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The use of edible flowers (EF) in gastronomy is gaining popularity; however, there is still a lack of information about the factors that most contribute to the acceptance of this product. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the habits associated with the usage of EF in gastronomy in three different countries (Portugal, Slovenia, and Brazil) and also to evaluate the major determinants for those habits. In addition, the level of knowledge was also investigated, particularly with regard to the aspects such as perceived risks of toxicity and pesticides. For that, a questionnaire survey of self-response was carried out on a sample of 559 participants, from the above-mentioned countries. To analyse the data, basic descriptive statistical tools were used combined with crosstabs and chi-square tests. Finally, a tree classification was performed using the classification and regression trees algorithm. The results revealed that, regardless of the country, the participants were familiar with the use of EF in gastronomy. The participants had, in general, already consumed EF, and their use was more popular between the Portuguese participants, being the Brazilian those who used them less. Significant differences were found between the countries in the form of consumption of EF and also in the types of EF consumed. There were also significant differences regarding the reasons for eating EF. The classification analysis showed that the country and the level of education were the major determinants for the consuming habits and knowledge about EF. This study highlighted that eating habits are very dependent on the customs and traditions of each country and helped understanding the factors that most affect the participants’ attitudes towards the consumption and knowledge of EF.

(1) Background: Obstetric violence has been highlighted in the political and social agenda of several countries. Efforts have been made to create policies to humanize obstetric care, guarantee the rights of pregnant women and respond to this form of violence. The lack of consensus on the appropriate terminology to name and define the behaviours that constitute obstetric violence, hinders this process. (2) Objective: To analyse the concept of obstetric violence related to assistance to women during labor. (3) Methodology: Scoping review protocol, according to the Joanna Briggs Institute method. The search will be performed on EBSCOhost Research Platform, PubMed, Virtual Health Library and SciVerse Scopus databases. The Open Scientific Repository of Portugal will also be considered. All types of studies, published in the last 10 years, in English, Spanish and Portuguese languages, constitute inclusion criteria. Studies of women experiencing labor, in a hospital setting, that address the dimensions of the concept of obstetric violence will be reviewed. (4) Discussion: The results will serve as a basis for identifying the appropriate terminology of the concept of obstetric violence, in order to direct future research with interest in the problem.

Purpose This study to investigate several issues related to food choice and consumption patterns in different countries, including health-related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns; and finally environmental concerns. Design/methodology/approach The present study was based on a questionnaire that was exclusively prepared for the project, and which was applied to collect data in different countries, in particular Croatia, Egypt, Italy, Greece and Portugal, which are typically associated with the Mediterranean diet (MD). Findings The results obtained allowed, in general, to conclude that in all five countries the motivations related to health as well as environment and politics were the more relevant to determine people’s eating habits (scores varying from 0.3 to 0.7). Women were more influenced by eating motivations than men, and people with moderate exercise were more susceptible to health and environmental motivations and less to emotional, social or marketing motivations (p < 0.001 in all cases). It was also observed that people who adopted a special diet were more prone to eating motivations and that the emotional motivations were more pronounced in people with eating disorders (p < 0.001). Finally, people without chronic diseases or allergies were even more influenced by health motivations than those who actually suffered from these health problems (p < 0.001 in both cases). Originality/value This work is important because of the multinational coverage, thus allowing to evaluate the most relevant factors that influenced the food choices of the populations around the Mediterranean Sea, sharing the common link to the MD. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the food choices were primarily determined by health factors and also by concerns related to the environment and sustainability as well as by political influences.

