Dietary factors influence production of the soy isoflavone metabolite s-(-)equol in healthy adults.

S-(-)equol, an intestinally derived metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein, is proposed to enhance the efficacy of soy diets. Adults differ in their ability to produce equol when consuming soy foods for reasons that remain unclear. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive dietary analysis of 143 macro- and micronutrients in 159 healthy adults in the United States (n = 89) and Australia (n = 70) to determine whether the intake of specific nutrients favors equol production.

Cross-border use of food databases: equivalence of US and Australian databases for macronutrients.

When estimating dietary intake across multiple countries, the lack of a single comprehensive dietary database may lead researchers to modify one database to analyze intakes for all participants. This approach may yield results different from those using the country-specific database and introduce measurement error. We examined whether nutrient intakes of Australians calculated with a modified US database would be similar to those calculated with an Australian database.

The relative impact of a vegetable-rich diet on key markers of health in a cohort of Australian adolescents.

Childhood obesity is a widespread health problem in Australia. Overweight in childhood can lead to adult overweight and the development of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Effective strategies for reducing childhood obesity are urgently required.