α-Lipoic acid as a triglyceride-lowering nutraceutical

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 1029-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjeza Pashaj ◽  
Mengna Xia ◽  
Régis Moreau
Keyword(s):  
Lipoic Acid ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lipid Lowering ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Metabolic Dysfunction ◽  
Lifestyle Modifications ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Severe Hypertriglyceridemia ◽  
Diet And Exercise

Considering the current obesity epidemic in the United States (>100 million adults are overweight or obese), the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia is likely to grow beyond present statistics of ∼30% of the population. Conventional therapies for managing hypertriglyceridemia include lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise, pharmacological approaches, and nutritional supplements. It is critically important to identify new strategies that would be safe and effective in lowering hypertriglyceridemia. α-Lipoic acid (LA) is a naturally occurring enzyme cofactor found in the human body in small quantities. A growing body of evidence indicates a role of LA in ameliorating metabolic dysfunction and lipid anomalies primarily in animals. Limited human studies suggest LA is most efficacious in situations where blood triglycerides are markedly elevated. LA is commercially available as dietary supplements and is clinically shown to be safe and effective against diabetic polyneuropathies. LA is described as a potent biological antioxidant, a detoxification agent, and a diabetes medicine. Given its strong safety record, LA may be a useful nutraceutical, either alone or in combination with other lipid-lowering strategies, when treating severe hypertriglyceridemia and diabetic dyslipidemia. This review examines the current evidence regarding the use of LA as a means of normalizing blood triglycerides. Also presented are the leading mechanisms of action of LA on triglyceride metabolism.

scholarly journals A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Is Effective for Weight Loss: The Evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 500-510
Author(s):  
Michael Greger
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Dietary Interventions ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Whole Plant

What does the best available balance of scientific evidence show is the optimum way to lose weight? Calorie density, water content, protein source, and other components significantly influence the effectiveness of different dietary regimes for weight loss. By “walling off your calories,” preferentially deriving your macronutrients from structurally intact plant foods, some calories remain trapped within indigestible cell walls, which then blunts the glycemic impact, activates the ileal brake, and delivers prebiotics to the gut microbiome. This may help explain why the current evidence indicates that a whole food, plant-based diet achieves greater weight loss compared with other dietary interventions that do not restrict calories or mandate exercise. So, the most effective diet for weight loss appears to be the only diet shown to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients. Plant-based diets have also been found to help treat, arrest, and reverse other leading chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, whereas low-carbohydrate diets have been found to impair artery function and worsen heart disease, the leading killer of men and women in the United States. A diet centered on whole plant foods appears to be a safe, simple, sustainable solution to the obesity epidemic.

Aged care nurse practitioners in Australia: evidence for the development of their role

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Clark ◽  
Rhian Parker ◽  
Brenton Prosser ◽  
Rachel Davey
Keyword(s):  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Nurse Practitioner ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Healthcare Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

Aim To consider evidence surrounding the emerging role of nurse practitioners in Australia with a particular focus on the provision of healthcare to older people. Methods Methods used included keyword, electronic database and bibliographic searches of international literature, as well as review of prominent policy reports in relation to aged care and advanced nursing roles. Results This paper reports on evidence from systematic reviews and international studies that show that nurse practitioners improve healthcare outcomes, particularly for hard to service populations. It also maps out the limited Australian evidence on the impact of nurse practitioners’ care in aged care settings. Conclusions If Australia is to meet the health needs of its ageing population, more evidence on the effectiveness, economic viability and sustainability of models of care, including those utilising nurse practitioners, is required. What is known about the topic? Australia, like many industrialised countries, faces unprecedented challenges in the provision of health services to an ageing population. Attempts to respond to these challenges have resulted in changing models of healthcare and shifting professional boundaries, including the development of advance practice roles for nurses. One such role is that of the nurse practitioner. There is international evidence that nurse practitioners provide high-quality healthcare. Despite being established in the United States for nearly 50 years, nurse practitioners are a relatively recent addition to the Australian health workforce. What does this paper add? This paper positions a current Australian evaluation of nurse practitioners in aged care against the background of the development of the role of nurse practitioners internationally, evidence for the effectiveness of the role, and evidence for nurse practitioners in aged care. Recent legislative changes in Australia now mean that private nurse practitioner roles can be fully implemented and hence evaluated. In the face of the increasing demands of an ageing population, the paper highlights limitations in current Australian evidence for nurse practitioners in aged care and identifies the importance of a national evaluation to begin to address these limitations. What are the implications for practitioners? The success of future healthcare planning and policy depends on implementing effective initiatives to address the needs of older Australians. Mapping the terrain of contemporary evidence for nurse practitioners highlights the need for more research into nurse practitioner roles and their effectiveness across Australia. Understanding the boundaries and limitations to current evidence is relevant for all involved with health service planning and delivery.