Food choices are influenced by many factors, such as emotional. When people eat, driven by emotional factors, they often lose control, which may lead to eating disorders. Therefore, this work aimed at studying the influence that emotional determinants had on people’s food choices. It was undertaken a descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire on a non-probabilistic sample of 1314 participants. The data was collected among a sample of the Portuguese population and measured if people´s food choices were influenced by emotional determinants. The results revealed that the participants’ food choices were, in general, slightly influenced by emotional determinants (mean scores between –0.5 and 0.5, on a scale from –2 to +2). There were found significant differences in all of the variables under study. The participants, who already experienced an episode of binge-eating, were the ones that obtained the highest mean score (0.63±0.79), meaning that in this case those participants’ food choices were influenced by emotional determinants. These results support the premise that emotional determinants are influenced by the characteristics of each individual and also the existence of a positive association between emotional eating and the presence of eating disorders, especially, binge-eating. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Hazelnuts are one of the most appreciated nuts worldwide due to their unique organoleptic and nutritional characteristics. The present work intended to analyse several physical and chemical properties of different hazelnut varieties grown in Portugal, namely Tonda de Giffoni, Grada de Viseu, Segorbe, Longa de Espanha, Butler, Gunslebert, and Negreta. In general, the results revealed statistically significant differences between the varieties under study. The Gunslebert had more elongated hazelnuts and with heavier shelled fruits, while the kernels of the Grada de Viseu revealed to be heavier. Grada de Viseu was harder in the shell, Gunslebert had a harder core, and Segorbe was more resistant to fracture. Fat was the more representative component for all varieties and in some cases the values of moisture and water activity were over the recommended amount ( 0.62). Tonda de Giffoni was the variety with the highest induction time, indicating the highest oxidation stability. Moreover, discriminant analysis revealed that the variables more important to distinguish the varieties were protein ( = 0.007) and water activity ( = 0.010). The results of this study help to better understand the differences between some hazelnut varieties that are cultivated in Portugal, which gives important hints for all players in the hazelnut sector. This study was supported by the National Funds through the FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the projects Refª UIDB/00681/2020 and UID/AGR/00690/2019 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Purpose A healthy diet has been recognized as one of the most important factors associated with maintaining human health and helping in preventing the development of some chronic diseases. Therefore, this paper aims to study the perceptions of a sample of university people regarding a healthy diet. Design/methodology/approach It was undertaken a descriptive cross-sectional study on a non-probabilistic sample of 382 participants. The data were collected among a sample of Portuguese university people and measured whether people’s perceptions were compliant with a healthy diet. Findings The results revealed that the participants’ perceptions were, in general, compliant with a healthy diet (scores between 0.5 and 1.5, on a scale from −2 to +2). However, significant differences were found between age groups (p = 0.004), with a higher average score for young adults, and also between groups with different levels of education (p = 0.025), with a higher score for university degree. The variable chronic diseases also showed significant differences (p = 0.017), so that people who did not have any chronic diseases obtained a higher score. Originality/value This study is considered important because it provides evidences about the relation between nutrition knowledge and the perceptions towards a healthy diet. The study allowed concluding that the participants were aware about some nutritional aspects of their diets and, therefore, their perceptions were compliant with a healthy diet. This finding is very relevant because it could be a support for health policy initiatives directed at promoting healthy eating behaviours.

Recently, edible flowers (EF) have aroused increased interest because of their aesthetic properties as well as potential health benefits related to the occurrence of some bioactive compounds. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the total phenolics, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity (AOA) (following DPPH and ABTS methods) in eleven EF. The samples were subjected to three successive extraction steps using methanol, and these extracts were then analysed for the aforementioned properties using spectrophotometric methods. The obtained extracts were used for the quantification of phenolic composition and AOA. The results indicated that, among the flowers analysed in this study, red rose, pink rose, and red carnation possessed the highest total phenolic contents (27.53, 23.30, and 18.17 mg g−1 gallic acid equivalents, respectively), total anthocyanins (3.07, 1.97, and 4.47 mg g−1 catechin equivalents [CE], respectively), and AOA (12.07, 15.77, and 12.93 mg g−1 TE, respectively, as given by the DPPH method or 8.23, 9.27 and 8.00 mg g−1 TE, respectively, as given by the ABTS method). The flowers with highest flavonoids contents were red carnation, Mexican marigold, and pink rose (17.50, 16.90, and 16.57 mg g−1 CE, respectively). Cluster analysis grouped the analysed flowers into two groups, those richest in phenolics with AOA and those not so rich. Finally, some important correlations were observed between the total phenolics and the AOA. In conclusion, these flowers could represent a potential source of natural compounds with antioxidant capacity.

