Meal Timing and Glycemic Control during Pregnancy—Is There a Link?

Hyperglycemia during pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) constitute an important public health problem due to their prevalence and long-term health consequences both for the mother and offspring. Results from studies in rodents and some clinical investigations suggest that meal time manipulation may be a potential lifestyle approach against conditions involving perturbations in glucose homeostasis (e.g., hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, etc.). The purpose of this review is to summarize and critically evaluate the current literature on the role of meal timing and daily nutrient distribution on glycemic control during pregnancy. Only a small number of mostly observational studies have assessed the role of meal timing in glucose homeostasis during pregnancy. Food consumption earlier in the day and short-term fasting with adequate nutrient intake may improve glycemic control during the second and third trimester of gestation. Considering that the field of chrononutrition is still in its infancy and many questions remain unanswered, future prospective and carefully designed studies are needed to better understand the role of meal timing in metabolic homeostasis and maternal and fetal health outcomes during pregnancy.

Monitoring and Feeding System for Pets

Over the years, more and more households are beginning to have pets. So, the most important issue recently was how to raise pets in an easy way. In today’s world, there is a growing focus on the regular interactions between human and physical devices. This paper introduces a smart pet monitoring and feeding system that is working in an environment of Internet of Things (IoT). Pet feeders came into existence as pet owners found it difficult to cater time to feed their pets. This system allows the owner to schedule and manage feeding times, portion sizes, and food supply for pets. They are controllable on smartphones using blynk and computers in order to feed them even when owners are away. The food dispensing mechanism is performed by the servomotor. It allows the user to monitor the pets using IP camera. A voice recording module is interfaced to the Arduino Uno with the owner’s voice recording for calling the pets at the meal time. Automatic water refilling has been designed and implemented along with the food dispenser.It offers new and developed way of feeding pets without the need of human intervention with refill alert and feeding alert. . Using smart pet feeder in houses will assure pet owners and increase comfort and peace of mind. Especially when we are unavailable for them.

Progression of Postprandial Blood Plasma Phospholipids Following Acute Intake of Different Dairy Matrices: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Studies have indicated that the dairy matrix can affect postprandial responses of dairy products, but little is known about the effect on postprandial plasma phospholipid levels. This study investigated postprandial plasma phospholipid levels following consumption of four different dairy products that are similar in micro and macro nutrients, but different in texture and structure: cheddar cheese (Cheese), homogenized cheddar cheese (Hom. Cheese), micellar casein isolate with cream (MCI Drink) or a gel made from the MCI Drink (MCI Gel). The study was an acute randomized, crossover trial in human volunteers with four test days. Blood samples were collected during an 8 h postprandial period and the content of 53 plasma phospholipids was analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). No meal–time interactions were revealed; however, for nine of the 53 phospholipids, a meal effect was found. Thus, the results indicated a lower plasma level of specific lyso-phosphatidylethanolamines (LPEs) and lyso-phosphatidylcholines (LPCs) following consumption of the MCI Gel compared to the MCI Drink and Hom. Cheese, which might be attributed to an effect of viscosity. However, further studies are needed in order to reveal more details on the effect of the dairy matrix on postprandial phospholipids.

Daytime Restricted Feeding Modifies the Temporal Expression of CYP1A1 and Attenuated Damage Induced by Benzo[a]pyrene in Rat Liver When Administered before CYP1A1 Acrophase

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that heterodimerizes with the AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT) to modulate CYP1A1 expression, a gene involved in the biotransformation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). The AhR pathway shows daily variations under the control of the circadian timing system. Daytime restricted feeding (DRF) entrains the expression of genes involved in the processing of nutrients and xenobiotics to food availability. Therefore, we evaluate if temporal AhR, ARNT, and CYP1A1 hepatic expression in rats are due to light/dark cycles or fasting/feeding cycles promoted by DRF. Our results show that AhR oscillates throughout the 24 h period in DRF and ad libitum feeding rats (ALF), showing maximum expression at the same time points. DRF modified the peak of ARNT expression at ZT5; meanwhile, ALF animals showed a peak of maximum expression at ZT17. An increased expression of CYP1A1 was linked to the meal time in both groups of animals. Although a high CYP1A1 expression has been previously associated with BaP genotoxicity, our results show that, compared with the ALF group, DRF attenuated the BaP-CYP1A1 induction potency, the liver DNA-BaP adducts, the liver concentration of unmetabolized BaP, and the blood aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities when BaP is administered prior to the acrophase of CYP1A1 expression. These results demonstrate that DRF modifies the ARNT and CYP1A1 expression and protects from BaP toxicity.

Relationship of Food Services and Patients Satisfaction in Medan Advent's Public Hospital

Food service in hospital nutrition installations is a form of service activity for patients who are hospitalized which aims to meet the nutritional needs of patients. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between food services and satisfaction of inpatients at the Adventist General Hospital. Field. This study used a survey research method with a cross sectional approach. The data collection technique used a questionnaire. Population of 156 people with a sample of 112 people based on Slovin calculations. Based on the results of the chi-square statistical test, it was found that the variables of mealtime (p = 0,000), food appearance (p = 0,000), food taste (p = 0,000), waiter friendliness (p = 0,000), cleanliness of tools and food (p. = 0.012), and food variation (p = 0.00). The result of multiple logistic regression test shows that the meal time variable has a significant effect on patient satisfaction. There is a relationship, meal time, food appearance, taste of food, waiter friendliness, cleanliness of equipment and food, variety of food with patient satisfaction with food service at the Medan Adventist General Hospital. It is recommended to the special hospital nutrition installation that in food processing always pay attention to the main factors in food processing so that the level of patient satisfaction continues to increase and still maintains the quality and quality of food service.

