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The multipurpose plant Moringa oleifera (MO) has shown a variety of in vitro activities potentially beneficial for health and evidences are also numerous in animal models. However, the exact composition of the plant is highly variable depending on the area, culture and post harvesting conditions and the effects in humans are scarcely studied. This is a pilot study of the effect of different doses of MO from an Iberian Peninsula cultivar on postprandial glucose level in non-diabetic subjects. Five adult subjects (40 to 70 years, 3 males) with normal renal and hepatic function were included. Two had normal fasting glucose and 3 had pre-diabetic fasting glucose. A standard breakfast plus, respectively, one placebo capsule (PLC), or 1, 3 and 6 capsules containing 400 mg of MO dry leaf powder (MO-1cap, -3cap and -6cap) were consumed by each subject on 4 consecutive visits, one week apart. The basal and postprandial (30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min) glucose was measured. The mean glucose change from baseline (ΔGlc) at each measure time was calculated and compared between treatments with the Wilcoxon tests and considered significant at P < 0.05 level. The postprandial curves were also studied separately in pre-diabetic subjects. A difference was found 90 min after breakfast in ΔGlc for the MO-6cap compared to the MO-1cap, being lower in MO-6cap. No more significant differences were observed due to the small number of subjects and high variability in glucose values among subjects. However, the graphical representation of separated curves for the three pre-diabetic participants showed that all three MO doses led to values always below those with PLC. In addition, during the first experimental hour all MO doses showed lower ΔGlc than PLC while this was not the case when all subjects were studied. No adverse events occurred during the experiment. The study, thus, showed a trend to lower glycemic postprandial response with MO leaf powder which seems to be more evident in pre-diabetic subjects than in normoglycemic subjects and especially during the first postprandial hour. The MO-6cap seems to be the election daily dose for a long term intervention study on the glycemic control with MO in pre-diabetic subjects.

Adolescence is a decisive and characteristic period for overall development throughout the life-span in which Eating Disorders (ED) are among the most common mental health problems in young population. Different factors might be related to the risk of ED such as sex and body composition, but literature about hydration status is still very scarce. This study was aimed to assess possible relationships between ED risk and body composition, including hydration status. A 2-year follow-up substudy from the UP&DOWN Study was performed in a sample of 77 adolescents at baseline (n = 74 after the follow-up; 13.87 ± 1.54 years old at baseline). Subjects were grouped by sex. ED risk was measured by the SCOFF questionnaire, a validated screening tool for ED. Risk of ED criterion is considered when SCOFF score is equal or higher than 2.0. Body composition, particularly Fat Mass (FM%) and hydration [Total Body Water (TBW in liters) regarding the weight of individuals and its range (low, within, high)] were determined by bioimpedance. Data analysis was conducted using version 25.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, software. A logistic regression was made to select the variables [sex, TBW (L), FM%] that could be more related to ED risk, considered as a dependent variable. Crosstabs and chi-square test were used to establish the relationships between the categorical variables. Almost 30% girls and 10% boys were at risk of ED at baseline (P = 0.036). Furthermore, almost 39% girls and none of the boys were at ED risk after the follow-up (P = 0.000). All the subjects at ED risk showed a low TBW range at both points (baseline, P = 0.04; after the follow-up, P = 0.039). A probit binary model of repeated measures (151 healthy adolescent values were obtained considering every subject in both points of the study) was made to study the influence of sex, TBW (L), FM% on the ED risk. Positive associations between Sex-TBW interaction and ED risk (P = 0.000) as well as between FM% and ED risk (P = 0.020) were observed. These findings show that body composition, not only fat mass but also hydration status is related to ED risk, although it is well known that boys and girls show different hydration and fat patterns. The fact of being a female adolescent with low TBW and FM% values may predispose to a high ED risk. Therefore, sex-hydration interaction together with body composition should be further investigated for ED in adolescence.

Obesity shares with most chronic diseases the presence of an inflammatory component, which accounts for the development of metabolic disease and other associated health alterations. This inflammatory state is reflected in increased circulating levels of pro-inflammatory proteins, and it occurs not only in adults but also in adolescents and children. The chronic inflammatory response has its origin in the links existing between the adipose tissue and the immune system. Obesity, like other states of malnutrition, is known to impair the immune function, altering leucocyte counts as well as cell-mediated immune responses. In addition, evidence has arisen that an altered immune function contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity. This review attempts to briefly comment on the various plausible explanations that have been proposed for the phenomenon: (1) the obesity-associated increase in the production of leptin (pro-inflammatory) and the reduction in adiponectin (anti-inflammatory) seem to affect the activation of immune cells; (2) NEFA can induce inflammation through various mechanisms (such as modulation of adipokine production or activation of Toll-like receptors); (3) nutrient excess and adipocyte expansion trigger endoplasmic reticulum stress; and (4) hypoxia occurring in hypertrophied adipose tissue stimulates the expression of inflammatory genes and activates immune cells. Interestingly, data suggest a greater impact of visceral adipose tissue and central obesity, rather than total body fat, on the inflammatory process. In summary, there is a positive feedback loop between local inflammation in adipose tissue and altered immune response in obesity, both contributing to the development of related metabolic complications.