This study aimed at investigating the influence of some sociodemographic factors on the eating motivations. A longitudinal study was carried conducted with 11960 participants from 16 countries. Data analysis included t-test for independent samples or ANOVA, and neural network models were also created, to relate the input and output variables. Results showed that factors like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all of the studied types of eating motivations. Neural networks modelling indicated variability in the food choices, but identifying some trends, for example the strongest positive factor determining health motivations was age, while for emotional motivations was living environment, and for economic and availability motivations was gender. On the other hand, country revealed a high positive influence for the social and cultural as well as for environmental and political and also for marketing and commercial motivations. This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Guine, R. P. F.; Ferrao, A. C.; Ferreira, M.; Correia, P.; Mendes, M.; Bartkiene, E.; Szucs, V.; Tarcea, M.; Matek-Sarić, M.; Cernelić-Bizjak, M.; Isoldi, K.; EL-Kenawy, A.; Ferreira, V.; Klava, D.; Korzeniowska, M.; Vittadini, E.; Leal, M.; Frez-Munoz, L.; Papageorgiou, M.; Djekić, I. Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Eating Motivations - Modelling through Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2020, 71 (5), 614–627. [https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2019.1695758].

Background: There is an increasing concern regarding the impacts of food choices in the environment. Therefore, in order to plan actions to promote more sustainable diets, it is crucial to understand the influence of environmental and political determinants on people’s food choices. Objective: This work aimed at studying the extent to which environmental and political determinants influence people’s food choices in a sample of the Portuguese population. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 1314 participants living in the Centre of Portugal. The questionnaires were applied after informed consent only to adults (aged 18 or over) and the data were collected from January and December 2017 among the Portuguese population. Results: The participants’ food choices were, in general, influenced by environmental and political determinants (0.77 ± 0.53, in a scale from -2 to +2). It was also observed that the elderly, men and the participants who had a university degree were more influenced by these determinants. These findings were similar for those who lived in urban areas, the retired, the participants who had a professional activity or studies in agriculture areas and those who were responsible for buying their own food. Furthermore, there were found significant differences between age groups, genders and the levels of education. There were also observed significant differences between the different living environments, professional status, regarding the areas of work or studies and also between the participants who were responsible for buying their one food and the ones who were not. These findings are very important because they highlight the complicity of people’s food choices and are determinant for the development of strategies that can improve people’s eating habits. Conclusion: This paper fulfills an identified need to study the environmental and political determinants underlying the Portuguese food choices.

We studied the extraction of antioxidant phenolic compounds, anthocyanins and the evaluation of antioxidant activity of strawberries in different extraction conditions, varying the type of solvent (ethanol:water (50%) and acetone:water (60%), the extraction time (15 and 60 min) and the solvent volume to sample mass ratio (5 mL/g and 20 mL/g). In addition, we performed principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed that, although the two solvents tested had similar influence on total phenolic compounds extraction and antioxidant activity, the 60 minutes of extraction and the use of the solvent volume/sample mass ratio of 20 mL/g were the best extraction conditions, both for the 1st and 2nd recovered extracts. However, the solvent had a marked effect on anthocyanins’ extraction, so that acetone/water extracted almost the double as compared to ethanol/water, for the same extraction conditions. Finally, factor analysis allowed identifying a grouping structure of two components, which was confirmed by the dendogram obtained from cluster analysis. Resumo A extração de compostos fenólicos e antocianinas, e a avaliação da atividade antioxidante de morangos em diferentes condições de extração foram estudadas, variando o tipo de solvente, o tempo de extração e a razão entre o volume de solvente e a massa de amostra. Adicionalmente, uma análise de componentes principais e uma análise de agrupamento foram realizadas. Os resultados mostraram que, embora os dois solventes testados tenham influência semelhante na extração de compostos fenólicos totais e na atividade antioxidante, os 60 minutos de extração e a relação volume de solvente/massa de amostra de 20 mL/g mostraram ser as melhores condições de extração, quer para o primeiro como para o segundo extrato recuperado. No entanto, o solvente teve um efeito marcante sobre a extração de antocianinas, de modo que a acetona/água extraiu quase o dobro em comparação com o etanol/água, para as mesmas condições de extração. Finalmente, a análise fatorial permitiu identificar uma estrutura de agrupamento de dois componentes, o que foi confirmado pelo dendograma obtido a partir da análise de agrupamento.

