AJCN Nov, 2005

[Understand your particular situation for diet and heart disease risk] Jose M Ordovas, Diet-heart hypothesis: will diversity bring reconciliation?, Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 919-920. …Whereas medical societies and government bodies have embraced the concept of nutrition as a major player in the epidemic of CVD and potentially in its control (6), some scientists remain skeptical about the diet-cholesterol-heart disease connection (4, 5)…As in previous studies, the magnitude of individual variability in the response of plasma lipids to dietary intervention was astonishing. .. The other relevant outcome of the study relates to the results obtained for the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, also known as the atherogenic ratio. Higher values have been associated with an increased CVD risk…However, when low-fat diets are provided ad libitum and result in weight loss, they have the positive effect of reducing LDL-cholesterol concentrations without the potential downsides of decreasing HDL-cholesterol concentrations and increasing triacylglycerol concentrations (11). ..Thus, if the individual has insulin resistance or is obese, the primary emphasis should be in normalizing those conditions to achieve the maximum benefit of the hypocholesterolemic diets…This approach will break with the traditional public health approach of one size fits all. ..

[more related to milk controversy – some protein is good for bones; too much protein (and soda like coca-cola) contributes to acid that is really bad for bones] Anthony Sebastian, Dietary protein content and the diet’s net acid load: opposing effects on bone health , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 921-922…We consider their findings of potential importance not only for children and adolescents but also for adults because of the controversy that prevails about whether dietary protein has an anabolic or catabolic effect on bone. ..After adjustment for potential confounders, they found significant associations of protein intake with improved bone variables, ..At the same time, they found significant negative associations of the diet’s net acid load with those variables. Higher long-term protein intakes were thus associated with the bone variables as an anabolic factor, whereas higher long-term diet-dependent net acid loads were associated with those variables as a catabolic factor. The net effect proved anabolic…

[lose weight SAFELY with exercise] Samuel Klein et al , Obesity in older adults: technical review and position statement of the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO, The Obesity Society , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 923-934…The current data show that weight-loss therapy improves physical function, quality of life, and the medical complications associated with obesity in older persons. Therefore, weight-loss therapy that minimizes muscle and bone losses is recommended for older persons who are obese and who have functional impairments or medical complications that can benefit from weight loss.

[how fast you naturally burn calories depends mostly on muscle mass, not body weight or age] John R Speakman et al, Factors influencing variation in basal metabolic rate include fat-free mass, fat mass, age, and circulating thyroxine but not sex, circulating leptin, or triiodothyronine , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 941-948…[abbreviations: fat-free mass (FFM); fat mass (FM), basal metabolic rate (BMR)] 63% was explained by FFM, 6% by FM, and 2% by age…Conclusions: Our data confirm that both FFM and FM are significant contributors to BMR.

[drink low fat milk] Miguel Angel Martínez-González et al, Low-fat dairy consumption and reduced risk of hypertension: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 972-979. ..Conclusion: In this Mediterranean cohort, low-fat dairy consumption, but not whole-fat dairy consumption, was associated with a lower risk of incident hypertension.

[why people crave sweetened beverages] Jeroen van der Grond et al, Functional magnetic resonance imaging of human hypothalamic responses to sweet taste and calories , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 1011-1016 …Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both sweet taste and energy content are required for a hypothalamic response. The combination of sweet taste and energy content could be crucial in triggering adaptive responses to sweetened beverages.

[iron supplements often do not work and cause harm] Michele Reyes et al, Iron supplement use and iron status among US adults: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 1024-1031…Results: Healthy adults who took supplements containing average daily amounts of iron at 3 times the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) did not have significantly higher iron transport or stores than did those who did not take supplements…Conclusion: Supplement users should be made aware of the amount of iron necessary to satisfy dietary requirements and informed of the possible influence that excess iron intake can have on body iron stores and health.

[need exercise more as you age] Robert R Wolfe et al, Aging is associated with diminished accretion of muscle proteins after the ingestion of a small bolus of essential amino acids, Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 1065-1073. …Conclusions: These data indicate that aging results in a diminished accretion of muscle proteins after ingestion of a small dose of Essential Amino Acids. These findings may have practical implications with respect to the amount of protein contained in supplements given to the elderly for enhancing the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis.

[food better than calcium supplements] Frances Tylavsky et al, Effects of calcium, dairy product, and vitamin D supplementation on bone mass accrual and body composition in 10-12-y-old girls: a 2-y randomized trial , Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 1115-1126….calcium supplementation with cheese resulted in a higher percentage change in cortical thickness of the tibia than did placebo, calcium, or calcium + vitamin D..Conclusions: Increasing calcium intake by consuming cheese appears to be more beneficial for cortical bone mass accrual than the consumption of tablets containing a similar amount of calcium. ..

Karrie Heneman, Dietary Supplements—A Framework for Evaluating Safety: by the Committee on the Framework for Evaluating the Safety of Dietary Supplements, Food and Nutrition Board, Board on Life Sciences, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies, 2004, 506 pages, hardcover, $59.95. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 1144..”40% of Americans currently use some form of these products [dietary supplements]”