Preventing Infant Obesity - It’s Never too Soon to Start

Obesity in early childhood tracks to later childhood, with associated risks for adverse outcomes such as heart disease evident as early as age 3. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10.4% of US children aged 2-5 years are obese (BMI for age ≥ 95th percentile). Remarkably, the rate for infants under age 2 is estimated to be even higher at 12.5%. Although an Expert Committee recently declined to recommend energy restriction as a means to reduce weight in infants, it is nevertheless true that overweight status in infancy carries its own co-morbidities.

Evidence for Bone Reversal Properties of a Calcium- Collagen Chelate, a Novel Dietary Supplement

Menopause drastically increases the risk of osteoporosis, and although drug therapies are available, having an efficacious dietary supplement as an adjuvant therapy or alternative is desirable. Recent findings suggest that a calcium-collagen chelate (CC) in the form of a dietary supplement is highly effective in improving bone mass in osteopenic rats. Therefore, we hypothesized that the consumption of CC reverses bone loss in postmenopausal women with osteopenia as early as three months.

Microbiological and Sensory Quality of Mozzarella Cheese as Affected by Type of Milk and Storage

Mozzarella cheese that had its origin in Italy has recently been introduced by the Sudanese dairy industry. Mozzarella cheese is a good source of nutrients namely protein, fat, minerals and vitamins. The study was performed to prepare and assess the storage stability of mozzarella cheese prepared from cow milk, goat milk and mixed milk (cow milk: goat milk-1:1, w/w). The cheeses were subjected to microbiological analyses and sensory evaluation at storage temperature of 5°C and at intervals of 1, 15 and 30 days. The goat milk mozzarella cheese (GMMC) had significantly higher microbial load than mixed milk mozzarella cheese (MMMC) and cow milk mozzarella cheese (CMMC).

Vegetables as Sources of Antioxidants

Dietary plant antioxidants have been considered beneficial to human health. Antioxidants can eliminate free radicals and other reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and these reactive species contribute to most chronic diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. Vegetables provide the body, an added source of antioxidants to fight against free radicals. Without the necessary intake of healthy vegetables, free radicals can spread and eventually lead to various types of cancer. This review discusses about vegetables as sources of antioxidants.

Nutritional and Chemical Quality of Traditional Spreads and Pies of Mediterranean Diet of Greece

The value of the Cretan diet and its important role in health promotion and disease prevention emerged mainly through the “Seven Countries Study”. The term “Mediterranean diet” is widely used to describe a common dietary pattern of the Greek and southern Italian populations, that was first documented in the 1960’s, with adherence to this type of diet and lifestyle, found to lead to long life expectancy and low risk of coronary heart disease.