The Effects of Soluble Dietary Fibers on Glycemic Response: An Overview and Futures Perspectives.

The properties of each food, composition, and structure affect the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Dietary fiber (DF), especially viscous DF, can contribute to a reduction in the glycemic response resulting from the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods. Target and control of postprandial glycemic values are critical for diabetes prevention and management.

Biodiversity food dataset: Centralizing chemical composition data to allow the promotion of nutrient-rich foods in Brazil.

Centralizing chemical composition data for biodiverse foods is an important strategy in promoting their consumption. To support this strategy, a dataset of foods based on Brazilian biodiversity was created. The set was based on data for foods produced or commercialized in Brazil; these data were previously compiled for the Brazilian Food Composition Table (TBCA), according to international guidelines.

TRANSLATION AND VALIDATION OF THE BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE VERSION OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOM RATING SCALE (GSRS) QUESTIONNAIRE.

Background: - Bowel function is a widely evaluated parameter in interventional and longitudinal studies since it is associated with good maintenance of health. The evaluation of intestinal function has been performed by many questionnaires, however, there are few options validated in Brazilian Portuguese.

Objective: - The aim of this work was to translate and validate into Brazilian Portuguese the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) questionnaire.

[Brazilian Food Composition Database (TBCA-USP): Data compilation to serve the public good].

The article shows the evolution of the Brazilian Food Composition Database (TBCA-USP), since its creation until its next update. The article characterizes the TBCA-USP database like a public good and highlights the importance of the food composition data compilation as a high cost-effective activity. It reports the social relevance of the information about food composition and the importance of this database in the national context.

Impact of dietary fiber energy on the calculation of food total energy value in the Brazilian Food Composition Database.

Dietary fiber (DF) contributes to the energy value of foods and including it in the calculation of total food energy has been recommended for food composition databases. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of including energy provided by the DF fermentation in the calculation of food energy. Total energy values of 1753 foods from the Brazilian Food Composition Database were calculated with or without the inclusion of DF energy.

LATINFOODS activities and challenges during the period of 2009-2012.

The Latin American Network of Food Composition Data System (LATINFOODS) is the regional data center of the global network "International Network on Food Data Systems" (INFOODS) co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations University (UNU). The aim of this work is to provide information on the main activities held and challenges during the period 2009- 2012. The activities included: network organization, technological development, research, web site modification, database location, publication of new food composition tables, organization and participation in scientific activities, assistance and training.

Codex dietary fibre definition - Justification for inclusion of carbohydrates from 3 to 9 degrees of polymerisation.

The main controversy about the DF definition, adopted by the commission of Codex Alimentarius, refers to the inclusion of carbohydrates of 3-9 degrees of polymerisation (DP), decision which may be made individually by the authorities of each country. Due to the possibility of having two definitions and the negative impact it would cause over the harmonisation of nutritional information, a bibliographic review was carried, from 2009 to 2011, aiming to gather justifications for the inclusion of carbohydrates of 3-9 DP in the definition. The current review presents scientific bases that are directed to three topics: physiological aspects; repercussion over the analytical method; and impact on consumers and other users.

Application of Choices criteria in Brazil: impact on nutrient intake and adequacy of food products in relation to compounds associated to the risk of non-transmissible chronic diseases.

One of the aims of this work was to evaluate the impact of introducing products that are in agreement with the Choices criteria in the usual diet of the Brazilian population. However, due to the insufficient information on key compounds related to non-transmissible chronic diseases (NTCD) in the national food composition database, the nutritional information of food labels was collected. A food composition database of industrialized products was created (1720 products) and their data were evaluated according to the Choices criteria.

ILSI Brazil International Workshop on Functional Foods: a narrative review of the scientific evidence in the area of carbohydrates, microbiome, and health.

To stimulate discussion around the topic of 'carbohydrates' and health, the Brazilian branch of the International Life Sciences Institute held the 11th International Functional Foods Workshop (1-2 December 2011) in which consolidated knowledge and recent scientific advances specific to the relationship between carbohydrates and health were presented. As part of this meeting, several key points related to dietary fiber, glycemic response, fructose, and impacts on satiety, cognition, mood, and gut microbiota were realized: 1) there is a need for global harmonization of a science-based fiber definition; 2) low-glycemic index foods can be used to modulate the postprandial glycemic response and may affect diabetes and cardiovascular outcomes; 3) carbohydrate type may influence satiety and satiation; glycemic load and glycemic index show links to memory, mood, and concentration; 4) validated biomarkers are needed to demonstrate the known prebiotic effect of carbohydrates; 5) negative effects of fructose are not evident when human data are systematically reviewed; 6) new research indicates that diet strongly influences the microbiome; and 7) there is mounting evidence that the intestinal microbiota has the ability to impact the gut-brain axis. Overall, there is much promise for development of functional foods that impact the microbiome and other factors relevant to health, including glycemic response (glycemic index/glycemic load), satiety, mood, cognition, and weight management.

International collaborative project to compare and monitor the nutritional composition of processed foods.

Background: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world with overnutrition a primary cause of diet-related ill health. Excess energy intake, saturated fat, sugar, and salt derived from processed foods are a major cause of disease burden. Our objective is to compare the nutritional composition of processed foods between countries, between food companies, and over time.

[Brazilian Food Composition Table TBCA-USP (Versions 3 and 4) in the international context].

The Brazilian Food Composition Table (TBCA-USP) aims to divulge information about Brazilian food composition. Therefore, it adopts international patterns that define rules and criteria for the food composition area, through guides and manuals with protocols to be used for data generation and compilation, which amplifies the communication and exchange between laboratories. From 2001 to 2004, 863 new data were introduced in the TBCA-USP, in a total of 1838 data, 1200 of which refers to proximal composition.

[Food composition: a little bit of history].

Data on nutrients and other food components are necessary in several sectors, such as nutrition, health, agriculture, trading and marketing. From the 17th century on, the systematic study of food composition started to be established. During the 19th century, there were many advances, such as the clarification of food energy production, the identification of nutrients and their physiologic role.