International Journal of Nutrition Sciences
Volume:3 Issue: 1, Mar 2018

Due to the increasing prevalence, indefinite proven treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as well as the correlation between NAFLD and metabolic disease including obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemia, researchers are trying to evaluate treatment methods of these types of diseases in order to treat NAFLD. This review aims to discuss the effects of Stevia rebaudiana on NAFLD. A literature search in Pubmed, Science direct and Google scholar was undertaken using the keywords “Stevia”, “steviol glycoside”, “diabetes”, “insulin resistance”, “blood glucose”, “dyslipidemia”, ”cholesterol”, “obesity”, “food intake”, “inflammatory cytokines”, and then qualified articles were used. Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of stevia on improving fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. Moreover, some studies have expressed that stevia decreases the food intake. Results about the efficacy of stevia on serum cholesterol and HDL-c are controversial; however, almost all support the useful effects of stevia on triglyceride level. Furthermore, its reducing effect on the inflammatory factors was previously clarified. Stevia was shown to have certain health benefits on diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and inflammation. Although there have been few studies, which evaluated the impact of Stevia rebaudiana on NAFLD, it is likely that Stevia rebaudiana improves NAFLD.

Garlic plays a very important role in diabetic patients. Therefore, this study determined the effect of garlic supplement in capsule on blood glucose and lipid profile of patients with type 2 diabetes under a systematic review. Using the keywords: Allium sativum, diabetic, garlic, metabolic syndrome and lipid profile, we performed MeSH with specified condition, then RCT, which was published up to date by November 12th and obtained in English, in electronic databases: Science Direct, Pub Med, ProQuest and Scopus was collected and studied. Finally, the screening performed by choosing a study on type 2 diabetes was used to select 3 studies as our survey. The efficacy of garlic supplement in the form of capsules, pills, and extracts or in raw form in controlling and treating type 2 diabetes symptoms and improving lipid factors were shown. Garlic supplement could reduce the level of fasting blood sugar (FBS), two-hour blood glucose (2 hpp), low density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG), increase the level of high density lipoprotein (HDL), and improved insulin resistance and Body Mass Index (BMI). Although in some studies; no significant changes were made or seen regarding these factors. So garlic supplement can be considered as complementary to control blood glucose levels and improve lipid profile in people with type 2 diabetes. However, it cannot definitely state that garlic supplement is useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients and need more studies.

Malnutrition leads to decreased survival rate, quality of life and the response to treatment and increases the risk of mortality in patients with cancer. Clinical evaluation is essential for ontime detection and treatment of malnutrition in these patients. On the other hand, patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are expected to have a higher risk of malnutrition due to the poor digestion and malabsorption. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the nutritional status in patients with GI tract cancers with non-GI cancers.

Sixty-nine patients with GI cancers and 65 patients with other types of cancer participated in this case-control study. Anthropometric evaluation (weight, body mass index (BMI), mid arm circumference, calf circumference) and biochemical indices (albumin, C-Reactive Protein (CRP)) were measured and the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) questionnaire was completed to assess the nutritional status of the patients.

BMI, weight and serum albumin levels were significantly lower in patients with GI cancers. Other anthropometric measurements were lower in the case group and the serum CRP level was higher than the control group, although they were not statistically significant. The incidence of malnutrition was higher in case group compared to the control group, but it was not statistically significant.

Anthropometric, biochemical and SGA evaluation showed a poor nutritional status in patients with GI cancer compared to other forms of cancer. Therefore, early assessment of the nutritional status of patients with cancer can be effective in order to initiate a nutritional intervention.

The use of nutritional supplements among athletes is sharply increasing. There are many investigations demonstrating side effects of dietary supplement use such as cardiovascular, hematological, metabolic, and neurological problems. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence, level of knowledge and methods of providing nutritional supplements among females attending in private sport clubs in the city of Ardabil, Iran. Seventy-three fitness private clubs in four municipalities were considered as the population of the study. According to Morgan's table, 163 people were chosen as a sample of 18 clubs in a multi-stage, randomized fashion. Structured interview was conducted by physical education students as interviewer using researcher-made questionnaires. The questionnaire included 19 questions and 4 sections. Totally, 31.3% of participants used nutritional supplements. Vitamins (31.4%) and fat burners (27.5%) were the most commonly used supplements. More than half of the participants started supplementation with their instructor's suggestion (55.6%). Most participants who used nutritional supplements, believed that the use of supplements did not pose any risk (62.7%), while the majority of those who did not consume; believed it would be risky (73.2%). Furthermore, 50.9%of participants who did not take nutritional supplements believed supplementation would be harmful to health. The prevalence of nutritional supplements was high in non-professional females who did exercise for recreation or health promotion in private sport clubs. Since that many of these supplements were recommended by instructors and club owners, the main goal of selling these supplements seems to increase the income rather than their positive effects.