School Physical Education, Extracurricular Sports, and Lifelong Active Living

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Bocarro ◽  
Michael A. Kanters ◽  
Jonathan Casper ◽  
Scott Forrester
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
After School ◽  
Active Living ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Intramural Sports

The purpose of this article is to examine the role of school-based extracurricular initiatives in facilitating immediate and long-term positive impact on physical activity, healthy behavior, and obesity in children. A critique of the role of various sports-related initiatives that have been developed to address the obesity epidemic currently facing children within the United States is provided, with a specific emphasis on intramural sports as a preferred mechanism to encourage long-term involvement in sport and physically active pursuits. The article presents support for the notion that a physical education curriculum that includes intramurals before, during, and after school can help children learn the skills to enjoy participation in a variety of sports designed to facilitate lifelong active living.

scholarly journals Role of Environmental Chemicals in Obesity: A Systematic Review on the Current Evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Kelishadi ◽  
Parinaz Poursafa ◽  
Fahimeh Jamshidi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Chemicals ◽  
Human Studies ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Complex Disorder ◽  
Developmental Phases ◽  
Systemic Responses

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the experimental and human studies on obesogenic chemicals and their mechanisms of action to provide a comprehensive view on the multifactorial aspects of obesity. The literatures were searched in available databases. The relevant papers were selected in three phases. After quality assessment, two reviewers extracted the data while another checked their extracted data. In this review, we summarized information regarding environmental chemicals that can be associated with obesity. Most evidence comes from experimental and laboratory studies; however a growing number of human studies also support the role of obesogenic chemicals. The current evidence proposes that the systemic responses to exposure to environmental factors could potentially increase the risk of excess weight. The effects of exposure to these chemicals are of crucial importance during developmental phases of life, when preprogramming for an adipogenic outcome may occur. By considering the adverse transgenerational effects of obesogen chemicals on human health, the global obesity epidemic should be considered as a multifactorial complex disorder necessitating the emphasis of public health interventions for environmental protection.

scholarly journals Plasticizers and Cardiovascular Health: Role of Adipose Tissue Dysfunction

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikyla A. Callaghan ◽  
Samuel Alatorre-Hinojosa ◽  
Liam T. Connors ◽  
Radha D. Singh ◽  
Jennifer A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
And Function

Since the 1950s, the production of plastics has increased 200-fold, reaching 360 million tonnes in 2019. Plasticizers, additives that modify the flexibility and rigidity of the product, are ingested as they migrate into food and beverages. Human exposure is continuous and widespread; between 75 and 97% of urine samples contain detectable levels of bisphenols and phthalates, the most common plasticizers. Concern over the toxicity of plasticizers arose in the late 1990s, largely focused around adverse developmental and reproductive effects. More recently, many studies have demonstrated that exposure to plasticizers increases the risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the 2000s, many governments including Canada, the United States and European countries restricted the use of certain plasticizers in products targeted towards infants and children. Resultant consumer pressure motivated manufacturers to substitute plasticizers with analogues, which have been marketed as safe. However, data on the effects of these new substitutes are limited and data available to-date suggest that many exhibit similar properties to the chemicals they replaced. The adverse effects of plasticizers have largely been attributed to their endocrine disrupting properties, which modulate hormone signaling. Adipose tissue has been well-documented to be a target of the disrupting effects of both bisphenols and phthalates. Since adipose tissue function is a key determinant of cardiovascular health, adverse effects of plasticizers on adipocyte signaling and function may underlie their link to cardiovascular disease. Herein, we discuss the current evidence linking bisphenols and phthalates to obesity and CVD and consider how documented impacts of these plasticizers on adipocyte function may contribute to the development of CVD.

scholarly journals Role of therapeutic plasma exchange in the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia: an experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaikh Ahmed Muntajib Wassay ◽  
Farhan Javed Dar ◽  
Asem K. Saleh ◽  
Ibrahim Mansoor
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Exchange ◽  
Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange ◽  
Lipid Lowering ◽  
Heparin Infusion ◽  
Laboratory Findings ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

Hypertriglyceridemia of obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and type II diabetes mellitus are highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia. Severe hypertriglyceridemia is a rare but well known cause of acute pancreatitis. In treatment pancreatic rest, lifestyle changes, and lipid-lowering medications are essential, but the response is slow. Recently the role of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been stressed for fast and effective management in addition to insulin and heparin infusion. TPE for hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis resulted in drastic improvements in clinical and laboratory findings and patient outcomes as suggested in our cases. However, this procedure is limited due to its high cost and availability only in specialized hospitals.

