Forum of Nutrition最新文献

{"title":"'Local Food-Nutraceuticals': bridging the gap between local knowledge and global needs.","authors":"Michael Heinrich,&nbsp;Sabine Nebel,&nbsp;Marco Leonti,&nbsp;Diego Rivera,&nbsp;Concepción Obón","doi":"10.1159/000095205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095205","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Food use is changing very fast all over the world. This and other changes (e.g. reduced physical activity, increased longevity) result in novel health risks for the populations in European countries and beyond. Also, in recent decades the convenience food market has grown dramatically and offers novel opportunities for small and large industries alike. Simultaneously, there is a dramatic and irrevocable loss of the local knowledge which forms the basis of many cultural traditions (traditional food knowledge--TFK). The Mediterranean region is well known for a dietary tradition commonly called 'Mediterranean diet(s)', which is renowned for health benefits based among others on widely consumed foods and beverages. While the focus of research has mostly been on the more widely used elements of the Mediterranean diets (especially olive oil and red wine), in this review the focus is on 'local food'. These are ingredients, which are gathered, grown or produced locally and prepared into dishes, which often represent local specialities. Such food is derived from animals, fungi and plants, but in this paper the main subject is food of botanical origin. Particularly important among these local foods are vegetables and salads derived from wild greens (gathered food plants--GFPs) and local cultivars of fruit trees and shrubs. In this review we discuss the theoretical basis (including the concept of traditional knowledge systems) and general approach of an EU-funded multidisciplinary ethnobotanicalpharmacological project focusing on the use of such local resources in several regions of the Mediterranean including the ethnobotanical documentation of food products of selected communities in southern Italy, Spain, Greece (mostly Crete), the identification of extracts/pure compounds (leads for new health food supplements) with potent activity on a series of in vitro targets, especially ones relevant to assess for antioxidant activity, the more detailed in vivo study of some lead extracts and lastly the dissemination of such TFK in local/national languages.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095205","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gathered Mediterranean food plants--ethnobotanical investigations and historical development.","authors":"Diego Rivera,&nbsp;Concepción Obón,&nbsp;Michael Heinrich,&nbsp;Cristina Inocencio,&nbsp;Alonso Verde,&nbsp;José Fajardo","doi":"10.1159/000095207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095207","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The diversity of local Mediterranean food elements is not known in detail, but offers itself to search for new vegetables, salads, fruits and spices which could be used in to enrich diets outside their region of origin. Most amid those interesting local elements are edible wild plants and weeds. Ethnobotanical research has identified ca. 2,300 different plant and fungi taxa, which are gathered and consumed in the Mediterranean. Among these, >1,000 are only consumed in one single zone, therefore are strictly local. The percentage of local gathered food plant (GFP) taxa (present in <5 samples), is higher in the main centers of diversity at the periphery of the Mediterranean (Sahara, Alps, Caucasus, Canary Islands, the Levant). Islands (Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus) also show a high proportion. Endemism of GFP taxa only accounts for a limited number of these 'ethnobotanical endemics' (only ca. 350 are endemic/ endangered species). On the other hand, only a few taxa--30 occurring in >20 samples--are consumed in most of the Mediterranean. Most have been analyzed in the Local Food- Nutraceuticals project. The ca. 800 GFP taxa that occur in more than the 5% of localities show a geographical pattern that permits one to recognize seven geographical groups. These groups show relationships with types of Mediterranean diet and could also be related with human genetic polymorphism through long-term co-evolution in a geographical mosaic pattern.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"18-74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095207","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Disseminating knowledge about 'Local Food Plants' and 'Local Plant Foods'.","authors":"Diego Rivera,&nbsp;Michael Heinrich,&nbsp;Concepción Obón,&nbsp;Cristina Inocencio,&nbsp;Sabine Nebel,&nbsp;Alonso Verde,&nbsp;José Fajardo","doi":"10.1159/000095208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ethnobotanical approaches to the study of Mediterranean food plants offer novel ways for analyzing and preserving traditional knowledge and agrobiodiversity in the Mediterranean area. This article highlights our strategy to increase the awareness within traditional knowledge systems and encourage the continuous evolution of it, avoiding the loss of substantial parts of the local cultural and biological diversity. The strategy is part of a broader stream of thought, which does attempt to disseminate information locally in a multitude of ways, e.g. through a range of publications in rural or urban zones, to people with or without formal education, to children or the elderly. This article is a very personal account of the experience of the authors, but there is an urgent need to assess the impact of such activities on a broader level, and, also, to reassess the impact researchers have on the communities. Our clear impression in all field sites has been that the simple fact that such traditional knowledge systems are the focus of scientific investigation are an essential element of giving renewed sociocultural value to such knowledge and that activities like the ones described here are of great interest to the communities we worked in.