Frying is one of the most popular methods of food preparation. Since in fast food restaurants the oil is heated for prolonged and repeated periods of time, toxic compounds in oils likely go up to very high concentrations. In this study, we investigated chemical quality of oils that was used for frying in fast food restaurants.
Oil samples were collected from 42 fast food restaurants located in Shiraz, Iran. Samples were obtained from oils that were being heated in fryers at the peak of fast food restaurant activity between 10:00 and 12:00 PM. Acid and peroxide values and total polar compounds were measured according to standard procedures.
Acid and peroxide values of 27 samples (64.3%) were higher than the permitted values for oil health (Table 1). This number for total polar compounds was 19 (45.2%).
In many fast food restaurants of Shiraz, Iran, oils that are in use contain high levels of toxic materials that may imperil consumers as well as restaurant workers. Strategies that can be used by restaurant staff to improve the condition are discussed.

Thermal methods such as pasteurization and sterilization are currently used to eliminate microorganisms, but they may reduce nutrition value or disturb texture, flavor, taste and color. This study assessed the effect of direct and indirect ultrasonic methods on microbial load and chemical quality of raw wheat germ.
The wheat germ was prepared from Shiraz, southern Iran. It was treated with two direct and indirect ultrasonic methods. In direct method using the frequency of 20 kHz and maximum time of 10 minutes, immersion of the device probe was undertaken in a reservoir containing wheat germ and in indirect way, ultrasound was applied at frequencies of 50-60 kHz for 30 minutes to the wall of the container with samples of wheat germ. The microbial and chemical characteristics of both treated groups were compared.
The direct method reduced the microbial load of the product by 0.6 logarithms, while in the indirect method, the microbial load of the product was not significantly reduced.
It can be expected that the use of ultrasound waves in an appropriate manner for disinfecting the fresh edible plants, including sprouts, along with its remarkable benefits, in comparison with the traditional thermal methods such as pasteurization and sterilization as well as harmful environmental disinfectants, has a beneficial effect on reducing the microbial load of the germs and its effect on the micronutrients of this nutritious food is little or negligible.

In recent years, an increase in antibiotic resistance has been observed in Salmonella in different countries. The aim of this study was to determine the tetracycline and enrofloxacine resistance in salmonella isolated from poultry.
The pattern of antibiotic resistance to tetracycline and enrofloxacin in isolated Salmonella of fecal broiler chickens from Shiraz, southern Iran, was assessed using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and PCR methods.
Of 100 fecal samples of broiler chickens, 5 samples (5%) were infected to Salmonella. The antimicrobial susceptibility showed that MIC90 of isolated Salmonella strains for enrofloxacin and tetracycline was less than 0.2 μg/mL and 180 μg/mL, respectively, indicating a high sensitivity to these antibiotics. In two samples the presence of tetracycline resistance plasmid was also found, while all the strains were susceptible to enrofloxacin.
According to the results, the isolated Salmonella spp. showed higher resistance in tetracycline than enrofloxacin, which seems due to the excessive usage of this antibiotic in poultry industry.

A comparison of the various microstructural and antimicrobial properties of emulsified films indicated significant differences. This study aimed to determine the effect of emulsion condition of oil phase on microstructure and anti-fungal properties of emulsified films based on carboxymethyl cellulose.

Emulsified films containing macro and nano emulsion of cinnamon essential oils were prepared at different concentrations (0.25%, 0.5% and 1 W/V). The anti-fungal test was performed in three replicate for each sample. The count of fungal spores was undertaken under the microscope by using the Neubarer cell until reaching the spore number of 106 CFU/ml. The films were cut using sterilized punch and placed on an inoculated culture medium. The plates were placed inside the incubator at 25°C for 24 hours. The output data were reported as the diameter of the non-growth halo and the anti-fungal index.

The decrease in the size of emulsion droplets below 100 nm resulted in a better dissemination from the cell wall of microorganisms and the anti-film efficiency improved. The microscopic images were an indicator of smooth surfaces for nano-emulsion films similar to control films, and the nano-droplets had better stability in the film matrix.

This study introduced a new kind of nano-active packaging film with some of its improved functional properties.

Nutrition education during childhood plays a substantial role in promotion of healthy eating habits throughout the life. We aimed to assess the effect of a newly designed game-based nutrition education program on nutritional knowledge of preschool children. An experimental study was conducted at eight kindergartens from various socioeconomic levels in Shiraz, Iran. Forty-eight children aged 5 to 6 years old were recruited to the study. We developed a computer-game containing health improving nutritional messages, based on snake and ladder game. The intervention period of game playing was 20 minutes per day for a week. All children were asked to complete a questionnaire, including 9 questions designed for their age group, before and after playing the game. Also, we assessed the acceptance of the game among the experimental group. Forty-seven children including 27 boys and 20 girls completed the study (23 in the experiment and 24 in the control groups). The mean age of participants was 5.71±0.41 years. Baseline scores of nutritional knowledge were significantly more in high socioeconomic regions. The mean score of nutritional knowledge in experimental and control groups improved significantly (0.73±1.62 and 0.52±1.78, respectively). Considering the baseline mean score as covariate, the mean score of nutritional knowledge significantly increased in the experiment group. The results showed that all children preferred to select more healthy foods after playing game. Moreover, the experimental group was interested in playing the game in 3 levels; low (8.7%), high (52.2%), and very high (39.1%). This new game-based educational approach may simplify the education in preschool children and enhance their nutritional knowledge.