The Ideal Diet for Humans to Sustainably Feed The Growing Population – Review, Meta-Analyses, and Policies for Change

Introduction: As of now, no study has combined research from different sciences to determine the most suitable diet for humans. This issue is urgent due to the predicted population growth, the effect of this on the environment, and the deterioration of human health and associated costs. Methods: A literature review determined whether an optimal diet for humans exists and what such a diet is, followed by six meta-analyses. The standard criteria for conducting meta-analyses of observational studies were followed. A review of literature reporting Hazard Ratios with a 95% confidence interval for red meat intake, dairy intake, plant-based diet, fiber intake, and serum IGF-1 levels were extracted to calculate effect sizes. Results: Results calculated using NCSS software show that high meat consumption increases mortality probability by 18% on average and increases diabetes risk by 50%. Plant-based and high-fiber diets decrease mortality by 15% and 20% respectively (p < .001). Plant-based diets decreased diabetes risk by 27%, and dairy consumption (measured by increased IGF-1 levels) increased cancer probability by 48% (p < 0.01). A vegetarian or Mediterranean diet was not found to decrease the probability of heart disease. A vegetarian diet can be healthy or not, depending on the foods consumed. A Mediterranean diet with high quantities of meat and dairy products will not produce the health effects desired. The main limitations of the study were that observational studies were heterogeneous and limited by potential confounders. Discussion: The literature and meta-analyses point to an optimal diet for humans that has followed our species from the beginnings of humankind. The optimal diet is a whole food, high fiber, low-fat, 90+% plant-based diet. This diet allowed humans to become the most developed species on Earth. To ensure people’s nutritional needs are met healthily and sustainably, governmental dietary interventions are necessary.

Practical considerations of dietary therapies for epilepsy in adults

Despite the increasing number of anti-seizure medications becoming available, the proportion of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy remains unchanged. Dietary therapy for epilepsy is well-established practice in paediatric care, but relatively underutilised in adults. Recently, international recommendations have been published to guide the treatment of adults receiving dietary therapy for epilepsy. This review focuses on the specific aspects of care unique to the management of adults receiving dietary therapy for epilepsy, including patient selection, diet composition, initiation, monitoring and cessation of dietary treatment. We emphasise the need for a multidisciplinary team approach with appropriately trained neurologists and dietitians to provide holistic care while the patients are receiving dietary therapy. Future research should focus on the optimal diet composition and meeting the psychosocial needs of adults with epilepsy to maximise efficacy and adherence to dietary treatment.

Culture and community perceptions on diet for maternal and child health: a qualitative study in rural northern Ghana

Background This study explored cultural and community perceptions of optimal diet for maternal and child health in northern Ghana. Methods This was an exploratory cross-sectional study using qualitative methods for data collection. Data were collected between March and April 2019 consisting of 10 focus group discussions with men and women community members between 18 and 50 years in the Kassena-Nankana districts of Ghana. Data were organised using QSR NVivo 12 qualitative software to facilitate thematic analysis. Results All study participants recognised the importance of an optimal diet for mother, child and better pregnancy and breastfeeding outcomes. However, there were different cultural beliefs and taboos about what foods are healthy and non-healthy for women at different stages of the reproductive period. Foods perceived to be unhealthy for pregnant women were fatty foods and fresh meat (uncooked or unprocessed meat) due to the belief that they can lead to delivery complications, which many women feared. In addition, some participants relayed the cultural belief that pregnant woman should not eat eggs because it would make the child a thief. Lactating mothers are not to eat foods such as vigna subterranean known locally as bambara bean and “gari” (local meal made from cassava) because it is believed to inhibit breastmilk production. Participants emphasised that food insecurity and economic constraints meant women could not achieve optimal diet and could not afford to be selective in food choices. Conclusion Community members recognized the importance of optimal nutrition but were constrained by poverty and cultural barriers. A dual approach which targets improvements of local food production and economic empowerment in combination with community-based discussion and education of the impacts of food taboos on health, should facilitate improvement in the diets of women and future generations.

An Optimized Dietary Plan for Strengthening the Immune System During COVID 19 Crises

The World Health Organization announced corona virus disease 19 (COVID 19) as a global pandemic. As the government has implemented various policies, the major challenge was to support immune system in general population who are under self-confinement. An optimal diet plan and nutritional supplements are advised to effectively boost the immune system during the COVID 19 crises. We have suggested an optimized dietary plan for an adult with adequate requirements. A balanced diet could help strengthen the immune system of individuals and prepare to fight against COVID 19.

Diet Therapy In Food Allergy And Fungal Pathology

Nowadays allergic diseases are the most common diseases and affect the economic performance of different countries of the world. These diseases often affect children, adolescents and young adults, who should actively study or work. The main factors that determine the possibility of developing sensitization to various groups of allergens are the presence of exposure and the properties of a particular allergen. Global climate changes on the planet have affected the amount of pollen of plants and fungi. The use of new technologies in the food industry has radically changed the generally accepted understanding of the composition of a particular product. It is important to identify the causative allergenic product in order to prescribe optimal diet therapy.