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"75-85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095208","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A vegetable to meat consumption ratio as a relevant factor determining cancer preventive diet. The Mediterranean versus other European countries.","authors":"Maria Kapiszewska","doi":"10.1159/000095211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095211","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The observed growth of cancer incidence in certain regions has been usually linked to frequent consumption of 'unhealthy' food. Such food often contains genotoxic substances as heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbones (PAHs), occurring during food preparation, which induce DNA damage in cells. These substances are mainly formed during frying or grilling of meat and they can be removed from the body in a two-stage metabolic process of detoxification (phase 1 and phase 2). If they are not excreted, they form DNA adducts. The effectiveness of detoxification depends on the activity of enzymes encoded by polymorphic genes. A diet containing plenty of fruits and vegetables, due to the presence of biologically active polyphenols, can modulate activity of detoxifying enzymes. Such a diet can decrease the extent of DNA adducts, breaks and oxidative damage, supporting the body's enzymatic system in sufficient removal of DNA damage. The antioxidant vitamins' content in such a diet also enhances the DNA protection by increasing the scavenging of radical oxidative species that occurs during metabolic reactions. The lack of balance between the amount of 'unhealthy' and 'healthy' food leads to the accumulation of unrepaired damage, initiating DNA instability and inducing cancer development. Such damage is often used as a biomarker of cancer risk in epidemiological studies. Moreover, in in vitro studies, the amount of the DNA damage is used as indicator of the protective ability of vitamins, plant extracts and/or individual flavonoids. The incidences of certain dietaryrelated cancers in European Mediterranean countries is lower than in Central and Northern European countries; there is simultaneously variation in the habitual diet in these regions. This suggests that some features of routine nutrition in the Mediterranean countries may be responsible for this preventing effect. However, inconsistency in the epidemiological data, associating the meat and fruit and vegetable intake with cancer risk, suggests that another strategy for evaluation dietary influence on cancer risk should be undertaken. This article argues that it is not the consumption of a single food product or an individual component of diet, but rather a proper ratio of vegetable to meat consumption that is responsible for cancer prevention. This hypothesis is tested comparing the association between certain dietaryrelated cancer incidences (colon & rectum, breast and prostate cancer), registered in 2002, with the ratio between consumption of these two groups of food products in the Mediterranean region and in Central and Northern European region over the last three decades. The results clearly showed that both the ratio between vegetables and meat consumption as well as the ratio between the amount of energy from vegetables and from animal products can be used successfully to evaluate the dietary pattern related to cancer risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"130-153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095211","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mediterranean diet as a nutrition education and dietary guide: misconceptions and the neglected role of locally consumed foods and wild green plants.","authors":"Yannis Manios,&nbsp;Vivian Detopoulou,&nbsp;Francesco Visioli,&nbsp;Claudio Galli","doi":"10.1159/000095212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095212","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the middle of the previous century the Seven Countries Study first revealed the health benefits of the traditional Cretan diet. The Cretan diet was subsequently used as a basis to form the worldwide known 'Mediterranean diet'. This dietary scheme was visualized as a food pyramid, aimed to constitute a nutrition education tool and guide for the general public and scientific community. However, the way this dietary guide has been perceived by both the public and in certain cases by the scientific community may be oversimplified. From the nutritional point of view, some of the neglected parts of this diet concern the role of locally consumed wild greens, herbs, walnuts, figs and snails, all sources of n-3 fatty acids. The above foods with the addition of fish provide a n-6:n-3 ratio of 2:1 whereas in Northern Europe and the USA the same ratio is 10-20:1. Moreover, the flavonoid and antioxidant content of the traditional Cretan diet may have been underestimated. Despite the increasing knowledge on the bioprotective profile of the traditional Cretan diet, there is a need to revisit the way this knowledge is transferred to the public emphasizing the importance of some neglected food items and nutrients.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"154-170"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095212","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26207015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plant foods and brain aging: a critical appraisal.","authors":"S Schaffer,&nbsp;G P Eckert,&nbsp;S Schmitt-Schillig,&nbsp;W E Müller","doi":"10.1159/000095209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the 21st century, human aging will be one of the biggest challenges for most societies throughout the world. The decline in human fitness is a typical hallmark of the aging process. Aside from the cardiovascular system, the brain most often suffers significantly from the life-long impact of stressors, such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Oxytosis, i.e. oxidative stress-induced cell death, has been identified to play a major role in the development and onset of chronic diseases. Foods, especially of plant origin, are rich in antioxidants and numerous in vivo data suggest that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables supports the maintenance of animal and human health. These beneficial effects also extend to the central nervous system, which, due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier, tightly controls the influx of metabolites and nutrients. In earlier studies the impact of antioxidant vitamins, such as alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid, on brain health has been of interest. Recently, the focus moved to assessing the potential of unsaturated fatty acids and secondary plant metabolites, particularly of polyphenols, to act as neuroprotectants. Considerable experimental evidence suggests that polyphenols and other plant-derived bioactivities affect animal and human brain function not only by directly lowering oxidative stress load but also by modulating various signal transduction pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"86-115"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095209","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of bioactive substances