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This study aims to assess the association of Healthy Eating Index (HEI) with levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile in normoglycemic and elevated FBS patients.

This case-control study was conducted on 144 participants, namely, 72 normoglycemic subjects (FBS < 100 mg/dl) and 72 high-glycemic patients (FBS ≥ 100 mg/dl) aged 20–60 years of age, who were selected from the nutrition and diet clinics in Tehran city. The dietary intake was collected by using a validated food frequency questionnaire to determine the HEI score.

The mean±SD age and body mass index of participants were 47.1 ± 12.7 years and 29.6 ± 6.0 kg/m², respectively. The median (interquartile range) of HEI scores in the normoglycemic group and the high-glycemia group were 19.34 (15.24–24.31) and 16.53 (13.35–24.07), respectively. In the overall population, the findings of the multi-variable linear regression model indicated a positive association between the HEI score and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (ß = 0.34; 95%CI: 0.05–0.64, P = 0.01). However, there is no significant association between HEI and HDL-C in normoglycemic (ß = 0.19; 95%CI: −0.31, 0.69, P = 0.45) and hyperglycemic subjects (ß = 0.28; 95%CI: −0.10–0.66, P = 0.15). Furthermore, the association of HEI with levels of FBS, triglycerides (TGs) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was not significant in any of the analyzed groups, including the total population, normoglycemic individuals and hyperglycemic subjects.

This study was the first study to assess the role of HEI and its components with levels of FBS and lipid profile in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic individuals in Iran. The findings suggested that higher adherence to HEI may be associated with an increase in the HDL-C level. However, HEI could not predict FBS, TGs and LDL-C levels in the adult population.

The article aimed to use sourdough powder as a natural preservative against mould growth and a glycemic index reducer agent.

In this study, muffin production was carried out with sourdough powder addition at the rate of 0, 15 and 30%. To obtain the sourdough powder, sourdough was fermented by using Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactococcus lactis (previously isolated from spontaneous sourdough) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The specific volume, number of crumb pores and total pore area were not adversely affected by the addition of 15% or 30% sourdough powder (p > 0.05). The sourdough addition reduced the L* values of the muffin crust, while the b* value of the muffin crumb with 30% sourdough powder decreased compared to the control (p < 0.05). The addition of sourdough powder decreased eGI and RDS values and increased SDS content of samples (p < 0.05). In storage, the mould growth was observed in the control group and samples containing 15% sourdough powder on the 5th day, while the samples containing 30% sourdough powder were moulded on the 7th day. The sourdough powder increased the hardness and chewiness values of samples (p < 0.05), while it had no significant effect on springiness, cohesiveness and resilience (p > 0.05).

The sourdough powder provides a lower glycemic index and longer microbial shelf life that makes the product advantageous in consumer demand. This is the first time sourdough powder has been used to achieve this purpose.

The goal of the present study is to examine the degree of knowledge amongst Indian women about millet grain and its nutritional advantages. Millet is regarded to be five times more nutritious than rice and wheat. Despite the fact that millet contributes to 10% of India's food grain basket and has an annual production of 18 million tonnes, it is not consumed in the same proportion as mainstream cereals (that is rice and wheat). As a result, the study's primary objective is to determine the level of awareness and consumption pattern of millet amongst Indian women regarding millet grains.

The research was carried out in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India. For the purpose of study, a sample of 855 female respondents was approached using a non-probability sampling technique known as convenience sampling. The data were gathered through the use of a self-administered structured questionnaire.

According to the findings of the study, the vast majority of respondents consume millet for preserving overall health. Building self and family immunity is the most important factor with 4.11 mean scores and low standard deviation of 0.985. The results reveal that 80.6% of women in the study are aware of millet but only 62.7% of women are consuming millet. The motivating factors and demotivating factors leading to consumption and non-consumption behaviour, respectively have also been identified. The study also reveals that demographic factors such as age, qualification and income have a direct influence on millet consumption.

The scope of research can be extended to explore the impact of millet consumption on long term health benefits of millet amongst the target respondents. Further, the study can be extended to explore the consumption pattern of millet among different target audience in various parts of India. The media interventions in creating awareness of millet consumption benefits need to be studied for increasing the consumption of millet.

Companies involved in producing Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products can be encouraged to produce millet based foods like cereals, biscuits, ready to eat foods etc. Workshops can be organized to raise awareness on how the millet can replace traditional grains in the cooking process.

Policy measures may include millet being promoted through technology dissemination, creating awareness about advantages of millet and including millet in the Public Distribution System (PDS). It is also important to promote the cultivation, maintenance and processing of the local variety of millet with competent marketing strategies so as to increase their cultivation comparable to the cash crops. Farmers should be educated on the importance of cultivation of minor millet.

