The Role of Food Antioxidants, Benefits of Functional Foods, and Influence of Feeding Habits on the Health of the Older Person: An Overview.

This overview was directed towards understanding the relationship of brain functions with dietary choices mainly by older humans. This included food color, flavor, and aroma, as they relate to dietary sufficiency or the association of antioxidants with neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Impairment of olfactory and gustatory function in relation to these diseases was also explored.

Food Antioxidants and Their Anti-Inflammatory Properties: A Potential Role in Cardiovascular Diseases and Cancer Prevention.

Mediterranean-style diets caused a significant decline in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in early landmark studies. The effect of a traditional Mediterranean diet on lipoprotein oxidation showed that there was a significant reduction in oxidative stress in the intervention group (Mediterranean diet + Virgin Olive Oil) compared to the low-fat diet group. Conversely, the increase in oxidative stress causing inflammation is a unifying hypothesis for predisposing people to atherosclerosis, carcinogenesis, and osteoporosis.

Micronutrient formulations for prevention of complications of pregnancy.

According to a relatively recent UNICEF report, 15 percent of the infant population of the world is of low birth weight with India accounting for one third of all the world's low-weight newborns. Twenty percent of all low birth weight infants die within a month. This mortality figure is higher in developing countries due to inadequate nutritional intake by pregnant women.

Metabolic syndrome: a brain disease.

Recent research indicates an association between brain dysfunction and the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. To investigate this, we created a Medline search (up to December 2011) of articles in PubMed. The results indicated that refined carbohydrates, saturated and total fat, high levels of ω-6 fatty acids, and low levels of ω-3 fatty acids and other long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), all in conjunction with sedentary behaviour and mental stress can predispose to inflammation.

Nutritional aspects of epigenetic inheritance.

The impact of diet and environmental factors on genes concerned with epigenetic inheritance and the mechanism of evolution has grown significantly beyond the Modern Synthesis period. Epigenetic inheritance is the passing of phenotypic change to subsequent generations in ways that are outside the genetic code of DNA. Recently, polymorphisms of the human Delta-5 (fatty acid desaturase, FADS1) and Delta-6 (FADS2) desaturase genes have been described as being associated with the level of several long-chain n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in serum phospholipids.

Singh's verbal autopsy questionnaire for the assessment of causes of death, social autopsy, tobacco autopsy and dietary autopsy, based on medical records and interview.

Introduction: The exact causes of death in India are not known because autopsy studies are difficult to conduct due to religious considerations. There are rapid changes in diet and lifestyle amongst social classes causing changes in the pattern of risk factors and mortality. In the present study, we attempt to develop a verbal autopsy questionnaire based on medical records and interview of a family member, for the assessment of causes of death, social class, tobacco consumption and dietary intakes among urban decedents in north India.

Prevalence and risk factors for prehypertension and hypertension in five Indian cities.

Background: There are few studies detailing the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension in India.

Methods: Men and women, over 25 years of age were included. After completion of a dietitian-administered questionnaire followed evaluation by a physician, physical examination and blood pressure measurement.

Chronobiology and chronomics: detecting and applying the cycles of nature.

We monitor our streets to prevent assault and rodents to develop drugs, but not those for whom the drugs are intended. It took over half a century to begin to monitor blood sugar values in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. Monitoring blood pressure is equally timely and technically feasible for individual home- and website-based personalised care.