A Potential Role of the Widespread Use of Microwave Ovens in the Obesity Epidemic

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kanazawa ◽  
Marie-Therese von Buttlar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Household Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dietary Habit ◽  
Median Household Income ◽  
Extreme Obesity ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
British Cohort Study ◽  
Highly Correlated

Organisms acquire more calories from eating hot food than eating the identical food cold; thus, the widespread use of microwave ovens might have played a small role in the current obesity epidemic, just as the widespread use of refrigerators might have retarded the historic increase in obesity a century ago. Analysis of the British Cohort Study showed that, net of dietary habit, physical activities, genetic predisposition, and other demographic factors, the ownership of a microwave was associated with an increase of .781 in body mass index (BMI) and 2.1 kg in weight (when the ownership of other kitchen appliances was not associated with increased BMI or weight), and it more than doubled the odds of being overweight. In the United States from 1960 to 2015, the adult overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity rates were very highly correlated ( r = .94–.98) with the proportion of households with microwaves, and it was not because both were consequences of increasing wealth. Net of median household income, the proportion of households with microwaves was very strongly ( ds > 1.0) associated with adult overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity rates, while median household income was not at all associated with them. Individual data from the United Kingdom and historical data from the United States highlighted the possible role of the widespread use of microwave ovens in the obesity epidemic.

scholarly journals Nutrition from the kitchen: culinary medicine impacts students’ counseling confidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Magallanes ◽  
Ahana Sen ◽  
Milette Siler ◽  
Jaclyn Albin
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Early Death ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Lifestyle Modifications ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Culinary Medicine ◽  
Chi Square Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Although a poor diet is the number one risk factor for early death in the United States and globally, physicians receive little to no training in dietary interventions and lack confidence counseling patients about lifestyle modifications. Innovative, interprofessional strategies to address these gaps include the emergence of culinary medicine, a hands-on approach to teaching the role of food in health outcomes. We sought to assess the impact of a culinary medicine elective on counseling confidence, awareness of an evidence-based approach to nutrition, and understanding of the role of interprofessional teamwork in dietary lifestyle change among medical students at one undergraduate medical school. Methods We administered pre- and post-course surveys to two cohorts of medical students (n = 64 at pre-test and n = 60 at post-test) participating in a culinary medicine enrichment elective. Chi-square analysis was used to assess the relationship between participation in the course and a positive response to each survey item. Results Compared with the baseline, students participating in culinary medicine were more likely to feel confident discussing nutrition with patients (29% vs 92%; p < 0.001), to feel familiar with the Mediterranean diet (54% vs. 97%; p < 0.001), and to understand the role of dietitians in patient care (37% vs. 93%; p < 0.001). Conclusions Culinary medicine shows promise as an impactful educational strategy among first-year medical students for increasing counseling confidence, promoting familiarity with evidence-based nutrition interventions, and augmenting understanding of the role of interprofessional engagement to address lifestyle-related disease.

Statins in Diabetes Mellitus

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (46) ◽  
pp. 7048-7054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charalambos Vlachopoulos ◽  
Nikolaos Ioakeimidis ◽  
Konstantinos Aznaouridis ◽  
George Lazaros ◽  
Dimtris Tousoulis
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Safety Profile ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Lipid Lowering ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Primary And Secondary Prevention ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
New Onset Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
New Onset

Statins are a group of lipid-lowering medications that have been proven to be efficient in the protection of patients with dyslipidaemia from cardiovascular disease. The beneficial role of statins in both primary and secondary prevention has been well documented in many large randomized clinical trials. This beneficial effect extends to patients with diabetes mellitus. Their safety profile is overall good with mainly mild side effects. However, data indicate that statins may promote new onset diabetes mellitus. We review the current evidence regarding the overall efficacy and safety profile of statins in patients with diabetes mellitus; further we put into a broader perspective the debated diabetogenic effect of these drugs.

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