Journal of Nutrition and Food Security
Volume:8 Issue: 2, May 2023

some studies have suggested that vitamin C deficiency may play a role in the etiology of depression although the efficient dose and time of prescription is not clear now.  Also, it is not known which antidepressant drugs could be more efficient in augmentation with vitamins. Nowadays, due to the importance and more prevalence of psychiatric disorders, dietary supplements which would augment the effects of drugs have been taken into consideration. Moreover, dose titration of anti-depressant drugs is a lifelong challenge due to unwanted side effects

T he World Health Organization, defines health literacy as cognitive and social skills increasing the motivation and ability of  individuals to acquire information to promote and maintain their health (Tugut et al., 2021). Nowadays, food literacy, as a subset of health literacy are receiving serious attention worldwide (Vamos et al., 2021). Food literacy has been defined as a vital element in improving food insecurity and increasing food knowledge and skills with the aim of improving healthy eating behavior, which leads to reducing food hygiene inequalities (Steils and Obaidalahe, 2020).

Vitamin B12 affects and modify the function of multiple organ systems. Its deficiency may cause psychiatric symptoms in addition to hematologic, gastrointestinal, and neurologic manifestations. The present case study aims to report  a patient with vitamin B12 deficiency who coexisted with resistant and persistent depression, and experienced mania phase after the replacement of vitamin B12. For a patient with refractory and resistant depression  and evidence or a risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency, it is required to check plasma levels and monitor psychiatric symptoms during vitamin B12 supplementation. There are some manifestations of B12 deficiency including bipolar disorder, mood lability, irritability, and psychosis due to deficiency but  we  didn’t  find  case  report  about  induce  of  psychiatric  presentation follow   correction  of  vitamin B12  deficiency

It is important to use a valid and reliable tool to measure appetite in practice and clinical research. This study aims to evaluate the characteristics, reliability, and validity of the Persian version of the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ) and Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ).

After assessing the content validity of CNAQ and SNAQ questionnaires by both a group of experts and participants, the reliability and validity of the Persian version of these questionnaires among 250 community-dwelling elderlies (≥ 65 years, non-hospitalized in nursing homes or hospitals) were assessed. Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the appetite questionnaires and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), weight, and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated. In addition, the internal reliability of the SNAQ and CNAQ was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Factor analysis was also performed.

According to CNAQ, 142 (56.8%) participants and according to SNAQ, 124 (49.6%) participants had poor appetite (P = 0.0001). Both CNAQ and SNAQ were significantly associated with the MNA score (r = 0.57 and 0.64, respectively, P = 0.001). Appetite also had a significant, but moderate correlation with weight (r = 0.38 and 0.31 for CNAQ and SNAQ, respectively) and BMI (r = 0.39 and 0.36 for CNAQ and SNAQ, respectively), and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.74 for CNAQ and 0.70 for SNAQ. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that the CNAQ and SNAQ were both constructed of one factor (appetite).

The Iranian version of CNAQ and SNAQ are both simple and applicable tools to assess the appetite of Iranian community-dwelling older adults.

Today there is an increasing demand for low-calorie and functional food products worldwide. Green tea powder (GTP) has antioxidant property due to its phenolic structure which makes it a good natural replacement for synthetic antioxidants. Stevia is a calorie-free product which can be substituted for sucrose in foods. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using GTP and stevia instead of flour and sugar, respectively, in the formulation of non-fermented layer cake.

To do so, different concentrations of GTP (10, 20, 30% w/w) and stevia (40, 60, 80% w/w) were incorporated into the formulation of cake. Ten treatments were designed and the rheological properties of dough including farinograph and extensograph characteristics were measured. Three dough samples with superior rheological properties along with control sample were baked. The physicochemical and sensory properties of the selected samples were compared with those of control sample.

The layer cakes containing 10% GTP and 40%, 60%, and 80% stevia were selected as the superior treatments and their quality properties were compared with those of control sample. Increased concentration of stevia significantly reduced the specific volume and increased the firmness of the layer cake samples. There was no significant difference in total acceptance between the layer cakes containing GTP and stevia and control sample.

