Publications by authors named "Connie Weaver"

Objectives: This study aimed to assess if hormonal contraception administered orally (combined oral contraceptive pill, COC) or vaginally (contraceptive vaginal ring) differentially affected bone calcium retention in young females.

Study Design: Reproductive aged females (18-35yr) not using hormonal contraception were dosed with 50 nCi Ca as CaCl in 10ml of sterile saline (0.9%).

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Article Synopsis
  • Significant progress has been made in understanding how dietary protein impacts muscle health over the past 30 years, particularly in guiding recommendations on protein quantity, quality, source, and timing for optimal muscle function.
  • Current research emphasizes the importance of linking muscle health to broader health outcomes, including chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, especially in older adults.
  • The review suggests future studies should build on existing knowledge and explore new methods to address gaps in understanding dietary protein's role in overall health throughout the lifespan.
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How will the scientific community and authoritative bodies define future nutritional requirements for vitamin D? At the International Symposium on Nutritional Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health, the authors debated the strength of current evidence for setting vitamin D intake recommendations from diet: the positive side of the strength of the evidence (PRO) suggests there is a physiological requirement for vitamin D and the opposing view (CON) that in light of negative results from large, recent trials, particularly those with fractures and bone health outcomes, we are left rudderless. Should we provide recommendations based on empiric treatment of vitamin D for most groups and conditions? It is becoming increasingly evident that vitamin D plays a role in many physiological functions and processes associated with long-term human health; however, to what extent are these benefits apparent beyond what is needed for adequate nutritional status, measured as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, for active calcium absorption? The meeting attendees voted for the PRO vs. CON position at the end of the session.

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Processed foods have been part of the American diet for decades, with key roles in providing a safe, available, affordable, and nutritious food supply. The USDA Food Guides beginning in 1916 and the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) since 1980 have included various types of commonly consumed processed foods (e.g.

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Foods high in phenolics such as prunes have been shown to exert protective effects on bone mineral density (BMD), but only certain individuals experience these benefits. This analysis of a 12-month randomized controlled trial aimed to identify the relationship among the gut microbiome, immune responses, and bone protective effects of prunes on postmenopausal women. Subjects who consumed 50-100 g prunes daily were divided into responders ( = 20) and non-responders ( = 32) based on percent change in total hip bone mineral density (BMD, ≥1% or ≤-1% change, respectively).

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Previously, we demonstrated that prebiotics may provide a complementary strategy for increasing calcium (Ca) absorption in adolescents which may improve long-term bone health. However, not all children responded to prebiotic intervention. We determine if certain baseline characteristics of gut microbiome composition predict prebiotic responsiveness.

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Background: Estrogen withdrawal during menopause is associated with an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile. Prunes (dried plums) represent an emerging functional food and have been previously demonstrated to improve bone health. However, our understanding of the effects of daily prune intake on cardiometabolic risk factors in postmenopausal women is limited.

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Unlabelled: Non-pharmacological therapies, such as whole-food interventions, are gaining interest as potential approaches to prevent and/or treat low bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. Previously, prune consumption preserved two-dimensional BMD at the total hip. Here we demonstrate that prune consumption preserved three-dimensional BMD and estimated strength at the tibia.

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Background: Usual intakes of iodine in United States girls and women, including pregnant and lactating women have not been adequately studied. Adequate intake of iodine is critical for neurodevelopment of girls, thyroid functions, and reproductive health of women.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the adequacy and trends of iodine intake of United States girls and women between 2011 and 2020.

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Background: The recommended calcium intakes to meet calcium requirements at various ages are based on average population absorption values. Absorption is altered by physiology, the calcium load, and type of food. The calcium intake necessary, therefore, to meet requirements depends upon diet composition, through bioavailability.

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Creating effective dietary guidance requires a rigorous evidence base that is predominantly developed from robust clinical trials or large-scale cohort studies, with the quality of the data available depending on the completeness and accuracy of their reporting. An international group of academics from 14 institutions in 12 different countries and on 5 continents, working on behalf of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies within its "Improving Standards in the Science of Nutrition" initiative, reviewed the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement checklist as it pertains to nutrition trials. This perspective piece documents the procedure followed to gain input and consensus on the checklist previously published by this group, including its presentation and interrogation at the International Union of Nutritional Sciences International Congress of Nutrition 2022 (IUNS-ICN 22), inputs from a survey of journal editors, and its piloting on 8 nutrition trials of diverse designs.