The objective was to develop and validate an instrument that measures different determinants of people's food choices and simultaneously accounts for a variety of factors: health, emotions, price and availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and advertising.This is a cross-sectional study focusing on food choice determinants. It was carried out in 16 countries in 2017 and 2018. This study included 11,960 volunteer adult participants from different countries. The data was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).Validation using CFA with SEM revealed that multi-factor modelling produced first- and second-order models that could be used to define the EATMOT scale, the first presenting better fitting indices, with the goodness-of-fit and comparative-fit indices very close to 1, as well as root-mean-square-error-of-approximation, root-mean-square-residual and standardised-root-mean-square-residual at practically zero.The validated EATMOT scale guarantees confidence in the information obtained through this instrument, and can be used in future studies to better understand food choice determinants in different geographical areas and help plan strategies to improve healthy eating patterns and diminish the burden of non-communicable diseases.Cilj študije je bil razviti in preveriti instrument za merjenje različnih determinant, ki lahko vplivajo na izbiro živil in hkrati upoštevajo različne dejavnike: zdravje, čustva, ceno in razpoložljivost, družbo in kulturo, okolje in politiko ali trženje in oglase.To je p resečna študija, ki se o sredotoča n a d eterminante izbire ž ivil in je bila m ed letoma 2017 in 2018 izvedena v 16 državah. Ta študija je vključevala 11.960 odraslih prostovoljcev iz različnih držav. Podatke smo preverili s konfirmatorno faktorsko analizo (CFA) in modeliranjem strukturnih enačb (SEM).Preverjanje s CFA in SEM je pokazalo, da so pri večfaktorskem modeliranju nastali modeli prvega in drugega reda, ki se lahko uporabljajo za opredelitev lestvice EATMOT, pri čemer modeli prvega reda predstavljajo primernejše kazalnike, in sicer sta indeks skladnosti (angl. goodness-of-fit index) in primerjalni indeks prileganja (angl. comparative-fit index) zelo blizu vrednosti 1, koren povprečne kvadrirane napake približka (angl. root-mean-square-error-of-approximation), koren povprečja kvadriranih ostankov (angl. root-mean-square-residual) in standardizirani koren povprečja kvadriranih ostankov (angl. standardized-root-mean-square-residual) pa so praktično enaki nič.Validirana lestvica EATMOT zagotavlja verodostojnost podatkov, pridobljenih s tem instrumentom, in se lahko uporablja v prihodnjih študijah za boljše razumevanje determinant izbire živil na različnih geografskih območjih ter načrtovanje strategij za izboljšanje zdravih prehranjevalnih vzorcev in zmanjšanje bremena nenalezljivih bolezni.

Eggplant is a food with unique characteristics. However, due to its high moisture content it is very perishable. Thus, to increase its shelf life it can be applied the drying process. This work aimed at studying the effects of drying on eggplant, namely on the physical properties of colour and texture, as well as the analysis of drying kinetics by thin layer models. The drying was carried out using a convection chamber with a temperature of 80ºC and an air velocity of 0.5 m/s. The texture profile analysis was done with a texturometer equipped with a 75 mm probe and the colour measurement was performed with a calorimeter in the CIELab coordinates. For both texture and colour, all analysis were done in triplicate, before and after drying. The results showed that there were clear differences in colour, with the difference being higher in the case of the dried sample (E = 25.95) when compared to the fresh sample analysed 10 minutes after the cut (E = 9.69).Regarding the texture, drying caused alterations in the eggplant structure, with an increase in elasticity and chewiness and a decrease in hardness, resilience and cohesiveness. As for the kinetics, the sample took 2.5 hours to reach a moisture content of approximately 10%. Four thin layer models were tested, being the Wang & Singh model the one that proved to be the most suitable to fit the experimental data, with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.9902. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background: Nowadays, consumers are more concerned about the issues related to the maintenance and promotion of health, trying to combine the pleasure in the consumption of certain foods with health benefits. Therefore, there has been an increase in the marketing of functional foods. Objective: The present study was carried out in order to explore the consumers’ acceptance regarding the possibility of introducing in the market a new dairy product with functional properties, namely a cheese with berries. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a non-probabilistic sample of 335 adult participants. The questionnaires were applied online after informed consent only to adults (aged 18 or over) and the data were collected from August 2016 to March 2017 among the Portuguese population. Results: The results obtained showed that approximately 92% of the participants consumed cheese of any type regularly and 50% consumed cheese two or three times per week. Most of the participants (~62%) revealed that they did not consume any type of cheese with additional benefits. Nevertheless, they indicated that they might be potential consumers of a cheese with berries (~73%) and would like the product to have the ability to improve cardiovascular health (~73%) and have high antioxidant capacity (~51%). The participants involved considered important the addition of ingredients such as blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry, blueberry, strawberry or cherry, and suggested that all the ingredients tested might combine well with cheese. Conclusion: This work showed that the introduction in the market of this new dairy product, a cheese with berries, might be a successful strategy.