ObjectiveTo describe breakfast habits at food group level in European adolescents and to investigate the associations between these habits and sociodemographic factors.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingSecondary schools from nine European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study. Breakfast habits were assessed twice using a computer-based 24 h dietary recall. Adolescents who consumed breakfast on at least one recall day were classified as ‘breakfast consumers’ and adolescents who did not have anything for breakfast on either of the two recall days were considered ‘breakfast skippers’. A ‘breakfast quality index’ to describe breakfast quality was created based on the consumption or non-consumption of cereals/cereal products, dairy products and fruits/vegetables. The sociodemographic factors studied were sex, age, region of Europe, maternal and paternal education, family structure and family affluence.SubjectsAdolescents (n 2672, 53 % girls) aged 12–17 years.ResultsThe majority of the adolescents reported a breakfast that scored poorly on the breakfast quality index. Older adolescents, adolescents from the southern part of Europe and adolescents from families with low socio-economic status were more likely to consume a low-quality breakfast.ConclusionsThe study highlights the need to promote the consumption of a high-quality breakfast among adolescents, particularly in older adolescents, adolescents from southern Europe and adolescents from families with low socio-economic status, in order to improve public health.

Increasing evidence suggests that light to moderate amounts of polyphenol-rich alcoholic beverages like wine or beer could have health benefits. Scientists have long debated the effects of alcohol on immune function, showing on the one hand, that high doses of alcohol consumption can directly suppress a wide range of immune responses, and that alcohol abuse is associated with an increased incidence of a number of infectious diseases. On the other hand, moderate alcohol consumption seems to have a beneficial impact on the immune system compared to alcohol abuse or abstinence. Therefore, the link between alcohol consumption, immune response, as well as infectious and inflammatory processes remains not completely understood. With this in mind, it is important to realise that other factors, unrelated or indirectly related to immune function, like drinking patterns, beverage type, amount of alcohol, or gender differences, will affect the influence that alcohol consumption may have on the immune system. This review summarises published data describing the effects that light to moderate amounts of polyphenol-rich beverages like wine or beer seem to have on immunity in healthy adults.

6th International Workshop on Immunonutrition, 15th–17th October 2012, Palma de Mallorca., This work was supported by MICINN (BFU2011–30336), UCM (910379ENEROINN) grants, RETICEF (RD06/0013/0003) from ISCIII and BTSA (The PRONAOS Study, CDTI 2008 1114).

Insufficient sleep is associated with higher incidence of infections and worse recovery, and more recently with increased risk for noninfectious diseases and low-grade inflammation (1) . The immune system seems to be strongly influenced by the sleep/wake cycle and has its own circadian rhythm, in both its functions and circulating cell numbers (2) . During adolescence sleep patterns experience significant changes, such as delay of sleep initiation and/or reduction of the sleep duration; therefore, sleeping habits at this period may have an impact on the immune system. In the present work, absolute and relative counts of leukocyte types and lymphocyte subsets were compared between adolescents reporting to sleep less than 8 hours per night (short-sleep group) and those reporting 8 hours or more (sufficient sleep). Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast from 1,089 boys and girls (12.5‐17.5 years old; 53.3% females) participating in the HELENA-CSS (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence-Cross-Sectional Study). Leukocyte and lymphocyte subset counts were compared by means of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), adjusting for country, gender, Tanner stage and body mass index (BMI). Non-normally distributed variables were previously log-transformed. Adolescents in the short-sleep group ( < 8h/night) presented higher counts and percentages of total T (CD3 + ; P < 0.05) and helper T (CD4 + ; P < 0.01) lymphocytes, higher counts of total memory T cells (CD3 + RO + ; P < 0.05) and memory helper T cells (CD4 + RO + ; P < 0.001), and lower percentages of natural killer cells (CD3 - CD16 + 56 + ; P < 0.05), independently of gender and BMI. Our results show a significant relationship between sleep duration and immune parameters in European adolescents, suggesting that sleep-related immune alterations can start at early life stages.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) patients suffer from atypical states of malnutrition that have been shown to impair the immune system asmanifested by reduced T lymphocyte numbers compared to healthy peers. This decrease occurs despite the adaptation mechanism directedto preserve cellular immunity through relative lymphocytosis

Trabajo presentado al 20th European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) Meeting, celebrado en Belgica en noviembre de 2010.