The fast-paced lifestyle of urban Indians has a direct impact on their dietary preferences. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people have a nutritionally balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity to reduce health risks. In India, as a result of women's increased participation in the workforce, women are forced to manage many tasks and obligations, which has detrimental effects on their health. The poor nutritional status of modern-day workers is attributed to a lack of education, lack of awareness and a general disregard for health-related concerns. There is a need to investigate if Indian women are aware of the nutritional benefits of millet grains that are higher in protein.

The purpose of this study is to collect and assess the evidence available on the effect of non nutritive sweeteners on appetite, weight and glycemic regulation. As a replacement for sugars, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are widely being used in different food products with the assumption that these would lower calorie intake and help to manage weight and blood sugar levels better. However, studies using animal models have reported that chronic exposure to NNSs leads to increased food consumption, weight gain and insulin resistance.

Evidence was acquired from systematic reviews or meta-analyses (2016–2021) of relevant clinical studies, especially randomized control trials using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.

The review showed NNSs exposure did not conclusively induce increased food intake or change in subjective appetite ratings. Appetite biomarkers like ghrelin, gastric inhibitory peptide, C-peptide levels and Peptide YY remained mostly unaffected by NNSs. Meta-analyses of human randomized control studies showed a reduced energy intake and body weight. No significant change was seen in blood glucose levels, post-prandial glycemic or insulin response after consumption of NNSs. Adequate evidence is not available to conclusively say that NNSs influence gut health at doses relevant to human use.

Most studies which are prospective cohort, observational and cross-sectional studies suggest that use of NNSs may promote obesity and metabolic syndrome in adults. Such studies are plagued by confounding variables and reverse causation. Mechanistic evidence is mostly based on in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The same causal pathways may not be operative or relevant in humans.

This review of available literature concludes that to achieve specific public health and clinical goals, the safe use of NNSs for the reduction of intakes of free sugars and energy should be explored. This would be possible by educating the consumer about energy compensation and understanding the nutritional content of artificially sweetened products in terms of calories coming from fat and complex carbohydrates used in the product.

This study was, thus, designed with the objective of examining the usefulness of NNSs in human population, especially with respect to insulin regulation, glycemic control and weight management. Well-designed randomized control trials which control for confounding variables are needed to generate high quality evidence.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the functionalities, safety regulations and product applications of herb Stevia rebaudiana extract. This plant material is embedded with multiple functionalities such as antioxidant, antidiabetics, anti-inflammation and antimicrobial. The regulations released from global authorities are covered to ensure the safety premise of stevia. Besides, the product applications of the extract of aerial parts of the herb S. rebaudiana helps us to recognize its value from commercial side.

Relevant literatures are selected and obtained from main scientific databases such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed and trade magazines published between 2000 and 2023. The keywords and their possible combinations such as sweetening, antioxidant, antidiabetics, anti-inflammation, safety and product development were used to ensure the preciseness and completeness of literature searching. Major data such as sweetness, total phenolic content and dose together with latter critical conclusions from searched publications were appropriately used and discussed. In this review, approximately 150 scientific literatures were meticulously ordered and analyzed. In applications, it is the first time that sentiment analysis was used to obtain a market assessment of the stevia-containing products.

This review paper helps rearrange the scientific affairs of those stevia extract’s functions like sweetening, antioxidant, antidiabetics and inflammation. Sweetness indexes of steviol glycosides were summarized together for comparison while various in vitro and in vivo approaches were reviewed to quantify those functions’ capacities and to depict the related mechanism. The regulation of steviol glycoside compounds such as rebaudioside A was established by global authorities such as US Food and Drug Administration and Joint FAO/World Health Organization Expert Committee to ensure the safety endorsement before commercialization. Then, this study discussed about the market performance of stevia ingredients or products with the self-developed data analytics. This study also investigated the product development progress of stevia-containing food products in the categories of beverage, bakery, dairy and confectionery. Those stevia-containing food consumer goods can be acceptable by certain consumers.

This review paper precisely presents the evidential information about the stevia’s multiple functionalities with mechanisms and global regulation milestones. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is then the first time to probe the stevia-containing products’ market performance through data analytics.

The purpose of this study was to examined the health effects of raw and cooked aqueous and methanol extracts of Vigna unguiculata on kidney function in Wistar rats.

Thirty-six Wistar rats (weighing 160 ± 10 g) were randomly assigned into nine (9) groups (n = 4). Group I (control): no extract. Groups II and III (aqueous extract of the cooked 350 mg/kg and 550 mg/kg). Groups IV and V (methanol extracts of cooked 350 mg/kg and 550 mg/kg). Groups VI and VII (methanol extracts of raw 350 mg/kg and 550 mg/kg). Groups VIII and IX (aqueous extract of raw 350 mg/kg and 550 mg/kg). After the seventh day of the trial, the rats were euthanized with chloroform, and blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis.

Results showed that the doses applied for cooked and raw V. unguiculata significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced kidney functions by increasing the body weight, glucose level, concentration of serum urea, creatinine, total protein, potassium and chloride in test groups compared with control. The packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentrations of raw aqueous extract at 550 mg/kg (36.5 ± 5.1; 12.3 ± 2.8) were significantly (p = 0.001) higher (29.8 ± 11.8; 10.3 ± 3.9) than the 350 mg/kg dose of the same extract, and cooked aqueous extract at 350 mg/kg dose was significantly (p = 0.001) higher (28.0 ± 10.1; 9.3 ± 3.4) than that of 550 mg/kg (25.8 ± 4.9; 8.8 ± 3.9) dose of the extracts.

The nutritional content of V. unguiculata potentially can augment the nutritional content of a diet and to a large extent, the regular consumers’ health. Essentially, V. unguiculata is composed of both macro and micronutrients capable of promoting normal kidney function.

Malnutrition during childhood precedes growth failure and affects the child’s well-being later in life. This study aims to investigate the potency of iron-fortified klutuk banana (Musa balbisiana Colla) flour on growth parameters and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) expression in malnourished rat model.

Rats were allocated into normal control (NC), untreated malnutrition (MC), malnutrition + iron-fortified klutuk banana flour (IBF) and malnutrition + Indonesian Government-issued biscuit (GB). Malnutrition was induced by an isoenergetic low-protein diet for five weeks. The IBF and GB groups were supplemented with IBF 1.2 g/200 gBW and GB 1.2 g/200 gBW, respectively, via gavage daily for three weeks. The body weight and length, the levels of plasma and liver FGF21 and red blood cell indices were analyzed.

After three weeks of supplementation, the IBF group showed higher body weight (245 ± 13.6 g vs 201.8 ± 16.3 g; p = 0.0004) and length (20.9 ± 0.5 cm vs 19.8 ± 0.5 cm; p = 0.021) compared with the untreated group. The plasma FGF21 level decreased in the IBF group (p = 0.034). The IBF group altered mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin, suggesting the IBF might attenuate malnutrition-induced anemia. Overall, the IBF prevented growth failure in malnourished condition. This might be mediated by the suppression of FGF21 expression, along with the prevention of malnutrition and anemia.

This study provides preliminary information about the potential use of rarely consumed banana, klutuk banana, as a supplement to treat malnutrition. This study might help the developing countries to eliminate the widespread malnutrition in economically challenged communities.

This study aims to identify the dietary patterns of two groups of subjects (with and without COVID-19), and to assess the relationship of findings with the prognosis of COVID-19 and metabolic risk parameters.

This study included 100 individuals in the age range of 19–65 years. The medical history, and data on biochemical, hematological and inflammatory indicators were retrieved from the files. A questionnaire for the 24-h food record and the food intake frequency was administered in face-to-face interviews, and dietary patterns of subjects were assessed.

In individuals with COVID-19, the hip circumference, the waist-hip ratio and the body fat percentage were significantly higher (p < 0.05), and the muscle mass percentage was significantly lower (p < 0.05). Mediterranean diet adherence screener (MEDAS), dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) and healthy eating ındex-2015 (HEI-2015) scores were low in the two groups. A linear correlation of DASH scores was found with the muscle mass percentage (p = 0.046) and a significant inverse correlation of with the body fat percentage (p = 0.006). HEI-2015 scores were significantly and negatively correlated with body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference (p < 0.05). Every one-unit increase in MEDAS, DASH and HEI-2015 scores caused reductions in C-reactive protein levels at different magnitudes. Troponin-I was significantly and negatively correlated with fruit intake (p = 0.044), a component of a Mediterranean diet and with HEI-2015 total scores (p = 0.032).

The limitation of this study includes the small sample size and the lack of dietary interventions. Another limitation is the use of the food recall method for the assessment of dietary patterns. This way assessments were performed based on participants’ memory and statements.

Following a healthy diet pattern can help reduce the metabolic risks of COVİD-19 disease.

Despite these limitations, this study is valuable because, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study demonstrating the association of dietary patterns with disease prognosis and metabolic risks concerning COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns during the COVID-19 process may be associated with several metabolic risks and inflammatory biomarkers.

Background/Objectives: Protein-based meal replacements (MR) with viscous soluble fibre are known aids for weight loss. This study aims to compare the effects of new whey and vegan MR containing different amounts of PGX (PolyGlycopleX) on weight loss over 12 weeks, along with a calorie-restricted diet.