The treatment containing 10% green tea powder and 80% stevia was selected as the superior treatment regarding the nutritional and quality properties.

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and related factors of under-nutrition among under 5-year-old children in Fars province, Iran.  

This cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2017-2018 in Fars province of Iran. The study consisted of 606 children (0-59 months) from 13 regions of Fars province. A structured questionnaire collected the data, and under-nutrition indices, including stunting, wasting, and underweight, were investigated by the mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression model.

The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 2%, 4%, and 4.1%, respectively. Low birth weight was a risk factor for three undernutrition indices (P < 0.001; P < 0.001; and P = 0.004). Urban children were significantly more underweight and wasted than rural children (P = 0.001; and P = 0.002, respectively). Under-nutrition rates were impressed by the family size, mother's education, and father's occupation.  

The prevalence of undernutrition in children can be reduced by identifying and controlling significant factors, including birth weight, maternal education, type of settlement, family size, and father's occupation.

The frequent conflict between nomads and farmers has been recently a major challenge in Nigeria, resulting in a huge economic setback which may have serious consequences on food security in Nigeria. There are limited studies linking to food security; hence, this study aims to examine the effect of the nomad–farmer conflict on food security among arable crop farmers in Iwajowa, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Primary data was used for the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 150 arable crop farmers through a multistage sampling procedure from two wards and three villages, which were randomly selected. The food security index (FSI) and Logit regression model were used for data analysis.

The result revealed that the majority (74.67%) of the arable crop farmers were affected by the nomad-farmer conflict. Most of the arable crop farmers (54.00%) were food insecure. The factors that predisposed the arable crop farmers to being affected by the conflict were access to water point, land tenure system, bush burning, and years of education at different levels. Being affected by the nomad–farmer conflict caused food insecurity along with age, sex, and household size.

It was therefore concluded that arable crop farmers in the study area were mostly affected by the nomad-conflicts that influence food insecurity. Policy measures by the government aimed at reducing the conflict between arable crop farmers and nomads should include water supply and increasing farmers’ years of education

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It is linked to genetic and environmental factors such as nutrition. Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the major pathological changes in PCOS. This study aimed to determine the relationship between IR and macronutrient intake in PCOS subgroups.

This case-control study was performed on 151 women with PCOS and were divided into four groups according to the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria: A=41, B=33, C=40, and D=37, and 31 women were also in the control group and did not have this syndrome. All macronutrients were assessed with a 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).

There was a significant relationship between HOMA-IR and some dietary components
 (Increased calorie in group A, increased total fat intake in group C, lower intake of unsaturated fats (PUFA and MUFA) in group D and higher intake of saturated fat (SFA) and protein intake in the control group). There was no correlation in subgroup B (ovulatory phenotype).

Due to the significant relationship between IR and some dietary components in PCOS subtypes, it is recommended to maintain a balance in carbohydrate and fatty acids intake, and increase dietary fiber to improve health parameters in PCOS subjects.

Herbs and spices, having antimicrobial effect, can be incorporated into edible films to extend product shelf life and to reduce the risk of microbial growth on food. Chitosan edible films have shown great promise for their application in food preservation and also are promising systems to be used as essential oils (EOs) carriers. This study aims to investigate the effect of EOs incorporation on the physical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of chitosan films.

Chitosan active films incorporated with cinnamon, clove, laurel, basil, and lemongrass EOs were investigated for physical parameters of color, thickness, opacity, moisture content, and water solubility in order to study the impact of the incorporation of EOs into the chitosan matrix. The antioxidant property of films was determined based on the method of DPPH to analyze and evaluate the quality of tested films. Furthermore, antibacterial activity was carried by agar diffusion method on food spoilage bacteria of Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E.coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and klebsiella pneumonia.