for functional foods--scientific and other aspects.","authors":"Peter Weber,&nbsp;Beat Flühmann,&nbsp;Manfred Eggersdorfer","doi":"10.1159/000095213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095213","url":null,"abstract":"The discovery and development of bioactive substances and their use in the manufacture of food products has the potential to contribute to the optimal health of populations and in reducing the risk of chronic disease. In assessing the efficacy of these substances in man, the concept of biomarkers could play a key role. However, it is the validation of such biomarkers which is crucial to the eventual availability of foods containing bioactive substances. Determining the safety and efficacy of these substances, and in particular in establishing claims, requires close cooperation between industry, regulatory authorities and the scientific community.","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"171-181"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095213","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26207016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Local food and cardioprotection: the role of phytochemicals.","authors":"Francesco Visioli,&nbsp;Paola Bogani,&nbsp;Simona Grande,&nbsp;Vivian Detopoulou,&nbsp;Yannis Manios,&nbsp;Claudio Galli","doi":"10.1159/000095210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000095210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For decades, most of the attention of nutritionists and health professionals has focused on the impact of the major dietary components, such as the amounts and types of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and fibers, on human health. However, interest in the role of minor components is rapidly growing. Many constituents of plants are non-nutritional compounds that play key roles in plant physiology and interactions with the environment. Over the past few years, we performed human studies to ascertain the health effects of Mediterranean foods such as extra virgin olive oil and tomatoes. Recently, we became interested in endothelial dysfunction and its implications in aging. To study the effects of local food plants on vascular function, plants were collected in Southern Italy. Extracts were first tested for their antioxidant activity in a variety of assays. The effects on the production of vasorelaxant factors were then investigated in cell culture. Finally, aged rats were fed with a wild artichoke extract and their vasomotion responsiveness was evaluated. In synthesis, the data uniformly demonstrate that phytochemical components of the Mediterranean diet exert cardioprotective effects whose mechanisms are being progressively elucidated.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"59 ","pages":"116-129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000095210","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26208153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Organic foods: do they have a role?","authors":"U. Köpke","doi":"10.1159/000083769","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000083769","url":null,"abstract":"Nutritional quality is defined as the value of the product for the consumer's physical health, growth, development, reproduction and psychological or emotional well-being. This extended definition of nutritional quality can be divided into two terms. One term is for the effects of food determined by its substance, i.e., the sum of all ingredients, beneficial and harmful compounds and their nutritional (or biological) aspects. As a function of inherent inconsistencies ranging from soil and climate differences to effects of cultivars, seasons and agricultural practices, differences in desirable ingredients are less pronounced compared with undesirable ingredients. Where differences are detected, the higher product quality is mostly found in organic produce. A potential advantage of organic agriculture in producing healthy foods is based on higher concentrations of beneficial secondary plant substances in organically grown crops compared to nonorganically grown crops. The second term of nutritional quality covers the feelings of well-being (or indisposition) that certain foods can induce in consumers. Organic agriculture has been confirmed as environmentally sound and more sustainable than mainstream agriculture. Related to this knowledge, the consumer's well-being is based on indulgence and the certainty that by purchasing, eating and enjoying organic food, one has contributed to a better future and an improved environment. These effects with their social implications along with improved animal welfare may, in the end, be more important than any measurable contribution of balanced Western diets to individual nutritional health.","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":"39 1","pages":"62-72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91193199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mixed diet in Europe. A historical overview.","authors":"Uwe Spiekermann","doi":"10.1159/000083751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000083751","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Successful health promotion in Europe depends on an adequate knowledge of everyday nutrition. An analysis of consumption structures and eating patterns is therefore a basic scientific task. This paper has two main aims: on the one hand it gives empirical data on European food consumption during the last 50 years. On the other hand it stresses the scientific problems of constructing and reflecting a 'diet' or 'everyday nutrition'.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The paper starts with a discussion on the different levels of a 'diet' and gives some hints for an adequate analysis of an eating culture. Empirical data is presented, first of all consumption figures, then information on single 'national' dishes and last on meals in the former European Economic Community.</p><p><strong>Results/conclusion: </strong>The empirical analysis shows the complex structure of European eating culture. Health promotion cannot be founded on simple consumption figures, because they do not reflect everyday nutrition in an adequate way. A successful policy needs to be founded on a detailed knowledge of dishes, meals and symbols of eating; and it has to reflect the problems of one-sided awareness of nutritionists and doctors.</p>","PeriodicalId":55148,"journal":{"name":"Forum of Nutrition","volume":" 57","pages":"11-35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000083751","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"24950330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}