Background: Diet and nutrition are major determinants of public health and are associated with a large number of diseases. Therefore, in order to plan actions to promote global health, it is crucial to understand people’s food choices. Objective: The aim of this study was the development and validation of a new instrument, a questionnaire to measure psycho-social motivations associated with food choices and eating practices. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 382 adult participants. The questionnaires were applied after informed consent only to adults (aged 18 or over) and the data were collected from January to April 2017 among the Portuguese population. The analysis has been conducted to explore the item-item correlation and the reliability of this new instrument. Results: The results indicated satisfactory correlations between the items of the different variables, except for Variable D (Social and cultural motivations) that did not show strong and significant correlations for almost any items. Considering all the items in each of the variables studied, Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.32 for the marketing and commercial motivations to 0.64 for the economical and availability motivations. When some items were removed from the variables, the values of Cronbach’s alpha increased and ranged from 0.66 for social and cultural motivations to 0.79 for health motivations. Conclusion: This work suggested that this questionnaire could be considered a suitable tool for exploring food choice determinants.

A healthy diet is crucial for the maintenance of health. Therefore, the aim of this work is to evaluate the perceptions towards a healthy diet among the participants with work or studies in areas related to diet and nutrition and those who did not.Anonymous questionnaire data was collected in a cross-sectional study on a non-probabilistic sample of 902 participants living in Portugal.The results showed that the participants' perceptions were, in general, compliant with a healthy diet. However, significant differences were found between gender (p=0.004), between the different civil state groups (p=0.016), between the participants who were responsible for buying their own food and those who were not and also regarding the living environment. The variable area of work or studies also showed significant differences (p=0.001), so that people who had work or studies related to agriculture obtained a higher score. Regarding this variable, the mean values of nutrition and agriculture areas were not statistically different between them, but were statistically different from the mean values of psychology and health areas. The participants who had work or studies in areas showing diet and nutrition-related issues achieved a higher mean score (0.72±0.35) when compared to the participants who did not (0.58±0.30).However, despite the results, it is important to continue developing campaigns that better communicate nutritional aspects, so that people can increase their knowledge on this subject.Zdrava prehrana je ključnega pomena za ohranjanje zdravja. Zato je cilj te študije oceniti dojemanje zdrave prehrane med v raziskavi sodelujočimi zaposlenimi in študenti, ki so profesionalno povezani s področjem prehrane, in tistimi, ki to niso.Anonimni podatki iz vprašalnika so bili zbrani v medsektorski študiji z verjetnostnim vzorčenjem 902. sodelujočih, ki prebivajo na Portugalskem.Rezultati so pokazali, da je dojemanje zdrave prehrane med sodelujočimi v študiji na splošno v skladu z zdravo prehrano. Pokazale pa so se izrazite razlike med spoloma (p = 0,004), med različnimi skupinami glede na zakonski stan (p = 0,016), med sodelujočimi, ki so odgovorni za nakup lastne hrane, in tistimi, ki to niso, ter glede na bivalno okolje. Različna področja dela ali študija so prav tako pokazala izrazite razlike (p = 0,001), kar pomeni, da imajo osebe, ki so zaposlene na področju kmetijstva ali študirajo kaj v zvezi s prehrano, na tem področju boljše rezultate. Na podlagi te spremenljivke se povprečne vrednosti iz področja kmetijstva statistično ne razlikujejo med seboj, vendar se statistično razlikujejo od povprečnih vrednosti s področja psihologije in zdravstva. Sodelujoči, ki so profesionalno kakorkoli povezani s prehrano, so dosegli višje povprečne rezultate (0,72 ± 0,35) v primerjavi z ostalimi (0,58 ± 0,30).Kljub tem rezultatom je pomembno, da nadaljujemo s promocijo zdrave prehrane in ljudi izobražujemo in ozaveščamo o pomenu zdrave prehrane.

