Thylakoids: A Novel Food-Derived Supplement for Obesity – A Mini-Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Foshati ◽  
Maryam Ekramzadeh

Abstract. Nowadays, overweight and obesity are major epidemic health problems that can bring about some other health issues such as cardiovascular disease which is the first cause of mortality worldwide. Thylakoids are disc-like membranes responsible for photosynthetic light reactions in chloroplasts of green plants. Although only a few animal and human studies have been conducted regarding the impact of thylakoids on overweight- and obesity-related factors, all of them have resulted in positive outcomes. These outcomes are as follows: increment of satiety response; suppression of hunger sensations, particularly hedonic hunger; reduction of body weight and fat; promotion of glucose homeostasis; decrease in serum lipids; attenuation of oxidative stress and inflammation; and modulation of gut microbiota, notably by increasing some helpful bacteria such as Lactobacillus reuteri. It seems that some of these useful effects are related to retarded absorption of dietary fat and carbohydrate caused by thylakoids. There is still a need for more well-designed studies.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Hawton ◽  
Karen Lascelles ◽  
Fiona Brand ◽  
Deborah Casey ◽  
Liz Bale ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health measures may have major impacts on mental health, including on self-harm. We have investigated what factors related to the pandemic influenced hospital presentations following self-harm during lockdown in England.MethodMental health clinicians assessing individuals aged 18 years and over presenting to hospitals in Oxford and Derby following self-harm during the period March 23rd to 17th May 2020 recorded whether the self-harm was related to the impact of COVID- 19 and, if so, what specific factors were relevant. These factors were organized into a classification scheme. Information was also collected on patients’ demographic characteristics, method of self-harm and suicide intent.ResultsOf 228 patients assessed, in 46.9% (N=107) COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions were identified as influencing self-harm. This applied more to females than males (53.5%, N=68/127 v 38.6%, N=39/101, χ2 = 5.03, p=0.025), but there were no differences in age, methods of self-harm or suicide intent between the two groups. The most frequent COVID-related factors were mental health issues, including new and worsening disorders, and cessation or reduction of services (including absence of face-to-face support), isolation and loneliness, reduced contact with key individuals, disruption to normal routine, and entrapment. Multiple, often inter- connected COVID-related factors were identified in many patients.ConclusionsCOVID-related factors were identified as influences in nearly half of individuals presenting to hospitals following self-harm in the period following introduction of lockdown restrictions. Females were particularly affected. The fact that mental health problems, including issues with delivery of care, predominated has implications for organisation of services during such periods. The contribution of isolation, loneliness and sense of entrapment highlight the need for relatives, friends and neighbours to be encouraged to reach out to others, especially those living alone. The classification of COVID-related factors can be used as an aide-memoire for clinicians.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maki Komiyama ◽  
Koji Hasegawa

Minimising deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global priority. However, the harmful effects are not limited to those directly related to the infection. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a serious impact on the mental health of the general population. An increasing number of people are exhibiting signs of depression and an increase in suicides has also been noted around the world. Mental health issues may be linked to starting or increasing the use of addictive substances, such as tobacco, alcohol and drugs, along with increased overweight and obesity resulting from changes in eating habits. These issues can impact cardiovascular diseases because of worsened risk factor control. This review discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and cardiovascular risk factors. It will also summarise the measures that can be taken to maintain good mental health and their importance in mitigating cardiovascular disease.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 161-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Al-Thani ◽  
Al-Anoud Al-Thani ◽  
Walaa Al-Chetachi ◽  
Hammad Akram

Overweight and obesity are major public health issues worldwide impacting millions of people. The prevalence of increased body weight among children and adolescents is becoming a global phenomenon. The State of Qatar is also experiencing the effects of obesity pandemic among adults and younger populations. In order to examine obesity and overweight parameters, a literature review was carried out using key scientific databases. Furthermore, this mini-review examines the selected factors that could be associated with obesity and overweight situation among children and adolescents living in Qatar. The results showed that the obesity is indeed a major public health issue among youth in Qatar.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
S. JAYARAMAN ◽  
R. Sindhya ◽  
P. Vijiyalakshmi

this research aims to find out the intensity of Employee Engagement of the health care sector workers and the relationship between the Work life factors and Employee Engagement of Health care sector workers in Dindigul District. Primary data were used in this research, were collected from 298 Health care workers from Dindigul District. Questionnaire was the major tool used to gather the primary data from the selected sample respondents. For this purpose, a well structured questionnaire was constructed with the help of professionals and the practiced employees of various health care units in Dindigul District. The health care employees were chosen by simple random sampling method. The investigative measures of regression Path analysis, and simple percentage analysis were utilized to find the impact of work life related factors with the Employee Engagement. The maximum Health care workers were generally satisfied with their jobs. The analytical procedure of path analysis multiple regressions was utilized to determine the predicting strength among Work life factors and the employee engagement. This study provides an another view about the importance of Work life factors and Employee engagement for organizational effectiveness and performance .


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Sheena Chhabra ◽  
Apurva Bakshi ◽  
Ravineet Kaur

Nutraceuticals have been around for quite some time. As the nomenclature suggests, they are placed somewhere between food (nutra-) and medicine (-ceuticals) in terms of their impact on human health. Researches have focused on the impact of various types of nutraceuticals on health, their efficacy in health promotion and disease prevention, and often on suitable uses of certain categories of nutraceuticals for specific health issues. However, we are still far from utilizing the immense potential of nutraceuticals for benefiting human health in a substantial manner. We review the available scholarly literature regarding the role of nutraceuticals in health promotion, their efficacy in disease prevention and the perception of nutraceuticals' health benefits by consumers. Thereafter we analyze the need for regulation of nutraceuticals and various provisions regarding the same.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1362-1380
Author(s):  
Jyoti Singh ◽  
Prasad Rasane ◽  
Vidisha Tomer ◽  
Sawinder Kaur ◽  
Yogesh Gat ◽  
...  