In general, all chitosan EOs films presented yellowish coloration, slight thicknesses, good transparency in visible light, and high wettability. Compared to other tested films, chitosan film incorporated with clove EO had the highest total phenolic content of 0.303 mg/g Gallic acid equivalent with the highest antioxidant capacity of 89.93% value. All the films exhibited antibacterial activity against the studied food spoilage bacteria except of the chitosan films incorporated with Basil and Lemongrass EOs showed no inhibitory activity against E.coli. A significant antimicrobial bacterial inhibition zone of (20 mm) was assigned for clove chitosan film against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, Lemongrass chitosan film against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and klebsiella pneumonia, and Basil chitosan films against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Chitosan active films incorporated with the studied EOs assigned an effective antioxidant and antimicrobial activity to be used for active food packaging.

In 2010, food subsidy program implemented since 1979 was replaced by unconditional cash transfer (CT) in Iran. The present pre-and-post evaluation study aims to compare food security and expenditures of urban households during the implementation of food subsidy and CT programs.

Using a stratified cluster sampling method, 266 households were selected from Tehran city. Data were collected in two phases: before (2009) and after (2012) implementing CT program using questionnaires including demographics; household expenditure; locally validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS); and three consecutive 24-hours diet recalls. Seven focus group discussions (FGDs) with women were also held.

After implementing CT program, the households' food and total expenditures increased and their family size decreased. Mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity increased from 19.3%, 13.3%, and 11% to 28.4%, 15.5%, and 12.5%, respectively (P<0.001). There was a significant decrease in consumption of fat and oils and sugary food groups (time effect P<0.05). The consumption of fruits, meat, and dairy products was lower in the food insecure women than in the food secure ones (group effect P<0.05). However, the food secure and insecure households behaved differently in terms of only sugar consumption (time group effect P<0.05). Based on the FGDs, relative deprivation and social gaps increased.

Considering the reduction in welfare index, targeting poor/vulnerable groups, as well as conditional CT could be considered in Iran

Fresh vegetables can play an important role in health and food security. This study aimed to assess the safety of the vegetable supply chain in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic by strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.

A mixed-methods study was conducted in two phases in 2021. First, in the cross-sectional study, 192 staff were randomly selected from five major centers of vegetable retail centers. Then, semi-structured interviews were done with ten stakeholders, and a SWOT analysis was completed.

Half of the participants had desirable hygienic practices, 39.6% had acceptable, and 8.9% had weak practice scores. The practice of participants whose educational level was BSc and above was better than that of illiterates
(OR =15.38, 95% CI =1.61-14.57, P=0.01). SWOT analysis results identified a poor shelf-life of vegetables, weak technology in planting, harvesting, and distributing vegetables.

Policymakers can utilize the practical solutions for taking action in the potential strengthening of vegetable safety in the supply chain to improve public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plant foods contain almost all of the essential mineral and organic nutrients for human, as well as several unique organic phytochemicals that have been linked to the promotion of good health. This study investigated the influence of traditional food processing systems on the food safety, chemical compositions, and functional properties of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L) seed flour.

Fresh mature pumpkin fruits were procured from the laboratory. The pumpkin seed was divided into three different portions and subjected to traditional sand toasting, germination, and processing into flour. The samples were analyzed for proximate composition, minerals, heavy metals, vitamins, functional properties, and microbial safety.

The result of proximate composition analyses revealed that raw and traditionally processed pumpkin seed flour had 33.75-39.63% protein, 43.65-36.36% fat, 7.38-5.89% moisture, 4.85-6.04% ash, 1.89-2.25% fiber, and 5.94-14.49% carbohydrate. The mineral and heavy metal content were in the range of 7.17-4.13 mg/100 Iron, 117.88-221.55 mg/100 g Potassium, 7.41-9.01 mg/100 g Calcium, 45.67-55.65 mg/100 g Phosphorus, 0.89-4.67 mg/100 g Iodine, and 7.39-6.33 mg/100 g Zinc. The toxic/deleterious elements values for Hg, Pb, As, and Cd were 0.018-0.004 mg/100 g; 0.021–0.062 mg/100 g, 0.013–0.092 mg/100 g, and 0.0011-0.0051 mg/100 g, respectively.  Cyanide, Nitrate, Phytate, and Oxalate contents of the pumpkin seed flour were 0.72-0.32 mg/100 g, 2.77–1.00 mg/100 g, 35.56–14.56 mg/100 g, and 0.073–0.030 mg/100 g, respectively. An appreciable amount of vitamins (Beta-carotene, vitamin C, and thiamine) were recorded with excellent functional properties. The microbial count was within the limit of national and international standards showing the processed pumpkin seed flour to be safe. 