Nos últimos anos tem sido cada vez maior a importância dada à associação entre a alimentação e a saúde, já que a escolha dos alimentos a consumir é um ato complexo, sendo que uma alimentação inadequada está associada ao aparecimento de inúmeras doenças crónicas não transmissíveis. Deste modo, compreender as motivações que afetam as escolhas alimentares das pessoas é de extrema importância para o desenvolvimento de qualquer estratégia de saúde pública. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar quais as motivações que afetam as escolhas e os hábitos alimentares das pessoas, relacionando-as com diversos fatores, tais como por exemplo, os dados sociodemográficos. Para tal, foi desenvolvido e validado um questionário propositadamente para o efeito, tendo o mesmo sido aplicado à população adulta Portuguesa entre janeiro e abril de 2017, num total de 382 participantes. Os resultados obtidos para a validação do questionário mostraram que, à exceção da variável que contempla as motivações sociais e culturais, havia correlações satisfatórias entre os itens das restantes variáveis. Portanto, o questionário criado poderá ser considerado uma ferramenta adequada para avaliar as motivações que afetam as escolhas alimentares. No geral, as perceções dos participantes eram compatíveis com uma alimentação saudável (pontuações entre 0,5 e 1,5, na escala de -2 a +2), havendo diferenças significativas entre as classes de idades (p = 0,004), com uma maior pontuação média para os jovens adultos e, também entre os grupos com diferentes níveis de ensino (p = 0,025), com uma maior pontuação para quem tinha o ensino superior. Também se verificaram diferenças significativas (p=0,017) entre quem tinha ou não doenças crónicas, sendo que as pessoas que não sofriam de nenhuma doença crónica tiveram uma maior pontuação. A fonte de informação privilegiada pelos participantes para a obtenção de informações sobre uma alimentação saudável foi a Internet. No entanto, a família e os amigos mostraram ser também importantes. Como conclusão, é de extrema importância continuar a desenvolver estratégias para promover uma alimentação e estilos de vida saudáveis, de modo a que o estado nutricional e de saúde das pessoas seja adequado. ABSTRACT: In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the association between food and health, because choosing the foods to consume is a complex act, and an inadequate diet is associated with the appearance of many non-communicable diseases. Therefore, understanding the motivations that affect people's food choices is of utmost importance for the development of any public health strategy. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the motivations that affect people's eating choices and habits, relating them to a variety of factors, such as sociodemographic data. To this end, a questionnaire was purposely developed and validated, having been applied to the Portuguese adult population between January and April 2017, in a total of 382 participants. The results obtained for the validation of the questionnaire showed that, with the exception of the variable that accounted for cultural motivations, there were satisfactory correlations between the items of the other variables. Therefore, the questionnaire created may be considered an adequate tool to evaluate the motivations that affect food choices. In general, participants' perceptions were compliant with a healthy diet (scores ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 on the scale of -2 to +2), with significant differences between age classes (p = 0.004), with higher average score for young adults and also among groups with different levels of education (p = 0.025), with a higher score for those with a higher level of education. There were also significant differences (p = 0.017) among those with or without chronic diseases, and those who did not have any chronic illness had a higher score. Internet was the main source of information to obtain information about a healthy diet. However, family and friends also proved to be important. In conclusion, it is of the utmost importance to continue developing strategies in order to promote healthy eating and lifestyles, so that people's nutritional and health status is adequate.

