Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change: a randomised trial.

Purpose: Low fruit and vegetable consumption is linked with an increased risk of death from vascular disease and cancer. The benefit of eating fruits and vegetables is attributed in part to antioxidants, vitamins and phytochemicals. Whether increasing intake impacts on markers of disease remains to be established.

Dietary factors and biomarkers of systemic inflammation in older people: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.

Epidemiological studies have reported inverse associations between various single healthy diet indices and lower levels of systemic inflammation, but rarely are they examined in the same sample. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential relationships between biomarkers of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen) and overall foods (dietary patterns), single foods (fruits and vegetables), and specific nutritive (antioxidants) and non-nutritive (flavonoids) food components in the same narrow-age cohort of older adults. The dietary intake of 792 participants aged 70 years from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 was assessed using a 168-item FFQ.

Alcohol intake and cognitive abilities in old age: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study.

Objective: Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with better cognitive performance in late adulthood, possibly by improving vascular health. Few studies have examined the potentially confounding roles of prior cognitive ability and social class in this relationship.

Method: Participants were 922 healthy adults about 70 years old in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study, for whom there are IQ data from age 11.

Caffeine consumption and cognitive function at age 70: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study.

Objective: To investigate the association between caffeine consumption and cognitive outcomes in later life.

Methods: Participants were 923 healthy adults from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study, on whom there were intelligence quotient (IQ) data from age 11 years. Cognitive function at age 70 years was assessed, using tests measuring general cognitive ability, speed of information processing, and memory.

Dietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer: a case-control study.

Diets rich in flavonoids may reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Flavonoids are widely distributed in foods of plant origin, though in the UK tea is the main dietary source. Our objective was to evaluate any independent associations of total dietary and non-tea intake of four flavonoid subclasses and the risk of developing colorectal cancer in a tea-drinking population with a high colorectal cancer incidence.

Effects of infusion time and addition of milk on content and absorption of polyphenols from black tea.

Epidemiological studies assessing the health benefits of drinking black tea are equivocal. Such disparity may reflect an inability of semiquantitative assessment to consider how infusion time and addition of milk affect the bioavailability of potentially beneficial antioxidant polyphenols. Six brands of tea demonstrated similar increases in antioxidant capacity and total phenolic and catechin contents with increasing infusion time.

Increased salicylate concentrations in urine of human volunteers after consumption of cranberry juice.

The aim of this study was to assess whether regular consumption of cranberry juice results in elevations in urinary salicylate concentrations in persons not taking salicylate drugs. Two groups of healthy female subjects (11/group) matched for age, weight, and height consumed 250 mL of either cranberry juice or a placebo solution three times a day (i.e.

An increase in selenium intake improves immune function and poliovirus handling in adults with marginal selenium status.

Background: Dietary selenium intakes in many countries, including the United Kingdom, are lower than international recommendations. No functional consequences of these lower intakes have been recognized, although experimental studies suggest that they might contribute to reduced immune function, increased cancer incidence, and increased susceptibility to viral disease.

Objective: The objective was to assess whether administration of small selenium supplements to otherwise healthy UK subjects leads to functional changes in immune status and the rates of clearance and mutation of a picornavirus: live attenuated polio vaccine.

Plant polyphenols: are they the new magic bullet?

Epidemiological evidence suggests that diets rich in fruit and vegetables decrease the risk of premature mortality from major clinical conditions, including cancer and heart disease. However, it is not yet clear which components or combination of components in fruit and vegetables are protective and what is their mechanism of action. Such scientific uncertainty does not seem to inhibit the marketing of a huge range of plant-based concoctions, promoted as 'magic bullets' for optimum health.

A novel single nucleotide polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region of human glutathione peroxidase 4 influences lipoxygenase metabolism.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for human health. The biological roles of the essential micronutrient Se are attributed to its presence in a range of 20-30 selenoproteins including the cytosolic and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidases (GPX1 and GPX4). It has been suggested that GPX4 may play a role in regulation of leukotriene biosynthesis and thus inflammation.