nutrition

Numerous sources, including the new dietary guidelines from the United States, recommend increasing protein intake. Now, a review of more than 350 studies —primarily in laboratory animals— carried out by two researchers suggests, on the contrary, that consuming less protein could have greater health benefits. According to the authors, “it is clear that protein provides benefits for muscle growth and the response to exercise in active people, but, given that most people are relatively sedentary, it is likely that many consume more protein than they actually need, which is likely to have negative health consequences”. The study is published in Cell Press Blue, a journal of the Cell group.

Children whose mothers took high doses of vitamin D (2,800 IU/day) during pregnancy have better verbal and visual memory at the age of 10—among other cognitive functions—than children whose mothers took a standard dose of this vitamin (400 IU/day). This is the conclusion of a study, published in JAMA Network Open, based on a reanalysis of data from 498 children in another study on childhood asthma in Denmark.

Glutathione is considered an antioxidant due to its ability to repair cellular damage. The body produces it naturally, but it is also sold as an antioxidant supplement. A study in mice and human tissue, published in Nature, shows that cancer cells can break it down and use it as fuel—particularly the cysteine it contains—promoting tumour growth and survival. “Depriving tumours of extracellular glutathione or inhibiting its breakdown is potentially a viable therapeutic strategy for cancer patients,” the authors state.

Speaking to the media in Barcelona, the Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy, announced that the ministry will ban the sale of energy drinks to minors under the age of 16 in Spain. The regulation will also apply to minors under the age of 18 when the drinks contain more than 32 milligrams of caffeine per 100 millilitres.

A meta-analysis published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews concludes that intermittent fasting is not particularly effective for weight loss in adults who are obese or overweight, who showed moderate weight loss. This strategy also does not differ significantly from standard dietary advice or improvement in quality of life. The review included 22 studies with nearly 2,000 participants and evaluated various forms of intermittent fasting, including restricting food intake for most of the day and fasting every other day.

Adopting a healthy diet at age 45 can add between two and three years to life expectancy in men, and between 1.5 and 2.3 years in women, according to a study based on data from more than 103,000 people in the United Kingdom. The positive impact is greater for men who follow a diabetes risk reduction diet (DRRD) and for women who follow a Mediterranean-style diet (AMED), says the article published in Science Advances.

An international team has analyzed data from nearly 60 studies involving more than 48,000 children with different types of diets and compared the nutritional profile and various health parameters between those following vegan, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and omnivorous diets. The results indicate that plant-based diets, if well-planned, can promote healthy growth with benefits such as a better cardiovascular profile and lower cholesterol levels. However, they may have difficulty achieving adequate levels of vitamins D and B12, calcium, iron, and zinc. According to the authors, the findings underscore the need for careful planning and supplementation in children following these types of diets. The study is published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 

A study published in PLOS Biology analysed whether supplementation with zinc, serine and branched-chain amino acids —valine, isoleucine and leucine— improves autism-related symptoms in three mouse models. These nutrients are believed to regulate synaptic formation and activity. The results show that the combination of the three nutrients, at low doses for seven days, improved affected brain traits —such as hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity of the amygdala— and the social behaviour of the animals. Individual supplementation did not show such improvements. 

Three articles with Spanish participation, published in The Lancet, review the evidence that ultra-processed foods are worsening diet quality and displacing the consumption of fresh and minimally processed foods. Furthermore, they warn that their consumption is linked to a higher risk of multiple chronic diseases. According to the authors, who also review the associated policies and commercial factors, only a coordinated global response can combat the strategy of the companies that market these products.