AJCN June, 2010 – SUMMARY – See this, longer synopses, and links to published articles further down this page at DETAILS at yourdesignmockup.com/personal-health.

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LOTS OF ARTICLES ON PREGNANCY NUTRITION
1. Proper diet in first trimester is vital – Results: After adjustment of multivariate models, a positive association was observed between diet quality and adjusted birth weight and adjusted birth length.
2.Prepregnancy obesity has terrible consequences – Maternal obesity and birth defects – Parental obesity increases risk of children’s obesity
3. Six cups of caffeine daily causes problems

LOTS OF BENEFICIAL DIET, SUPPLEMENT STUDIES 4. Lycopene intake reduces cancer risk
4. No Fours diet reduces women’s ovarian cancer risk
5. Eating refined carbohydrates is at least as harmful as eating saturated fat
6. Moderate alcohol intake reduces diabetes risk 40%
7. Resveratrol helps brain blood circulation – [link to source for resveratrol] 8. Vitamin D status decreases risk for diabetes
9. 45 mg zinc daily increases immune status – Daily value is only 15 mg.
10. Lycopene intake reduces cancer risk

AND A COUPLE OF BEHAVIOR SUGGESTIONS
11. Lack of sleep causes overeating
12. Binge eating leads to metabolic syndrome

AJCN May, 2010 -DETAILS

1. Proper diet in first trimester is vital – Results: After adjustment of multivariate models, a positive association was observed between diet quality and adjusted birth weight and adjusted birth length.
2.Prepregnancy obesity has terrible consequences – Recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the years 2007–2008 showed that over a third of women ages 20–39 y in the United States are obese [defined as a body mass index of 30]. ..Overall, women who are obese are more likely to experience chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and some cancers (2). Additional risks faced by reproductive-aged women who are obese comprise an increased risk of infertility as well as complications during pregnancy, including gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, thromboembolic disease, and cesarean delivery. Prepregnancy obesity also has adverse effects on the fetus and infant, with associations observed between maternal obesity and spontaneous abortion, fetal death, macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, and childhood obesity (3, 4). Maternal obesity and birth defects – Conclusions: Obese, but not overweight, women are at significantly increased risk of bearing children with a range of congenital heart defects, and the risk increases with increasing BMI. Parental obesity increases risk of children’s obesity – Conclusions: There is a strong and graded association between parental weight status and risk of childhood obesity, which is significantly stronger for maternal weight. Parental obesity could be used to target preventive interventions in the preschool years to avoid serious adverse effects on the future health of children. Further reason to avoid obesity during pregnancy – Objective: We explored associations between gestational weight gain and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births, large-for-gestational-age (LGA) births, spontaneous preterm births (sPTBs), and medically indicated preterm births (iPTBs) among obese women who were stratified by severity of obesity. Yet another confirmation.
3. Six cups of caffeine daily causes problems – Objective: We examined the associations of maternal caffeine intake, on the basis of coffee and tea consumption, with fetal growth characteristics measured in each trimester of pregnancy and the risks of adverse birth outcomes…Conclusions: Our results suggest that caffeine intake of 6 units/d during pregnancy is associated with impaired fetal length growth.

4. No Fours diet reduces women’s ovarian cancer risk – Conclusion: Our results suggest that low consumption of processed meat and higher consumption of poultry and fish may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

5. Eating refined carbohydrates is at least as harmful as eating saturated fat – For several decades, the diet-heart paradigm that high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol increases the risk of atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been the driving force behind national and international dietary recommendations for prevention of IHD (1)…The changed landscape in obesity and dietary patterns suggests a need to reassess the dominant diet-heart paradigm and related dietary recommendations, ie, the strategy of replacing total and saturated fats with carbohydrates. A recent pooled analysis of 11 American and European cohort studies (n = 344,696 persons) found no association between decreased risk of IHD and replacement of saturated fat with carbohydrates; indeed, the approach was associated with a slightly increased risk (2)…the term complex carbohydrates is not useful in characterizing the quality of carbohydrates. More useful indicators of carbohydrate quality include the amount and type of fiber, the extent of processing, and glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL). Each of these characteristics represents partially overlapping but physiologically independent aspects of carbohydrate quality. The complete study

6. Moderate alcohol intake reduces diabetes risk 40% – Conclusion: In subjects already at lower risk of type 2 diabetes on the basis of multiple low-risk lifestyle behaviors, moderate alcohol consumption was associated with an 40% lower risk compared with abstention.

7. Resveratrol helps brain blood circulation – Conclusion: These results showed that single doses of orally administered resveratrol can modulate cerebral blood flow variables. [link to source for resveratrol]

8. Vitamin D status decreases risk for diabetes – Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher vitamin D status is associated with decreased risk of T2D.

9. 45 mg zinc daily increases immune status – Daily value is only 15 mg. Design: To examine these effects, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo trial of zinc supplementation in elderly subjects. We recruited 40 healthy elderly subjects (aged 56–83 y) and randomly assigned them to 2 groups. One group was given an oral dose of 45 mg zinc/d as a gluconate for 6 mo. Conclusion: These findings suggest that zinc may have a protective effect in atherosclerosis because of its antiinflammatory and antioxidant functions.

10. Lycopene intake reduces cancer risk – Background: Prospective studies indicate that tomato consumers are protected against prostate cancer. Lycopene has been hypothesized to be responsible for tomato health benefits. Conclusion: Dietary lycopene can affect gene expression… after consumption of red tomato paste and purified lycopene.

11. Lack of sleep causes overeating – Conclusions: One night of reduced sleep subsequently increased food intake and, to a lesser extent, estimated physical activity–related energy expenditure in healthy men…sleep restriction could be a factor that promotes obesity.

12. Binge eating leads to metabolic syndrome – Conclusion: Binge-eating disorder may confer a risk of components of the metabolic syndrome over and above the risk attributable to obesity alone.

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-Roc, Nutrition Investigator

“None but the foolish fritter away the mighty opportunity offered by having attained human birth.” -The Diamond Sutra