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This study aims to examine the role of edible mushrooms in the Brazilian diet, considering their strategic significance in meeting nutritional goals within sustainable development. Despite their potential in the nutrition of the Brazilian population, significant knowledge gaps still exist. To address this, the authors formulated this study into five main sections: the consumption of edible mushrooms in Brazil, the factors influencing the consumption, the occurrence of edible mushrooms in Brazil, the nutritional contribution of mushrooms consumed in Brazil and sustainable mushroom production in Brazil.

The authors compiled current literature to develop this viewpoint paper using systematic review, systematic search and narrative review search methods.

Mushrooms are sporadically consumed in Brazil, primarily by the urban population, with challenges in estimating the most used species. Social, economic and cultural factors, health considerations and reduced meat consumption influence mushroom consumption behavior. While Pleurotus ostreatus, Lentinula edodes and Agaricus bisporus are primary species, ethnomycological studies highlight a more diverse consumption among traditional indigenous communities. Brazil hosts approximately 133 wild mushroom species safe for human consumption. Some can be sustainably cultivated using substrates derived from agricultural and urban waste, offering high-protein, high-fiber, low-fat foods with bioactive compounds holding antioxidant and prebiotic potential.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has investigated how edible mushrooms contribute to the food and nutrition of the Brazilian population. This study emphasizes the crucial role of edible mushrooms in preserving Brazil’s cultural heritage, contributing to food and nutritional security and enhancing the overall diet quality.

The study aims to have adults discuss experiences, practices needs and feelings related to health management, diet and food security.

A total of 22 immigrants were recruited from the Open School of Immigrants in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, to participate in focus group discussions. The discussions were audio recorded and thematically analyzed. Three major themes were developed: pathways to health care, nutrition management and experiences related to food shortages.

Most of the participants identified internet as the most commonly used way to obtain health advice; they also stated that unexpected ill-health is usually accompanied by feelings of fear, anxiety and loneliness. Immigrants, who had visited a public hospital in Greece, identified the language barrier as the most challenging issue, followed by the long waiting lists. Fear and anxiety of hospital visits was an important factor in their decision to vaccinate against COVID-19. Lack of time, high cost of healthy food and lack of knowledge were the most common obstacles to a healthy diet. One in two immigrants reported that they have faced food insecurity issues in the past. Stress, psychological distress and irritation were reported, due to food shortages, especially during the first few years of arriving in Greece. The exclusion of some foods, reduced portion sizes and buying cheaper foods were among the coping strategies to address food shortages.

The study offers an insight into immigrant’s experiences, practices and feelings about managing health issues and could be useful for health-care practitioners, researchers and policymakers.

This study aims to assess the relationship between anxiety with body concern, academic variables and food desire in undergraduate Nutrition students.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 173 students from the undergraduate course of Nutrition in the Midwest region of Brazil. Socioeconomic, academic and behavioral data (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Body Shape Questionnaire and Food Desires Questionnaire) were collected.

One-third of the students had moderate or severe anxiety symptoms. There were no differences between socioeconomic characteristics in terms of the intensity of anxiety symptoms. Students with minimal symptoms of anxiety had a higher average grade in the course, when compared to those with mild or moderate symptoms and those with severe symptoms (p = 0.001). It was observed that 46.2% had some concerns about their bodies and 11% had severe body concerns. The average grade was associated with anxiety so that 1 point in the global grade is associated to 54% (p < 0,001) less chance of having moderate; severe anxiety. In conclusion, average grade was associated with anxiety in undergraduate Nutrition students.

Average grade was a protection factor for anxiety in undergraduate Nutrition students.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how food aid providers in Sussex and Southwest London responded and managed during the pandemic.

The methodological approach consists of three inter-related layers. A qualitative description research approach based on naturalistic inquiry, supplemented by site visits and personal observations was used.

The pandemic catalysed dramatic, often positive, changes to the provision of food aid, with a move away from the traditional food bank model. It brought about increased coordination and oversight, as well as the upscaling of capabilities, infrastructure and provisions.

The paper contributes to the literature on food aid in the UK It provides evidence for how providers are transforming the sector for the better and potentially helping to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Burdened by undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight and obesity as a consequence of both internal conflict and the global nutrition transition, Iraq is in need of adequate public health nutrition education to mitigate nutrition-related outcomes and risks. To address nutrition-related health outcomes, trained nutrition professionals are warranted. This paper examines current nutrition-affiliated programs offered across post-secondary institutions in Iraq.