Objective: To analyse the scientific evidence, in the literature published between january 2007 and february 2016, about the benefits of freedmon of movement and position in the first stage of labor. Method: Review of literature with articles researched in selected databases on plataforms b-On and EBSCOhost, using descriptors: first stage of labour/labor, ambulation, upright positions, benefits and midwife/midwives. Results: Sample with 15 studies that showed, almost unanimously, that the free movement associated with the vertical position provides numerous benefits, especially in the progression of the first stage of labor, reduction of pain and increased maternal satisfaction, in the quality of uterine contractions and maternal-fetal circulation compared to the dorsal lithotomy position. Conclusion: Woman should have the right of choice as to freedom of movement and position during first stage of labor, being informed about the benefits of this intervention by the nurse midwife who cares for her. Descriptors (MeSH Terms): Walking; posture; labor, obstetric; nurse midwife.

Cheese is an ancient food product produced worldwide and globally appreciated. The world cheese trade is of great importance economically, both at the industrial level, as well as when it comes to traditional cheeses, which provide income for rural populations. The diversity in cheese technology is enormous, varying in the type of milk used, the production operations, the lactic cultures, the maturation times and conditions, among other aspects. Cheese products, therefore, have a wide range of characteristics in terms of taste, flavour, texture, colour, shape, or size. Unlike cheese produced at the industrial scale, traditional cheeses are imprinted with a social and cultural heritage that makes them unique. The first part of this book contains chapters dedicated to the economic and social importance of cheese, the nutritional aspects and health effects, cheese technology and characteristics, as well as yeast microflora. Further chapters contain details about the traditional cheeses in different parts of the world, including European, African, or American countries, namely Brazil, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. This book contains a diverse set of contributions that will enlighten the readers about many types of cheeses from different countries around the world. It is useful for professionals, including professors, researchers, or those working in the cheese industry, as well as for students or even the general public. The subjects addressed in the book make it interesting for professionals in the scientific domains of food science and technology, nutrition, gastronomy, sociology, and history. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Nowadays the interest in the use of edible flowers for gastronomy purposes has increased. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which socio demographic characteristics influenced the knowledge and consuming habits related to edible flowers in a sample of 247 Portuguese adults. The results revealed that this subject is not unknown for the majority of the participants and that they were aware of some of aspects related to the consumption of this kind of product. In general, edible flowers are consumed sporadically, cooked or incorporated in salads and mainly because of their taste. It was also observed that gender as well as the area of work or studies influenced the participants’ knowledge and some of the consuming habits related to edible flowers. However, there were still some aspects about which the participants revealed some confusion, such as for the example the risks related to their consumption. Hence, it is important to continue with studies in this area, in order to clarify and deepen the knowledge about the use of edible flowers in gastronomy. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Phytoestrogens, also called estrogens, are bioactive compounds original from plants. They are similar in structure and functionality to the estrogenic hormones in animals. It has been documented that these compounds have several effects on the human body, namely in terms of carbohydrate, protein, lipid and mineral metabolism. Some of the most known effects of these substances are related to their roles in the women’s reproductive system. The dietary phytoestrogens are present in vegetable sources, like some herbs, grains or fruits. Their structure is similar to that of estradiol, which can act in the body both as estrogenic or antiestrogenic. They are classified into the following categories: i) isoflavones, which are essentially present in legume beans, and particularly soy beans and soy products; ii) lignans, which are part of foods rich in dietary fibre, like cereal brans, beans, legumes or oilseeds; iii) coumestans, found in various beans sucg as plit peas, pinto beanso r lima beans, and also in alfafa and clover sprouts; iv) mycoestrogens, which are produced by moulds. Phytoestrogens can be used as human health enhancers, and have many documented beneficial effects on the human body. They are reported to diminish the incidence of some types of cancer, as well as to minimize menopausal symptoms and prevent osteoporosis. Also some benefits have been associated with the ingestion of these bioactive compounds and protection against cardiovascular diseases. Hence, this chapter aims at reviewing the scientific literature about the structure of PEs, as well as their natural sources and health effects. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion