation, while BGOP reported reduced hunger ratings after 28 days of supplementation. Conclusion Despite no accompanying changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate, or dietary intake, supplementation with BAIBA and BGOP reduced perceived hunger compared to PLA during the diet and exercise program.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13483710/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148218747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oxidative balance score, genetic susceptibility, and the risk of pancreatic cancer: a population-based cohort study.","authors":"Yashu Liu, Peng Liu, Daixuan Cui, Xiang Ji, Wen Li, Yuqian Li, Yuhong Zhao, Xiaodong Tan, Yang Xia","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01348-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01348-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers, largely due to its prolonged asymptomatic progression. Identifying and mitigating risk factors is critical for reducing PC incidence. Although oxidative balance score (OBS) is a potential modifiable factor for preventive interventions, its association with PC risk remains unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study included 157,527 participants from the UK Biobank, all of whom were free of PC at baseline. OBS was calculated using 16 diet-lifestyle components derived from a validated self-reported questionnaire. A higher OBS indicates a profile richer in antioxidant factors and is thus considered potentially protective. A genetic risk score for PC was constructed based on 44 established PC susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms. Cox proportional hazards models were employed to assess the associations between OBS and incident PC, adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, clinical factors, and genetic covariates. Multiple sensitivity analyses, including Fine and Gray competing risk analysis, were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over an average follow-up of 9.96 years, 513 participants developed PC. In the overall population, participants in the highest quartiles of OBS had lower adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% confidence intervals [CI]) for PC: 0.71 (0.54, 0.94), compared to those in the lowest quartiles. Similarly, men in the highest OBS quintile had significantly reduced PC risk, with an adjusted HR of 0.57 (95% CI: 0.39-0.82). However, no significant association was observed between OBS and PC in women (HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.61-1.40). No significant interaction between OBS with sex and genetic susceptibility was found.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>OBS was inversely associated with PC risk in men, suggesting that promoting a healthy lifestyle to increase OBS could lead to an associated reduction in PC burden.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13483589/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148212035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations between diet, metabolome, gut microbiota and blood pressure in Australian adults.","authors":"Jordan Stanford, Holly Supple, Clare E Collins, Erin D Clarke","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01336-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01336-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Early metabolomic and microbial markers of blood pressure (BP) dysregulation may be detectable before clinical hypertension develops. This exploratory study aimed to examine associations among dietary intake, BP, metabolomic profiles (plasma and urine), and gut microbiota composition. A secondary aim was to assess whether circulating metabolites mediate relationships between significant dietary factors and BP.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomised cross-over trial. Usual dietary intake was assessed using the Australian Eating Survey (AES)^® - Heart version Food Frequency Questionnaire. In-clinic BP measurements were measured and participants provided plasma, urine, and stool samples. Plasma and urine were analysed via untargeted metabolomics. Stool samples were collected for shotgun metagenomic sequencing, though metagenomic data was not included in this analysis. Associations between BP, individual metabolites, microbial taxa, and alpha diversity were assessed using linear regression with false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Causal mediation analysis was performed using nonparametric bootstrapping.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Thirty-four Australian adults (mean age: 38.4 ± 18.1 years; 52.9% female) had complete data at baseline. Nut intake (servings/day and % energy) was the only dietary factor significantly associated with systolic BP (SBP), with higher intake linked to a 1.13 mmHg reduction. Twenty-nine plasma lipid metabolites were significantly associated with SBP after FDR correction. Of these, nine lipid-related metabolites, particularly 1,2-dilinoleoyl-GPC (18:2/18:2) and 1-linoleoyl-GPC (18:2), were observed to partially mediate the nut-SBP relationship. No urinary metabolites or microbial taxa were significantly associated with BP.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this exploratory cross-sectional study, specific lipid metabolites were associated with SBP and partly accounted for the nut-SBP association. These hypothesis-generating findings suggest potential biomarkers of nut intake and BP regulation, warranting confirmation in larger longitudinal, interventional, and mechanistic studies.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Registration number ACTRN12622001321730, Registration date 12/10/2022).