An electronic review of universities and colleges’ websites, department webpages and academic programs’ homepages and resources of all the private and public universities in Iraq was conducted to find programs related to nutrition, nutrition sciences and dietetics.

All identified programs belonged to the governmental sector, were administered and financed by the Iraqi Government and were under the purview of the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education. The review highlighted a predominant focus on food sciences in agricultural departments rather than public health or clinical nutrition. Advanced education in topics such as human metabolism, medical nutrition therapy and public health nutrition are required to adequately address over- and undernutrition in Iraq.

The current state of public health and nutrition-related postsecondary education in Iraq warrants an increased emphasis on clinical and public health nutrition education. Despite a commendable focus on food science studies, the country’s ongoing challenges with obesity, nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases and conflict-associated food insecurity signal an urgent need for balancing this focus with grounding in postsecondary training in public health nutrition.

Gluten is a triggering factor for gluten-related disorders. However, the present market provides expensive, less varied and poor nutritional products. Therefore, this study aims to develop gluten-free muffins and improve their nutritional profile, as well as evaluate the physical, chemical and sensorial aspects of them.

A combination of pearl millet, buckwheat and amaranth was used to formulate gluten-free muffin using central composite rotatable design of response surface methodology for optimization of selected parameters (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose [HPMC], baking temperature and baking time). The optimized muffins were incorporated with Moringa leaves powder. Finally, the final products were compared with the wheat muffins.

The optimization range of selected variables was 1% HPMC, 170°C baking temperature and 30.33 min baking time with a desirability function of 0.75. The incorporation of 5% Moringa leaves powder enhanced the nutritional profile of gluten-free muffins – increased protein (38%), fiber (208%), iron (224%) and calcium (25%) values. However, the overall acceptability reduced due to decrease in flavor and odor.

Nonetheless, the ease of accessibility of these convenience gluten-free muffins as well as the nutritional density can help the food research and nutritionists to bridge the gap in current gluten-free market. This puts focus on the use of underutilized crops such as millets and buckwheat which are nutritionally dense.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether charismatic leadership strategies can be successfully implemented within structures, systems and tasks for social workers to increase case management successes, particularly client well-being, given that the six key charismatic leadership traits align with presented professionally bound ethical expectations.

A short generic qualitative review was done over fifteen publications, emphasizing the effects of charismatic leadership in domestic and foreign occupational domains.

Methodological, thematic and theoretical analyses show that charismatic leadership strategies are active in relevant social work domains with positive participant impacts.

The paper is intended to primarily investigate whether charismatic leadership is present in social work domains, and does not consider other leadership modalities.

High-quality reviews from the presented methodological investigations suggest that charismatic leadership is an effective leadership modality that should be considered into client-involved structures and systems.

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 evaluation of sustainable eating behaviors of individuals who constitute the society is important in the interpretation of both health-related and environmental effects. Therefore, this study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale to assess the sustainable food consumption behaviors of adults living in Turkey.

The validity of the scale was evaluated by using the factor analysis, correlation analysis and comparison of the lower and upper 27% groups with the t-test technique. Cronbach’s alpha (CA), split-half, parallel and strict criteria were used to determine the internal consistency of the scale, and the Pearson correlation analysis was conducted for the test and retest. The explanatory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to test construct validity.

The total variance rate explained by all the factors was 77.03%. CA value of the scale was 0.92, and the test–retest reliability coefficient was 0.96. The difference between the lower and upper 27% group means was significant at the p < 0.05 level. The factor structure of the scale was confirmed by the results of the confirmatory factor analysis.

There are scales in the international literature that have been validated to evaluate various aspects of behaviors related to sustainable food consumption (Tobler et al., 2011; Verain et al., 2015). However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no validity and reliability studies of a scale developed in Turkey on sustainable food consumption of adults.

Globally, around one-third of food produced is wasted and thrown into supermarket bins or dumpsters. As a result, these dumpsters have become opportunistic sources of food through dumpster diving. The authors' scoping review aimed to document the people that are dumpster diving and why these people engage in this potentially illegal practice.

A database search spanning 12 years yielded 29 articles for review.

The authors' analysis uncovered two main themes for why people were dumpster diving: (1) motivations which included political activism against consumerism, materialism and capitalism, a fun and thrilling social activity and to alleviate food insecurity and (2) the benefits derived, such as gaining free food, saving money, sharing food with others and gaining attention from the public and media.

In conclusion, the review was unable to provide definitive information on “who” was dumpster diving; however, this limitation provides a unique opportunity for further research that focusses on the specific demographics of dumpster divers rather than the “why” people are diving.