Pregnant women and infants are exceptionally vulnerable to iodine deficiency. The aims of the present study were to estimate iodine intake, to investigate sources of iodine, to identify predictors of low or suboptimal iodine intake (defined as intakes below 100 μg/day and 150 μg/day) in a large population of pregnant Norwegian women and to evaluate iodine status in a sub-population. Iodine inta...

Soy and red clover contain isoflavones. These bioactive plant substances are also called phyto-estrogens because their chemical structure is similar to that of the human hormone, estrogen. They can, therefore, also have a hormone-like effect. There are reports that Asian women who follow a traditional diet and regularly consume soy products scarcely suffer at all from menopausal complaints. How...

Western medicine has only recently discovered that the intestinal microbiota is a major determinant of the well-being of the host. Although it would be oversimplifying to limit the benefits of breastfeeding compared to cow milk based infant formula to differences in gastrointestinal flora, the impact of the latter has been demonstrated beyond doubt. As a consequence, gastro intestinal flora man...

The development of the sports food market and industrial involvement have led to numerous nutritional studies to define the type of nutrients that are most suited to support energy metabolism, fluid balance and muscle function. The key question in many of these studies was: 'Does the product lead to a significant product/consumer benefit that can be used as a claim on the package?' New methods ...

Introduction and aim of the article. Healthy skin is an excellent barrier maintaining balance between the internal and external environment of the body. Because it is constantly changing as a result of, on the one hand, environmental factors and, on the other hand, the process associated with skin aging, it requires many nutrients and minerals that help maintain its homeostasis. The aim of this...

From 1990–1997, use of nutritional supplements in the United States increased 130% (Eisenberg et al., 1993, 1998). In 1997, $5.1 billion was spent on supplements in the United States (Eisenberg et al., 1998). Nutritional supplementation has become an important component of many diets because people believe they do not get adequate nutrition from food alone (Murray, 1996). Ideally, nutritional n...

OBJECTIVE To examine in prospective data the relation between dietary intake of carotenoids and vitamins C and E and the risk of cataract in women. DESIGN Dietary intake was assessed at baseline in 39,876 female health professionals by using a detailed food frequency questionnaire. A total of 35,551 women provided detailed information on antioxidant nutrient intake from food and supplements a...

AIM This study assessed weight and height changes among underweight children who received a locally produced, cereal-based, ready-to-use supplementary food. METHODS We recruited 500 underweight Bangladeshi children aged 6-23 months from a Dhaka slum and individually matched them by sex and neighbourhood with 480 well-nourished controls. The intervention group received the daily food supplemen...

Background: The quality and quantity of the diet has undeniable effects on the reproduction of organisms. We examined the effects of two diets (with and without mineral supplementation-Vitamins) on super-ovulation in two strains of mice (B6D2F1 and NMRI) in Royan Institute, Tehran. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 40 female mice (21 days) from each strain were divided into four experime...

The oral bioavailability of many bioactives (pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, nutrients, and nutraceuticals) is limited because of physicochemical and physiological events that occur within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) after their ingestion. These events include: (i) restricted liberation from drugs, supplements, or foods; (ii) extensive metabolism or chemical transformation during pas...