Search results

This paper aims to assess the effect of Lucerne leaf concentrate supplementation on the nutritional status of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients.

The study was undertaken on 21 patients in the age group of 18‐60 years suffering from myeloid leukemia. At the baseline, data on weight, height, haemoglobin, RBC count, WBC, TLC, platelet count and nutrient intake were collected for all patients. Then they were given 10 gm LC (dark green extract from Lucerne) per day for three months and after that all parameters were assessed again.

Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in Hb (p<0.05) in women, while RBC increased significantly (p<0.01) in both males and females. Pre‐ and post‐assessment of diet of the patients revealed that there was a significant increase in the energy, protein, calcium, iron, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C in female patients, while in male patients the difference was significant for niacin only.

Lucerne supplementation helped in maintaining or bringing about an increase in body weight, Hb, by increasing RBC counts.

Trans fatty acids (TFA) are deleterious to health and can lead to multiple diseases. The purpose of this paper is to study their content in Indian sweets and snacks (fast foods).

The paper used the food composition and analysis tables of the Indian National Institute of Nutrition to determine fatty acid composition of common nutrients. Separate tables provide nutrient composition of various Indian sweets and snacks including methods of preparation and amount of ingredients used. The paper calculated detailed nutritive value of these fast foods with focus on fatty acid composition using these tables. The nutritive values of more than 200 Indian sweets and snacks were determined and are presented.

The study shows that Indian sweets and snacks are very energy‐dense with calorie content varying from 136 to 494 kcal/100 g in sweets and 148‐603 kcal/100 g in snacks. TFA content of sweets varies from 0.3 to 17.7 g/100 g and snacks from 0.1 to 19.8 g/100 g. This translates into 1.9‐53.0 fat energy per cent in sweets and 1.8‐52.0 fat energy per cent in snacks.

The study consists of analysis of secondary data obtained from raw ingredients. Many chemical changes occur during cooking and were not estimated.

High dietary intake of TFA leads to cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and many chronic diseases. This is possibly the largest attempt to determine TFA content of commonly used fast‐foods in India and shows that some of the traditional Indian sweets and snacks have high levels.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the lipid profile and prevalence of dyslipidemia, as serum lipid levels have a major contribution in the development of cardiovascular diseases, in adult urban women of Jaipur district, Rajasthan, India.

A house-to-house survey was done in four urban locations, and 501 women in the age group of 35-70 years were enrolled in the study. A general questionnaire was used to gather background information and general health status. Fasting blood samples were collected to determine the level of serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Dyslipidemia was assessed based on the criteria given in the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (NCEP ATP-III).

Mean age of the women was 45.63 ± 9.91 years. Population mean levels of TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TGs were 183.9 ± 15.3, 111.8 ± 18.0, 44.0 ± 6.2 and 140.6 ± 30.9 mg/dl, respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 33.9 and 18.7 per cent, respectively. Of a total of 500 subjects, 13.8 per cent had TC = 200 mg/dl, 12.6 per cent had LDL = 130 mg/dl, 85.4 per cent had HDL-C < 50 mg/dl and 23.0 per cent had TG = 150 mg/dl. An increase in serum lipids was most prominent in the 40-59 year age group.

High prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed in the community. Prevalence of low HDL-C was very high among the subjects.