Qualitative evaluation of school meal menus offered in Brazilian municipalities

This article aims to evaluate the quality of Brazilian school meal menus. Cross-sectional study that analyzed 2,500 menus of 500 Brazilian municipalities. The menus were evaluated based on the Quality Index for School Meal Menus (IQCAE - Indicador de Qualidade para Cardápios da Alimentação Escolar). The data were submitted to descriptive analysis. We found that 29,4% of menus presented high quality; 50,6%, regular quality; and 20%, low quality. Grains and tubers (86%) and Meat and eggs (67%) were the groups most found in menus, followed by Legumes (42,16%), Vegetables (40%), Fruits (35,56%), and Dairy products (18,6%); the frequency of Cured meats and sausages (8,68%) and Sweets as meals (3,64%) was lower. Among other components, 84,6% of the menus offered Sweets as dessert in none or one day a week; ultra-processed foods appear in 65,6% of menus at least once a week. In 22% of the menus, meal time was compatible with type meal served. Important food for child nutrition, such as dairy, vegetables, and fruits, are not regularly provided by school meals. Despite the advances in policy management, the presence of ultra-processed foods at least once a week is still frequent in the menus.

Time of Eating and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Patients with Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Obesity

Objectives To examine the impact of eating prior to or after the mean time of evening meal on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and concomitant obesity. Methods Twelve patients with HFpEF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%) and obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 or fat mass % (FM%) ≥25% men or ≥35% women) underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test to obtain peak oxygen consumption (VO2) relative to body weight (ml•kg−1•min−1) and exercise time. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to measure FM%. Mean evening meal time was established as 7:25 (SD = 2.1 hours) post meridiem (PM) by averaging three consecutive five-pass 24-hour dietary recalls. Participants were classified by having intake prior to (Group I) or after (Group II) 7:25 PM. Total caloric intake and physical activity were obtained at baseline. Differences between groups were assessed with Mann-Whitney U and Spearman's rank correlation was used to examine associations. Results Participants were 64 (52–65) years of age, 75% female, 58% black, and had a BMI of 36.6 (34.2–41.6) kg/m2 with a FM of 42.5 (36.1–45.5)%. Median peak VO2 was 14.6 (11–19.6) ml•kg−1•min−1 and exercise time was 566 (453–786) seconds. Group II had a significantly greater peak VO2 (Group 1: 10.4 (9.5–15.2) ml•kg−1•min−1; Group II: 14.8 (14.4–23.4) ml•kg−1•min−1, P = 0.028) and exercise time (Group 1: 452 (360–505) seconds; Group II: 662 (578–846) seconds, P = 0.007). Physical activity, body composition, age and total daily calories did not differ between groups (all P > 0.1). On univariate analysis, both peak VO2 (r = 0.736, P = 0.006) and exercise time (r = 0.767, P = 0.004) demonstrated a favorable association with time of eating. Conclusions Caloric intake after the mean time of evening meal was associated with better CRF in patients with HFpEF and obesity. Providing nutrients later may help avoid fasting-related stress associated with cardiac metabolic abnormalities found in HF. Prospective randomized controlled trials examining the effects of later evening meal time in patients with HFpEF and obesity are warranted. Funding Sources Study funding was obtained through the American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health and Virginia Commonwealth University Health System.

144 The Effect of Pre-farrow Meal Time on Onset of Parturition in Swine

Genetic selection for increased litter size has resulted in a concomitant increase in stillborn rates in modern genetic lines. In commercial farms, pre-parturient sows are typically fed during daytime hours with a high percentage of farrowings occurring unassisted overnight. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if feeding time can influence the onset of parturition to better align with farm staff hours and increase available assistance. A total of 1,016 sows were used in a commercial farm in Nebraska, USA, to determine the impact of pre-farrow meal time on onset of parturition. Sows were assigned to either control (0700) or alternative (0200) feeding treatments upon entry to farrowing room (~d112 of gestation) and all sows received 2.23 kg daily. Daily feeding time and quantity was controlled with the use of electronic feeders (Gestal SOLO; JYGA Technologies, Inc.). Farrowings had 24 hr monitoring with traits recorded including onset (ON), duration (DUR), piglet interval (PI), and stillborn percentage (SB). The linear model function (lm) in RStudio was used for regression estimates. Alternative sows farrowed earlier (P < 0.05; 1204 vs. 1256 hr) than control-fed sows. Alternative sows also tended to have shorter DUR (P < 0.10; 6.05 vs. 6.19 hr) and narrower PI times (P < 0.10; 22.98 vs. 24.13 min) than control-fed sows. Stillborn percentage decreased (P < 0.05; 8.53 vs. 9.68%) in alternative sows compared to control-fed sows. Combining ON and DUR, we calculated farrowing completion. Alternative fed sows finished parturition earlier (P < 0.05; 1813 vs. 1929 hr) than control fed sows. These results suggest that the alternative strategy can result in earlier onsets, shorter piglet interval and farrowing duration, and a lower stillborn rate when compared to those fed the control strategy and should especially be of interest to farms without labor for 24hr farrowing assistance.