It can be concluded that subjecting pumpkin seeds to traditional processing methods enhanced their nutritional properties and food safety quality. Therefore, adopting this traditional processing approach can be used in rural community nutrition and nutrition in emergency feeding programs in developing countries.

Inland fisheries are considered to have the potential to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition globally. However, its contribution has been unrecognized. The study aimed to analyze the determinants of food security status among households involved and uninvolved in inland fisheries in Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM), Limpopo Province.

A total of 115 households were interviewed following snowball, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) were used as data analysis tools. These tools were used to obtain the socio-economic characteristics of households and the determinants of food security status.

A total of 72 households were identified as fishers, while 43 households were not fishers. Moreover, the results confirm that there was no significant difference in the food security status of households involved in inland fisheries and those who were not involved; however, most of them were mildly food insecure. Additionally, total household income, marital status, level of education and  type of agricultural activity determine the food security status of households involved in inland fisheries and those who were not involved.

The integration of inland fisheries and other sectors is necessary to address household food insecurity related issues.

This study investigated the effect of exposure of enamel surfaces to dried fruit suspension including dates, raisins, and dried apricot on their micro-hardness changes.

In this in vitro study, fifty enamel sections of bovine incisor teeth were mounted inside the acrylic resin so that the enamel surface would not be exposed to the acrylic. After surface polishing, the initial micro-hardness was measured by a Vickers hardness-testing machine. The samples were randomly placed into five different solutions including apricot, raisin and date suspension, citric acid (positive control) or sorbitol (negative control), 5 times a day, each time for 5 minutes, and then in artificial saliva for 60 minutes. This process was repeated for 20 days. Eventually, the final micro-hardness of the samples was measured. Micro-hardness changes between groups were compared through ANOVA and TUKEY test using SPSS 23 software with a significance level of P<0.05.

After exposure, the micro-hardness of the teeth was significantly reduced in all three suspensions prepared from dried fruit (P<0.05). Apricot and date had the highest and lowest effects on reducing the micro-hardness of teeth, respectively. Sorbitol solution did not have a significant effect on changing the micro-hardness of teeth (P=0.13).

The suspension of studied fruits (apricot, raisin, date) causes a significant reduction in micro-hardness of the dental enamel surface, indicating the negative effect of frequent consumption of dried fruits over long periods of time on dental health.

Shift work in services and industry is increasing in developing countries, especially industrialized ones, due to the need for a flexible workforce and to achieve maximum efficiency. Shift working can cause problems for people's health and bodily functions. This study aims to determine the relationship between dietary intake, obesity, and shift working among employees of Pasargad Petrochemical Company.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 119 employees within the age range of 25-60 years and an average body mass index (BMI) of 25.67. Their food intakes were extracted using Food Frequency Questionnaires. Data analysis was performed through STATA data analysis software.

119 male participants with a mean age of 33.62 ±7.12 year were included in the study, of whom 64.7% were non-shift workers and 35.3% were shift workers. The daily calorie intake of the participants was 2864.54 ± 1184.43 kcal. Although non-shift workers consumed a higher but insignificant amount of energy, no statistical differences were found in dietary intake between shift workers and non-shift workers (P<0.05). Furthermore, multiple linear regressions regarding shift work did not have a significant effect on BMI and waist circumference.

Although no statistically significant relationship was found between food intake and shift work, it is suggested that future studies be conducted with a larger sample size because of the importance of shift work

Carnitine is necessary for allowing the long-chain fatty acids to pass the inner mitochondrial membrane to induce β -oxidation. Lack of carnitine and abnormalities of mitochondria play an important role in forming fatty deposition in the liver, and hence, developing steatohepatitis. Carnitine and acylcarnitine identified in human erythrocytes and intra-erythrocyte acetylcarnitine have a significant relationship with the plasma levels.

