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Background: Vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids are potent dietary antioxidants that have been shown to attenuate ethanol‐induced harm in animal models of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. A diet low in antioxidant‐rich foods may induce a state of oxidative stress in the context of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, potentially causing growth restriction in the developing fetus. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a longitudinal U.K. birth cohort. The sample comprised 9,699 women and their babies in Avon, U.K., with an estimated delivery date between April 1, 1991 and December 31, 1992. Alcohol consumption data were self‐reported at 18 weeks' gestation via a postal questionnaire. Women reported any binge drinking (≥4 U.K. units/occasion) during the past month. Dietary data were self‐reported at 32 weeks' gestation using a food frequency questionnaire. Estimated intakes of vitamins C and E and carotenoids were categorized into quartiles. Logistic regression models with interaction terms were used to investigate relationships between maternal binge drinking, dietary antioxidants, and fetal growth. Models were adjusted for maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Small for gestational age (SGA; <10th percentile) was defined using customized birth centiles. Results: In the unadjusted models, binge drinking was associated with higher risk of SGA birth (odds ratio [OR] 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10, 1.72, p = 0.005), and higher maternal intakes of vitamin C (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.84, 0.96, p = 0.002) and vitamin E (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.84, 0.95, p < 0.0001) were associated with lower risk of SGA birth. However, addition of potentially confounding variables attenuated these relationships. Likelihood ratio tests indicated that interaction terms were not significant for vitamin C (p = 0.116), vitamin E (p = 0.059), or carotenoid intakes (p = 0.174). Conclusions: There was no evidence of maternal intake of dietary antioxidants modifying the relationship between maternal binge drinking and SGA birth. Dietary antioxidants have been shown to attenuate ethanol‐induced harm in animal models of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. We conducted a secondary analysis of a longitudinal birth cohort to explore whether vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoids modified the relationship between maternal binge drinking during pregnancy and small for gestational age (SGA). However, we found no evidence of effect modification and associations between binge drinking, dietary antioxidants and SGA were attenuated once potential confounders were added to the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Fruit and vegetable-rich diets are associated with a reduced cardiovascular disease ( CVD) risk. This protective effect may be a result of the phytochemicals present within fruits and vegetables ( F&V). However, there can be considerable variation in the content of phytochemical composition of whole F&V depending on growing location, cultivar, season and agricultural practices, etc. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of consuming fruits and vegetables as puree-based drinks ( FVPD) daily on vasodilation, phytochemical bioavailability, antioxidant status and other CVD risk factors. FVPD was chosen to provide a standardised source of F&V material that could be delivered from the same batch to all subjects during each treatment arm of the study. Methods Thirty-nine subjects completed the randomised, controlled, cross-over dietary intervention. Subjects were randomised to consume 200 m L of FVPD (or fruit-flavoured control), daily for 6 weeks with an 8-week washout period between treatments. Dietary intake was measured using two 5-day diet records during each cross-over arm of the study. Blood and urine samples were collected before and after each intervention and vasodilation assessed in 19 subjects using laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis. Results FVPD significantly increased dietary vitamin C and carotenoids ( P < 0.001), and concomitantly increased plasma α- and β-carotene ( P < 0.001) with a near-significant increase in endothelium-dependent vasodilation ( P = 0.060). Conclusions Overall, the findings obtained in the present study showed that FVPD were a useful vehicle to increase fruit and vegetable intake, significantly increasing dietary and plasma phytochemical concentrations with a trend towards increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites some nonvitamin micronutrients studied and analyzed by the Official Methods of Analysis in Great Britain. Nonvitamin nutrients cover active substances present in foods at low levels possessing beneficial and protective properties on the body. These include nonvitamin carotenoids, essentially fatty acids, amino acids, phospholipid components, carnitine, choline, inositol, and compounds with antioxidant, growth promoting, antimicrobial, and immune potential.