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NeW fluid iNtake aNalysis
Dr Emma Derbyshire PhD RNutr (Public Health) Nutritional Insight Ltd
Fluids, but especially water, are essential to life. Unfortunately, fluid intakes are often overlooked from studies in favour of food and nutrient intakes. Now, new research has focused solely on evaluating fluid intakes. A systematic review of studies was undertaken, focusing on healthy children, teens and adults living in cities. It was found that total beverage intakes ranged between 0.6 and 3.5 litres per day. Plain water contributed to 58%, 75% and 80% of total beverage intakes in children, teen and adults, respectively. Milk was consumed more often in childhood, soft drinks during the teenage years and tea, coffee and alcohol in adulthood. Overall, water contributed most to total fluid intakes, while the consumption of other drinks tended to vary according to life stage.
For more information, see: Ozen AE et al (2015). Journal
of Human Nutrition & Dietetics Vol 28, Issue 5 pg 417-22.
Eat fish to improve vitamin D status?
Fish is an important natural source of vitamin D. However, it’s still out on the jury whether habitual intakes alone are enough to maintain adequate status. A new paper has looked at this in detail. A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition analysed data from seven RCTs and two unpublished studies (640 subjects in total), all measuring fish intakes in relation to vitamin D status (as 25(OH)D). When compared with controls, it was found that eating fish increased vitamin D levels by an average of 4.4nmol/L. Eating fatty fish led to a mean difference of 6.8nmol/L when compared with controls. These findings show that while fish (particularly oily fish) is an importance source of vitamin D, current intakes and, indeed, recommendations are unlikely to lead to the attainment of optimal 25(OH)D status.
For more information, see: Lehmann U et al (2015). Amer-
ican Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 102, no 4, pg 837-47.
Latest studies on sugar
Dr Emma Derbyshire is a freelance nutritionist and former senior academic. Her interests include pregnancy and public health. www.nutritionalinsight.co.uk hello@nutritionalinsight.co.uk
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Sugar has been a hot topic in the news recently. This has largely been driven by the SACN report on Carbohydrates and Health which has led to a number of new publications in this area. Two new papers published in Nutrition Reviews have focused on the roles of ‘added sugars’ (those added to foods and drinks during processing and preparation) in relation to dietary quality and health. The first paper reviewed evidence from 22 studies, with all but one suggesting that higher intakes of added sugars were associated with reduced diet quality. A further 21 out of 30 studies found higher intakes of added sugars to be associated with lower micronutrient intakes.
NHDmag.com December 2015 /January 2016 - Issue 110
A second paper looked at the effect of added sugar intakes in relation to ectopic fat (fat that builds up in places other than beneath the skin). Findings from 14 RCTs suggested that excess sugar intakes were linked to larger fat depots, especially in the liver and muscle fat. That said, report bias was likely in some of these studies. Subjects were also tested under hypercaloric conditions, i.e. when they ate more calories than needed. Taken together, these are interesting findings suggesting that ‘added’ rather than total or intrinsic sugars pose most risks to health. Now further well designed RCTs with adequate power and duration are needed.
For more information, see: Louie JC and Tapsell LC
(2015). Nutrition Reviews [Epub ahead of print] and Ma J et al (2015.) Nutrition Reviews. [Epub ahead of print].