The present study was conducted to investigate the possible effects of L-carnitine on liver function, folate and vitamin B12 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study, 70 patients with T2DM were randomly assigned to either a L-carnitine (CG) and a placebo group (PG). For 12 weeks, the first group received 1000 mg/d oral L-carnitine, whereas the second group received 1000 mg/day wheat starch as placebo. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), folate, Vitamin B12, complete blood count (CBC) including blood cells and indicators related to anemia were assessed at baseline.

64 patients managed to complete the study (32 in each group). The results indicated that consumption of L-carnitine compared with placebo had no significant effect on liver enzymes, folate, vitamin B12, and CBC with differential.

 Daily intake of 1000 mg L-carnitine for 12 weeks had no effect on liver function and anemia indicators including CBC, folate, and vitamins B12.

Dietary intake is one of the modifiable risk factors for biliary stones. In recent studies, plant protein intake is associated with a lower risk of biliary stones in comparison to animal protein intake; however, the results are contradictory. The current study aims to compare the effect of animal protein and plant protein on the formation of biliary stone in one of the gastroenterology and liver disease centers in Iran.

110 participants who had a history of biliary stone and 230 controls who were normal in terms of biliary diseases and referred to the medical center from November 2017 to October 2018 enrolled in this study. Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used for the nutritional assessment; moreover, demographic and anthropometric data, habitual history and comorbidities were collected. Statistical analysis was conducted by SPSS software.

Plant protein consumption was significantly lower (P=0.03) and animal protein intake was significantly higher (P=0.02) among men in case compared to controls. Furthermore, the relationship between biliary stone disease and animal protein intake was significant in crude model for men (OR: 1.03, 95% CI=1.01-1.05). In addition, the risk of biliary stone was significantly lower in patients with higher consumption of plant protein (for women: OR: 0.94, 95% CI=0.89-0.99, for both sexes: OR: 0.96, 95%CI=0.93-0.99).

The present study suggested that consumption of animal protein sources increased the risk of biliary stone, and intake of plant protein sources decreased the risk of biliary stone

Selenium (Se) plays an important role in numerous immunological functions of human health. It has been shown that maternal Se deficiency contributes to many pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), miscarriage, and even fetal growth restriction. Due to the evidence of importance of Se in pregnancy outcomes and the inconsistency of current shreds of evidence on Se adequacy in Iranian pregnant women, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of published studies. This systematic review explored studies reporting dietary Se intake, serum or plasma Se, and Umbilical cord Se in Iranian pregnant women.

PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Google scholar (in English and Persian), and Persian databases, including Scientific Information Database, IranDoc, Iranian National Library, Magiran, and Regional Information Center for Science and Technology, were reviewed.

A total of 30 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled effect sizes show an overall value of 90.09 µg/l (95% CI: 81.89, 98.29) and 75.08 µg/d (95% CI: 63.01, 87.16) for serum and dietary Se. Geographically, the lowest serum Se was in Fars and East-Azerbaijan with values of 61.97 µg/l (51.38, 72.55) and 55.12 µg/l (48.5, 61.74), respectively. Dietary intake pooled estimate showed that the lowest Se intake was in West-Azerbaijan with a value of 42.80 µg/d (95% CI: 38.95, 46.65).

The current study shows that the overall serum and dietary intake of Se in Iranian pregnant women is acceptable. Some parts of the country need monitoring to prevent Se inadequacy and related-adverse complications in pregnant women.

The current systematic review was conducted to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D levels, bone health, and physical performance indices in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI).

The PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched for studies published up to June 2020, with no language limits. To determine the risk of bias, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality criteria checklist was used.

Eight studies that met all of the inclusion criteria were identified. All of the eligible studies had a high level of heterogeneity regarding outcome measures, study design, and the dose of vitamin D. The majority of the trials showed beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation on serum vitamin D levels and other outcome measures in patients with SCI. Three randomized controlled trials revealed a low risk of bias, whilst other studies were rated as the  either neutral or negative risk of bias.

This review suggests that vitamin D supplementation could improve vitamin D levels, bone health, and physical performance indices in individuals with SCI. However, due to the high level of heterogeneity, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further studies on this population should be performed to have sufficient power and a robust design to give definitive conclusions.