</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13488066/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148218660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Incorporating Euglena gracilis into the habitual diet modulates immune function and reduces common cold-like symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Ayaka Nakashima, Wataru Okamoto, Yuka Marukawa-Hashimoto, Tsuyoshi Takara","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01350-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01350-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dietary approaches to support immune function have emphasized the importance of dietary fiber, including non-digestible polysaccharides, although intake remains below recommended levels in many populations. In this context, microalgae have attracted attention as sustainable sources of these components. Euglena gracilis, a microalga used in foods, contains paramylon, a β-1,3-glucan with reported immunomodulatory properties; however, its effects on plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) activation in humans within a dietary context remain incompletely understood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effects of 8-week E. gracilis intake (1,000 mg/day) on immune function and common cold symptoms in healthy Japanese adults. A total of 200 participants were randomized, of whom 181 (91 in the Euglena group and 90 in the placebo group) were included in the per-protocol analysis. The primary endpoint was the change in the log-transformed median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD86 on pDCs at Week 8.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis using a linear mixed model revealed that the mean ± standard deviation of the log-transformed CD86 MFI at Week 8 was higher in the Euglena group than in the placebo group (placebo: 7.0 ± 2.1; Euglena: 7.7 ± 0.4; group difference 0.7; 95% confidence interval 0.2-1.1; P = 0.004). As exploratory secondary outcomes, the circulating monocyte percentage was higher and the incidence of common cold symptoms-including chills, fatigue, sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, and headache-was lower in the Euglena group than in the placebo group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest that daily consumption of E. gracilis may support immune function and be associated with a reduced incidence of common cold-like symptoms. The intervention was well tolerated, with no adverse events reported and no clinically meaningful changes in hematological or urinalysis parameters. These findings support the potential of E. gracilis consumption as a viable dietary strategy.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000056125.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13483718/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148205836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Public knowledge of ultra-processed foods: Insights from a national survey of Australian adults.","authors":"Priscila Machado, Emily Denniss, Catherine G Russell, Neha Khandpur, Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, Cherie Russell, Kamila Gabe, Sarah A McNaughton","doi":"10.1186/s12937-026-01345-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12937-026-01345-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are increasingly recognised as major contributors to diet-related chronic diseases, environmental deterioration and cultural impacts. While the salience of the UPF concept in societal discourse has also grown substantially in recent years, public knowledge of UPFs remains unclear. This study aimed to explore public knowledge of, and attributes associated with, UPFs in Australia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data included cross-sectional national survey involving 1,086 adults (20-64 years) living in Australia. Data collection occurred between June and July 2024 using a piloted questionnaire administered via Qualtrics market research services. Sociodemographic characteristics and prior awareness about UPFs were collected. The survey included open-ended questions, free-listing tasks, UPF functional knowledge measures (e.g., identification of UPFs among 20 images of products; Food Processing Knowledge (FoodProK) Score), and triadic sorting techniques (used to identify attributes associated with UPFs). Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to examine associations between the number of items correctly identified as UPFs, and FoodProK scores, with socio-demographic characteristics. Open-ended responses to the main survey question 'What comes to your mind when you think of the term 'ultra-processed foods' were analysed using Leximancer, a content analysis software, to identify dominant concepts and themes. Attributes reported through the triad sorting techniques were thematically analysed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixty-four percent of participants reported awareness of the UPF term. The dominant concepts and themes in participants' responses reflected key characteristics of UPFs (e.g., presence of industrial ingredients) and main examples were fast-food meals and soft drinks. Most participants (85%) were able to correctly identify non-UPFs, and 45% were able to correctly identify UPFs, with multigrain bread and flavoured yoghurt misclassified most often. Socio-demographic differences were observed, with women, people with higher education, Non-Indigenous people and those with prior awareness about UPFs being more likely to correctly identify UPFs. Attributes associated with UPFs included presence of artificial ingredients, low nutritional quality, convenience, and affordability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this national survey, most participants were aware of the concept of UPFs and could identify key UPF characteristics, however some UPF items were often misclassified. Future research could explore how UPF knowledge influences diet, the factors shaping this knowledge, and interventions and policies to improve knowledge and reduce UPF consumption.</p>","PeriodicalId":19203,"journal":{"name":"Nutrition Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13459941/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148176332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}