Inflammation and nutritional science for programs/policies and interpretation of research evidence (INSPIRE)

An increasing recognition has emerged of the complexities of the global health agenda-specifically, the collision of infections and noncommunicable diseases and the dual burden of over- and undernutrition. Of particular practical concern are both 1) the need for a better understanding of the bidirectional relations between nutritional status and...

Walking or vitamin B for cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment? A randomised controlled trial

Objective: To examine the effects of aerobic exercise or vitamin B supplementation on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Design: Randomised placebo-controlled trial. Setting: General community. Participants: Community-dwelling adults aged 70-80 with MCI. Interventions : The 152 participants were randomly...

A network biology model of micronutrient related health

Micronutrients are involved in specific biochemical pathways and have dedicated functions in the body, but they are also interconnected in complex metabolic networks, such as oxidative-reductive and inflammatory pathways and hormonal regulation, in which the overarching function is to optimise health. Post-genomic technologies, in particular...

The effect of walking and vitamin B supplementation on quality of life in community-dwelling adults with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized, controlled trial

Objectives: To examine the effect of walking and vitamin B supplementation on quality-of-life (QoL) in community-dwelling adults with mild cognitive impairment. Methods: One year, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were randomized to: (1) twice-weekly, group-based, moderate-intensity walking program (n = 77) or a light...

Effect of fortified spread on homocysteine concentration in apparently healthy volunteers

Objective: To determine the effect of folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 fortified spreads on the blood concentrations of these vitamins and homocysteine. Design and setting: A 6-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel trial carried out in a clinical research center. Subjects: One hundred and fifty healthy volunteers (50% males...

Red blood cell folate vitamer distribution in healthy subjects is determined by the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and by the total folate status

Background: Red blood cells (RBCs) represent a storage pool for folate. In contrast to plasma, RBC folate can appear in different biochemical isoforms. So far, only the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 TT genotype has been identified as a determinant of RBC folate vitamer distribution. Objective: The purpose of this study is to...

The EPIC nutrient database project (ENDB): A first attempt to standardize nutrient databases across the 10 European countries participating in the EPIC study

Objective: This paper describes the ad hoc methodological concepts and procedures developed to improve the comparability of Nutrient databases (NDBs) across the 10 European countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). This was required because there is currently no European reference NDB...

Research goals for folate and related B vitamin in Europe

In the past decade, the understanding of folate bioavailability, metabolism and related health issues has increased, but several problems remain, including the difficulty of delivering the available knowledge to the populations at risk. Owing to the low compliance of taking folic acid supplements, for example, among women of child-bearing age...

Kinetics of homocysteine metabolism after moderate alcohol consumption

Background: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Because plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and associated with alcohol consumption, the authors investigated the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on kinetics of plasma tHcy...

Low bone mineral density and bone mineral content are associated with low cobalamin status in adolescents

Background: Cobalamin deficiency is prevalent in vegetarians and has been associated with increased risk of osteoporosis. Aim of the study: To examine the association between cobalamin status and bone mineral density in adolescents formerly fed a macrobiotic diet and in their counterparts. Methods: In this cross-sectional study bone mineral...

Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men

Background: A high homocysteine concentration is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease that can be reduced through betaine supplementation. Choline is the precursor for betaine, but the effects of choline supplementation on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in healthy humans are unknown. Objective: The objective was to...

Protocol for Project FACT: A randomised controlled trial on the effect of a walking program and vitamin B supplementation on the rate of cognitive decline and psychosocial wellbeing in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

Background: the prevalence of individuals with cognitive decline is increasing since the number of elderly adults is growing considerably. The literature provides promising results on the beneficial effect of exercise and vitamin supplementation on cognitive function both in cognitively healthy as well as in the demented elderly. Methods/Design:...

Vitamin B-12 status is associated with bone mineral content and bone mineral density in frail elderly women but not in men

Subclinical vitamin B-12 deficiency is common in the elderly. Encouraged by early indications, we investigated the plasma vitamin B-12 status in association with bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in frail elderly people. Data of 194 free-living Dutch frail elderly (143 women and 51 men) were available. BMC and BMD were...

Certification of B-group vitamins (b1, b2, b6, and b12) in four food reference materials

In 1989, the Community Bureau of Reference started a research program to improve the quality of vitamin analysis in food. To achieve this task, vitamin methodology was evaluated and tested by interlaboratory studies and the preparation of certified reference materials, which will be used for quality control of vitamin measurements. The main...