This cross-sectional study aimed to identify patterns of food preparation and examine their demographic and socio-economic drivers, along with impacts on health and nutritional status, physical activity, and diet quality. Dietary data from a national-representative sample (n = 5005, 3–84 years) of the Portuguese National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey (IAN-AF 2015/16) were classified by preparation locations (at or away from home) and analysed via hierarchical clustering. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between demographic and socio-economic factors and food preparation patterns and between these patterns and health and nutritional status, physical activity, and diet quality. The most common food preparation pattern (followed by 45.4% of participants) represented the highest intake of foods prepared by away-from-home establishments. Adolescents (vs. children, OR = 0.29, 95%CI = 0.17, 0.49) and older adults (vs. adults, OR = 0.37, 95%CI = 0.26, 0.53) had lower odds of following this pattern, whereas adult men (vs. women, OR = 4.20, 95%CI = 3.17, 5.57) had higher odds. Higher education, higher household income, and having children/adolescents in the household also increased the odds of eating foods prepared away from home, whereas living in rural areas or in food-insecure households decreased the odds. Noticeably, adults consuming more foods prepared away from home had lower odds of being overweight or obese (OR = 0.74, 95%CI = 0.56, 0.97), but higher odds of sedentarism (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.08, 1.96) and poor diet (OR = 3.01, 95%CI = 2.08, 4.34) compared to those consuming more foods prepared at home by themselves. Dietary patterns marked by high away-from-home food preparation prevail. While these correlated with higher socio-economic status, sedentarism, and poorer diet — relatively to patterns with greater reliance on homecooked food — they were not linked to higher odds of obesity.

Previous studies have assessed how supplementing with Garcinia cambogia affects glycaemic control and liver enzyme levels; nevertheless, the results were not consistent. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of Garcinia cambogia on glycaemic control and liver enzymes through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Searches were conducted from the beginning through February 2023, using online databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library). Trials examining the impact of Garcinia cambogia on serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum level of insulin, alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) in adults were included. The overall estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. This meta-analysis includes nine publications with 444 participants. The results showed that Garcinia cambogia has no significant effect on FBS (weighted mean difference (WMD): 1.02 mg/dl, 95% CI: −1.29, 3.33), insulin (WMD: −0.12 mU/L, 95% CI: −1.50, 1.25), AST (Hedges’ g: −0.08, 95% CI: −0.43, 0.26), and ALT (Hedges’ g: 0.27, 95% CI: −0.20, 0.73). Subgroup analysis showed that Garcinia cambogia significantly increased insulin levels in females and also increased insulin and FBS levels in those with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2. Nevertheless, the administration of Garcinia cambogia for more than 8 weeks significantly decreased insulin levels. This meta-analysis showed that supplementation with Garcinia cambogia has no significant effect on FBS, insulin, ALT, or AST levels compared with control groups; however, it seems that increasing the duration of the intervention may have a decreasing effect on insulin levels.

Lifestyle has been associated with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) success rates, but studies on diet and IVF outcomes are inconclusive. We studied associations between adherence to the Dutch guidelines for a Healthy diet 2015 and pregnancy chances among women receiving modified natural cycle in vitro fertilisation (MNC-IVF). This prospective cohort study utilised data from 109 women undergoing MNC-IVF between 2014 and 2018 at University Medical Centre Groningen enrolled in a study examining associations between metabolic profile of follicular fluid and oocyte quality. Adherence to dietary guidelines was assessed by daily food records quantified based on the Dutch Healthy Diet (DHD) 2015 Index. IVF outcomes (i.e. positive pregnancy test, ongoing pregnancy, and live birth) were obtained from patient records. Statistical analyses involved Cox proportional hazard regression analyses while adjusting for maternal covariates age, smoking, and Body Mass Index (BMI), and stratified for treatment, age, BMI, and energy intake. Women were 31.5 ± 3.3 years old, and had a BMI of 23.5 ± 3.5 kg/m2. Higher DHD2015 adherence was linked to a reduced probability of achieving an ongoing pregnancy (HR = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.62–0.96), live birth (HR = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.62–0.98), and showed a non-significant trend towards a lower probability of a positive pregnancy test (HR = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.71–1.01). Associations were particularly present among women undergoing MNC-ICSI (n = 87, p-for-interaction = 0.06), with shorter duration of infertility (n = 44, p-for-interaction=0.06), being overweight (n = 31, p-for interaction = 0.11), and having higher energy intakes (n = 55, p-for-interaction = 0.14). This explorative study suggests inverse trends between DHD2015 adherence and MNC-IVF outcomes, encouraging well-powered stratified analyses in larger studies to further explore these unexpected findings.