The health issues, mainly overweight and obesity are the growing concerns nowadays due to the associated factors and lifestyle changes which significantly have increased the individual’s health care expenditures. Fad diets are promoted as the easiest and simplest way of shedding the extra weight despite the availability of several treatments available. The prevention and treatment measures, including modification in lifestyle, dietary pattern, and physical activity, are the foundation of weight loss. However, the standard treatment measures are not effective for certain populations as they require long time adherence, which leads to the search for other approaches like fad diet. We steered a comprehensive literature review to present the facts related to fad diets to their efficacy and sustainability. Although fad diets have yielded tremendous positive results in weight loss and cardiovascular risk prevention, the studies reported death in long-term interventions and the results and some of them show side effects too. Randomized controlled trials have significantly reported weight loss in comparison with the popular fad diets; however, persisting on the same diet has also reported kidney problems, ketosis, and other metabolic related problems. The conclusion of this critical review reported that gradual weight loss could be attained by the combination of lifestyle modifications, physical activity, and recommended dietary approaches.


Author(s):  
Genís Majoral ◽  
Francesc Gasparín ◽  
Sergi Saurí

The number of e-commerce transactions is increasing worldwide. Deliveries of goods purchased online generate externalities throughout the whole supply chain and, particularly, the increasing concern about the last-mile distribution of goods. The escalating presence of vans in cities contributes to poor air quality, climate change, noise, and congestion. So far, the majority of solutions to address this issue are based on the supply side, such as electric vans, optimizing the routing and pick-up-points, and so forth. Even in other transport sectors, pricing solutions are well known, yet they have not been extended to e-commerce delivery. This paper aims to propose an environmental tax falling on the demand side and equaling the externalities from this activity. The analysis has been particularized for the case of Barcelona. A cost–benefit analysis to assess the impact of such a tax has been carried out. When revenue collection is reinvested in the logistics sector, and for subsidizing electric distribution vehicles, the results indicate that the levying of the tax can generate positive outcomes.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Colin Eady

For 30 years, forage ryegrass breeding has known that the germplasm may contain a maternally inherited symbiotic Epichloë endophyte. These endophytes produce a suite of secondary alkaloid compounds, dependent upon strain. Many produce ergot and other alkaloids, which are associated with both insect deterrence and livestock health issues. The levels of alkaloids and other endophyte characteristics are influenced by strain, host germplasm, and environmental conditions. Some strains in the right host germplasm can confer an advantage over biotic and abiotic stressors, thus acting as a maternally inherited desirable ‘trait’. Through seed production, these mutualistic endophytes do not transmit into 100% of the crop seed and are less vigorous than the grass seed itself. This causes stability and longevity issues for seed production and storage should the ‘trait’ be desired in the germplasm. This makes understanding the precise nature of the relationship vitally important to the plant breeder. These Epichloë endophytes cannot be ‘bred’ in the conventional sense, as they are asexual. Instead, the breeder may modulate endophyte characteristics through selection of host germplasm, a sort of breeding by proxy. This article explores, from a forage seed company perspective, the issues that endophyte characteristics and breeding them by proxy have on ryegrass breeding, and outlines the methods used to assess the ‘trait’, and the application of these through the breeding, production, and deployment processes. Finally, this article investigates opportunities for enhancing the utilisation of alkaloid-producing endophytes within pastures, with a focus on balancing alkaloid levels to further enhance pest deterrence and improving livestock outcomes.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A261-A262
Author(s):  
Jérémie Potvin ◽  
Laura Ramos Socarras ◽  
Geneviève Forest

Abstract Introduction COVID-19 had a tremendous impact on many aspects of our lives and has caused an increase in stress and mental health issues in many people. We have recently found that there was an increase in nightmares during the pandemic in young adults. Since emotions have been associated with both resilience and nightmares, the objective of this study was to investigate the role of resilience and emotional changes in the increase in nightmares observed during the pandemic, in a group of young adults. Methods Resilience, emotions and nightmares were assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, the Differential Emotions Scale-IV and an adapted version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Measures were administered to 209 young adults (18–25 years old, 76.1% females). Hierarchical multiple regression models were computed to examine the unique contribution of changes in positive and negative emotions during the pandemic to the increase in nightmares during the pandemic. Analyses were controlled for nightmares and emotions prior to COVID-19, and for gender. The sample was separated in two groups: resilient and less resilient young adults. Results Results show that in less resilient young adults, nightmares prior to COVID-19 (β=.79, p<.001) and increase in negative emotions (β=.21, p=.033) significantly predicted nightmares during the pandemic and explained 67.0% of their variance. In resilient young adults, nightmares prior to COVID-19 (β=.56, p<.001) and gender (β=-.15, p=.04) significantly predicted nightmares during the pandemic and explained 52.0% of the variance. Conclusion Our results show that increase in negative emotions during the pandemic is associated with an increase in nightmares in less resilient young adults, but not in resilient young adults. Furthermore, our results show that in resilient young adults, being a woman is associated with an increase in nightmares during the pandemic. These results suggest that resilience may be a protective factor in managing the impact of negative emotions on nightmares, but only in men. Support (if any):


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