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Background: Proinflammatory cytokines are implicated in the pathophysiology of postmenopausal bone loss. Clinical studies demonstrate that prunes prevent bone mineral density loss; however, the mechanism underlying this effect is unknown.

Objective: We investigated the effect of prune supplementation on immune, inflammatory, and oxidative stress markers.

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Adequate calcium intake at an early age is crucial to achieving peak bone mass. Nevertheless, low calcium intake is common in Malaysian children. Aim: This study examined the calcium food sources and factors associated with low calcium intake among 243 children aged 9-11 years in Kuala Lumpur.

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Adequate calcium intake is essential for health, especially for infants, children, adolescents, and women, yet is difficult to achieve with local foods in many low- and middle-income countries. Previous analysis found it was not always possible to identify food-based recommendations (FBRs) that reached the calcium population recommended intake (PRI) for these groups in Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Uganda. We have modeled the potential contribution of calcium-fortified drinking water or wheat flour to FBR sets, to fill the remaining intake gaps.

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Background: Preclinical studies suggest that blueberry consumption is associated with improved bone health.

Objectives: We conducted a blueberry dose-response study in ovariectomized (OVX)-rats that informed a study in postmenopausal women using the urinary appearance of calcium (Ca) tracers from prelabeled bone to reflect changes in bone balance. We hypothesized that blueberry consumption would reduce bone loss in a dose-dependent manner compared with no treatment.

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Epidemiological studies have shown associations between polyphenol-rich fruit intake and bone health, and preclinical studies have shown that blueberries improve bone health. To determine the genotype and dose of blueberries that are effective in ameliorating age-related bone loss, a multi-institutional team of investigators performed in vitro, preclinical, and clinical studies on blueberry varieties that differed in flavonoid profiles. Principal component analysis was used to select blueberry genotypes that varied in anthocyanin profiles.

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Globally, dietary intake of calcium is often insufficient, and it is unclear if adequacy could be achieved by promoting calcium-rich local foods. This study used linear programming and household consumption data from Uganda, Bangladesh, and Guatemala to assess whether local foods could meet calcium population reference intakes (Ca PRIs). The most promising food-based approaches to promote dietary calcium adequacy were identified for 12- to 23-month-old breastfed children, 4- to 6-year-old children, 10- to 14-year-old girls, and nonpregnant and nonbreastfeeding (NPNB) women of reproductive age living in two regions of each country.

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Background: Prevalence of diabetes was high and rose significantly in the US between 1999 and 2018. A healthy dietary pattern that provides micronutrient adequacy is one of the most important lifestyle choices for battling the progress of diabetes. Yet, the patterns and trends of diet quality of the US type 2 diabetes are understudied.

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Purpose: Reporting guidelines facilitate quality and completeness in research reporting. The CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement is widely applied to dietary and nutrition trials but has no extension specific to nutrition. Evidence suggests poor reporting in nutrition research.

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Purpose: Hypoestrogenism triggers increased production of inflammatory mediators, which contribute to bone loss during postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study aimed to investigate the association between circulating inflammatory markers and bone outcomes in postmenopausal women.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from participants who completed a 12-month randomized controlled trial, The Prune Study (NCT02822378), which included healthy postmenopausal women (n=183, 55-75 years old) with bone mineral density (BMD) T-score between 0.

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Unlabelled: Soluble corn fibre (SCF) with calcium did not improve bone indices after 1 year in preadolescent children.

Introduction: SCF has been reported to improve calcium absorption. We investigated the long-term effect of SCF and calcium on bone indices of healthy preadolescent children aged 9-11 years old.

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Prunes have health benefits, particularly in postmenopausal women. It is likely that the gut microbiome mediates some of these effects, but its exact role remains to be elucidated. This study aims to characterize the effect of prune supplementation on the gut microbiome of postmenopausal women.

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Vitamin C (VC) intakes, serum VC, fasting plasma glucose, and A1c levels of 25,206 adult men and 26,944 adult women with 6807 type 2 and 428 type 1 diabetes from the NHANES database between 1999 and 2018 were analyzed. Our hypothesis is that low VC intake and serum VC level may be a health risk for US adults with diabetes. Analyses revealed total VC intake below the estimated average requirement (EAR) increased from 38.

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