Effects of Different Diet Types on Growth and Survival of White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in Hatcheries

Developing an optimal diet for rearing endangered white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes is important for captive breeding success prior to wild release. Four ex situ, 40-day experiments assessed survival and growth of crayfish fed different treatment diets. Two experiments (A and B) were undertaken with hatchlings, to determine if live food was an essential dietary component during the first few weeks after hatching. The second set of experiments (C and D) were undertaken with juvenile (60-day-old) A. pallipes, to determine an optimal diet after the initial critical feeding stage. In experiment A, we fed hatchlings: i) live Artemia nauplii + plankton (Live + P); ii) decapsulated Artemia cysts + plankton (Cyst + P) or iii) decapsulated Artemia cysts + plankton encapsulated in agar gel (Gel + CP). Survival and growth was significantly greater with Live + P than with the other two diets. In experiment B we compared Live + P with commercially available feeds by feeding hatchlings: i) live Artemia nauplii + Australian pellet (Live + Aus); ii) live Artemia nauplii plus New Zealand pellet (Live + NZ); iii) live Artemia nauplii + plankton (Live + P); or (iv) practical Spanish crayfish pellet diet (Spain). Under these experimental conditions crayfish survival was significantly higher with Live + P diet than with Live + Aus or Spain. Growth was also significantly greater with Live + P than with the Live + NZ or Spanish treatment diets. In experiment C, 60-day-old juvenile A. pallipes were fed: i) defrosted plankton plus vegetables (Standard) or (ii) defrosted plankton plus vegetables encapsulated in agar gel (Gel + PV). Survival was not significantly different between the diets; however, growth was significantly greater with the Standard diet rather than Gel + PV. In experiment D, juveniles were fed four different diets: i) Australian pellet (Australia); ii) New Zealand pellet (New Zealand); iii) plankton and vegetables (Standard); or iv) practical Spanish diet (Spain). Survival was significantly lower in crayfish fed the New Zealand diet. Crayfish growth was significantly greater with the Standard diet of plankton and vegetables than all three pellet diets. Our results showed that live food is optimal for high survival and growth in A. pallipes hatchlings and a plankton, plus vegetable, diet produces higher growth in juveniles compared to pellet diets.

The system of components dosing in compound feed

Feed production, feeding of animals and poultry is an integral part of animal husbandry and poultry farming. Proper feeding of animals and poultry, which implies the making of an optimal diet with the input of useful premixes and vitamins, can increase their productivity. In Russia the predominant type of feeding is complete feed, which includes compound feed. Regardless of the type of feed in the process of its production, it is necessary to observe the proportions of its components. Dispensers are used for dosing, which depending on the purpose, are divided into mass and volume. We have made an attempt to generalize, systematize and implement the accumulated experience in the form of a scheme that allows us to understand the principle of operation of modern systems for dosing feed components, in which augers are used as feeding mechanisms. The purpose of the research was to build a scheme for selecting parameters and develop a methodology for studying the dosage system of feed components based on it. The results of the analysis of intellectual property protection documents and scientifi c works in the fi eld of dosing have been used to make a scheme for selecting parameters of the feed components dosing system. The results of observations on the operation of the developed system under production conditions and design features have been also taken into account. As a result of the research developed the scheme of selection of the operating parameters of the dosing system, revealed its shortcomings in the form of lower dosing accuracy with the decrease in the mass of the weighed components and the long search settings when composing the new diet. The methods have been developed to address the identifi ed defi ciencies in the determination of limit values of technological parameters.

A Test of Foraging Models Using Dietary Diversity Indices for the Lomako Forest Bonobos

Optimal diet and functional response models are used to understand the evolution of primate foraging strategies. The predictions of these models can be tested by examining the geographic and seasonal variation in dietary diversity. Dietary diversity is a useful tool that allows dietary comparisons across differing sampling locations and time periods. Bonobos (<i>Pan paniscus</i>) are considered primarily frugivorous and consume fruits, leaves, insects, vertebrates, terrestrial herbaceous vegetation, and flowers. Frugivores, like bonobos, are valuable for examining dietary diversity and testing foraging models because they eat a variety of species and are subject to seasonal shifts in fruit availability. Frugivorous primate species thus allow for tests of how variation in dietary diversity is correlated with variation in ecological factors. We investigated measures of dietary diversity in bonobos at two research camps across field seasons within the same protected area (N’dele and Iyema) in Lomako Forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We compared the results of behavioral observation (1984/1985, 1991, 1995, 2014, and 2017) and fecal washing analysis (2007 and 2009) between seasons and study period using three diversity indices (Shannon’s, Simpson’s, and SW evenness). The average yearly dietary diversity indices at N’dele were Shannon’s <i>Hʹ</i> = 2.04, Simpson’s D = 0.82, and SW evenness = 0.88 while at Iyema, the indices were Shannon’s <i>Hʹ</i> = 2.02, Simpson’s D = 0.82, and SW evenness = 0.88. Behavioral observation data sets yielded significantly higher dietary diversity indices than fecal washing data sets. We found that food item (fruit, leaf, and flower) consumption was not associated with seasonal food availability for the 2017 behavioral observation data set. Shannon’s index was lower during periods when fewer bonobo dietary items were available to consume and higher when fruit was abundant. Finally, we found that optimal diet models best-explained patterns of seasonal food availability and dietary diversity. Dietary diversity is an essential factor to consider when understanding primate diets and can be a tool in understanding variation in primate diets, particularly among frugivores. Dietary diversity varies across populations of the same species and across time, and it is critical in establishing a complete understanding of how primate diets change over time.