Foods are frequently marketed to children through the inclusion of a wide range of elements on the packages. Several studies conducted in different countries around the globe have shown that products marketed to children are usually high in sugar and other nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases. The present exploratory cross-sectional study aimed at providing additional evidence on the composition of products marketed to children by analysing the disclosure of additives in such products. Data were collected at nine supermarkets in two Uruguayan cities between August and October 2021. All packaged products available in each supermarket were surveyed using a cell phone app, except for culinary ingredients. All the information from the labels was extracted. Products marketed to children were identified based on the presence of indicators of child-directed marketing on the package. The disclosure of additives was analysed based on the information available in the ingredient list. The prevalence of food additive disclosure was calculated. Of the 7,343 products included in the database, 573 (7.8%) were classified as marketed to children. Candies and cookies were the categories with the largest number of products marketed to children. The great majority of the products marketed to children disclosed at least one food additive (93.5%). These products tended to more frequently notify colourings, antioxidants, acidity regulators, raising agents, stabilisers, humectants, anticaking agents, and glazing agents compared to products not marketed to children. These findings underscore the need to expand the current scope of regulations on marketing targeted at children beyond nutrients to include additives potentially linked to adverse health effects, such as artificial colourings.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of Astragalus dregs — the residue after the extraction of principal active components — on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of fattening pigs. Twenty-four 130 days of age fattening pigs were randomly assigned to the control group and experimental group (supplemented with 10% Astragalus dregs). The production performance was evaluated by average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and diarrhoea rates. Additionally, nutrient digestibility, blood biochemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, and immune function factors were analysed. The group supplemented with Astragalus dregs showed a trend towards improved ADG and ADFI and reduced diarrhoea rates (p > 0.05). Moreover, it significantly enhanced the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract (p < 0.05). Blood analysis revealed that globulin and total protein were increased, and glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were decreased (p < 0.05) in the group supplemented with Astragalus dregs. The antioxidant capacity was significantly promoted by elevated T-AOC, GSH-px, and SOD activities and reduced malondialdehyde levels (p < 0.05). The immune function factors demonstrated that IgA, IgG, IgM, and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-22 were significantly increased, meanwhile pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2 and IL-6 were decreased (p < 0.05).

These findings indicate that Astragalus dregs, as a dietary supplement, may enhance growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune function in fattening pigs. It is suggested that future studies should explore the optimal supplementation ratio of Astragalus dregs in pig diets.

Cross-sectional study investigated the association of fresh or minimally processed foods and ultra-processed food consumption with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in students from a Brazilian public university. Undergraduate students admitted in 2022 answered an online questionnaire during their first semester. Consumption of 12 subgroups of fresh or minimally processed foods and 13 of ultra-processed foods on the previous day were investigated (affirmative answer for ≥ 5 subgroups was classified as high consumption). Depression, anxiety and stress were investigated using the DASS-21 and mild to extremely severe symptoms were grouped to be compared with individuals without symptoms. Adjusted logistic regression models estimated the Odds Ratio (OR) of the association between symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress (outcomes) and food consumption (exposures), with a significance level of 5%. A total of 924 students were evaluated, of whom 57.7% presented symptoms of depression, 51.9% of anxiety and 59.4% of stress. A high consumption of fresh or minimally processed foods was observed in 80.3% of the students, with a higher frequency among those without symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, while 38.9% showed a high consumption of ultra-processed foods, without differences according to symptoms. High consumption of fresh or minimally processed foods was associated with a lower likelihood of symptoms of depression (OR: 0.62; p=0.011), anxiety (OR: 0.58; p=0.003) and stress (OR: 0.69; p=0.043). No association was found between ultra-processed and mental health outcomes. Actions that support and encourage the consumption of healthy food in the university environment can contribute to mental health outcomes.

Tea intake has been associated with health benefits, including potential beneficial effects of catechin-containing teas on allergic symptoms. However, large-scale epidemiological studies on the relationship between tea intake and allergic symptoms have been limited. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the frequency of tea intake and cedar pollen allergy, which is a major cause of seasonal hay fever in Japan, in a large Japanese epidemiological cohort. Data on cedar pollen antibody levels assessed by blood tests and frequency of tea intake (green tea, coarse tea, oolong tea, and black tea) by a self-administered questionnaire from 16,623 residents in the Tohoku region of Japan were used in this study. The association between frequency of tea intake (less than once a week, 1–6 times/week, and more than once a day) and serum levels of cedar pollen-specific IgE (lumicount, LC: negative, 0–1.39; positive, ≥1.40) was analysed using a logistic regression model. Green tea intake (≥vs. <1/day) was inversely associated with cedar pollen-specific IgE (adjusted OR = 0.81, 95% CI, 0.70, 0.94). No statistically significant association between cedar pollen-specific IgE and frequency of tea intake was found for other types of tea. Our results suggest that green tea intake may be associated with lower cedar pollen-specific IgE positivity.

Food insecurity remains a global issue, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia. Thus, this study focused on identifying factors contributing to food insecurity and the strategies used to cope with it among agrarian and pastoralist communities of South Ari and Benatsemay Woreda, respectively. A facility-based qualitative study was carried out in Southern Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a purposefully targeting health extension workers, health centre directors, woreda programme experts, district health managers, and pregnant women staying in maternity waiting homes. The selection process included one health facility from each district, focusing on those with the highest number of pregnant women in maternity waiting homes. A total of 17 participants were involved in in-depth interviews, and 2 focus group discussions were conducted with 27 pregnant women, continuing until data saturation was achieved. Field notes were taken, and sessions were voice recorded. Participants in both in-depth interviews and focus group discussions frequently identified several causes of food insecurity in the community, such as food shortages, climate change, rising prices of agricultural products, inadequate agricultural technology, scarcity of farmland, and income constraints. Tailored intervention is highly demanding to implement policies to stabilise food supply chains and mitigate food shortages in both agrarian and pastoralist areas, invest in modern agricultural technologies to boost productivity, encourage the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices to help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns, optimise the productive use of available farmland, promote income-generating activities, and diversify livelihoods to alleviate income constraints and improve food security.