Subjects/Methods: Sixty-eight healthy adults of both sexes (53 women; 15 men; average age 47.1 years; BMI 31 ± 7.1 kg/m² and weight 85.05 ± 23.3 kg) were recruited. Participants consumed a whey or vegan MR twice/d (5–10 g/day PGX) with a low-energy diet (1,200 kcal/day), over 12 weeks. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference were recorded (four time periods).

Results: Forty-four participants completed the study. Results showed significant reductions in average body weight and at week 12, whey group was [−7.7 kg ± 0.9 (8.3%), p < 0.001] and vegan group was [−4.5 kg ± 0.8 (6.2%), p < 0.001)]. All participants (n = 44; BMI 27 to 33 kg/m²) achieved significant reductions in body measurements from baseline to week 12; p < 0.001. Conclusions: Supplementation of protein-based MR with PGX and a balanced, low-energy diet, appears to be an effective approach for short-term weight loss.

As the authors were evaluating if the MR as a whole (i.e. with PGX) caused weight loss from baseline over the 12 weeks, no comparators, i.e. just the MR without PGX, were used. Formulation of these new MRs resulted in a whey product with 5 g PGX and a vegan product with 2.5 g PGX. Only 2.5 g PGX could be formulated with the vegan protein due to taste and viscosity limitations. Study participants were not randomized and no control groups (e.g. no MR or MR without PGX but with energy restricted diet) were used. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the sort of protein alone or the combination with a higher amount of PGX (whey with 5 g PGX/serving vs vegan with 2.5 g PGX/serving) has contributed to these significant greater weight-loss effects. This was something the authors were testing, i.e. could only 2.5 g PGX/serving have an effect on weight loss for a vegan MR. These limitations would be somethings to evaluate in a subsequent randomized controlled study. Hence, the results of this study may serve as a good starting point for further sophisticated randomized controlled trials that can demonstrate causality – which the authors acknowledge as one of the fundamental limitations of an observational study design. Participants tracked their calories but adherence and compliance were self-assessed and they were encouraged to keep their exercise routine consistent throughout the study. Hence, these are further limitations. No control group was used in this study to observe the effect of the dietary intervention and/or physical activity on weight loss alone. However, a goal of the authors was to keep this study as close to a real-life situation as possible, where people would not be doing any of these measurements, to see if with minimal supervision or intervention, people can still lose weight and alter their body composition. Furthermore, differences in gender and the corresponding weight loss effects in response to MR-protein-based treatments could be evaluated in follow-up studies.

This study indicates that the consumption of protein-based (animal, whey or plant, pea protein) MR incorporating the highly soluble viscous PGX is beneficial for weight loss when combined with a healthy-balanced, calorie-restricted diet. MRs at either 2.5 g or 5 g per serving (RealEasy^TM with PGX) proved to be a highly effective as a short-term solution for weight loss. The observed results are encouraging, however, further long-term studies (i.e. randomized clinical trials RCT) are needed to confirm the clinical relevance. RCTs should focus on the individual effects of PGX and/or the different protein sources used in MRs, on weight loss and the maintenance of the reduced body weight, and should measure detailed blood parameters (lipid profiles, glucose etc.) as well as collect detailed exercise and food consumption diaries.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study comparing a whey versus vegan, (as pea) protein-based MR that is supplemented with fibre PGX; thus, this work adds information to the already existing literature on fibre (such as PGX) and MRs regarding their combined weight loss effects. The purpose of this study was to observe if the novel protein-based (either whey or vegan versions) MR RealEasy^TM with PGX at 2.5 or 5 g in addition to a calorie-restricted diet (total of 1,200 kcal/day) would aid in weight loss in individuals over a 12-weeks period. Adding increasing amounts of whey protein and soluble fibre can help reduce subsequent ad libitum energy intake which could help adherence to energy restricted diets, but whether similar effects are seen with vegan protein is unclear – this study does aim to address this.

Many studies revealed positive health impacts of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), especially on metabolic disorders. Conversely, in Lebanon, recent information about determinants of adherence to the MedDiet are limited. This study aimed to examine the individual determinants of MedDiet adherence among adults in Lebanon.

A cross-sectional study was carried out during July 2021 among a convenient sample of 326 Lebanese adults. Data from participants were collected via an online survey developed by study researchers, composed of two well-structured questionnaires: a background questionnaire and a 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (14-MEDAS).

The mean MedDiet score in the total sample was 7.59 ± 2.22, reflecting moderate/fair MedDiet adherence. Consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes and olive oil met the recommended MedDiet intake among most participants. Older age and having a regular routine of physical activity emerged as significant independent determinants of better MedDiet adherence.

Future public health interventions aiming at promoting MedDiet adherence shall target predominantly younger age groups of the Lebanese population and incorporate strategies to boost physical activity among target groups.