Vânia Magalhães

Flavonoids are a key class of polyphenols, i.e., phytochemical compounds present in foods and beverages, which have been described as having health benefits in preventing several chronic diseases. Estimating flavonoid intake has already been conducted in several countries but has yet to be performed in Portugal. This study included 5005 participants aged 3–84 years and aimed to estimate dietary flavonoid intake in the Portuguese population, using data from the National Food and Physical Activity Survey 2015–2016, providing information on intake, main food contributors and the socio-demographic factors associated with the intake. Food intake data from the survey was converted to flavonoid intake using a database built to include the most updated USDA databases on flavonoids, isoflavones and proanthocyanidins and the Phenol-Explorer database. The rationale for combining food consumption data and different flavonoid databases using the FoodEx2 classification system was established. Linear regressions assessed the associations between socio-demographic factors and dietary flavonoid intake. The total flavonoid intake of the Portuguese population was estimated to be 107·3 mg/d. Flavanols were the most representative subclass, followed by flavonols, anthocyanidins, flavanones, flavones and isoflavones. Fruits and vegetables were the primary food contributors, providing 31·5 % and 12·4 % of the total flavonoid intake. Adolescents had the lowest total flavonoid intake, and older adults had the highest. This study provides information on the Portuguese population’s dietary flavonoids, allowing for international comparisons. It can also streamline forthcoming investigations into the link between flavonoid consumption and its impact on health, contributing to the future establishment of dietary reference values.

A diverticulose do cólon consiste na presença de alterações anatómicas em forma de bolsa na parede do intestino grosso, passando a designar-se doença diverticular quando se desenvolvem sintomas. Por sua vez, a doença diverticular, subdivide-se em doença diverticular sintomática não complicada, diverticulite aguda ou crónica (não complicada ou complicada), hemorragia diverticular e colite associada à diverticulose. Têm sido descritos diversos fatores modificáveis que influenciam o desenvolvimento e o tratamento destas condições, em particular a alimentação. Esta revisão temática teve como objetivo descrever e analisar a influência de determinadas opções alimentares e nutricionais na prevenção e no tratamento da diverticulose e da doença diverticular. Foram selecionadas meta-análises, revisões sistemáticas, revisões temáticas, recomendações e trabalhos originais publicados entre 2013 e 2023 disponibilizados nas bases de dados Pubmed e Scopus. Da leitura efetuada, verificámos que a obesidade e a ingestão de álcool são fatores de risco para a diverticulose. Uma maior ingestão de fibra e de vitamina D poderá diminuir o risco de doença diverticular, contrariamente à ingestão de álcool. Não foi encontrada associação com a cafeína. A relação com os oligossacarídeos, dissacarídeos, monossacarídeos e polióis fermentescíveis ainda carece de mais investigação. Em relação aos alimentos, o consumo de frutos oleaginosos, sementes e grãos aparenta diminuir o risco de doença diverticular. Já o consumo de carne vermelha parece ter um papel negativo. No tratamento, a recomendação de ingestão de fibra é diferente de acordo com o subtipo de doença diverticular e a utilização da nutrição artificial pode contribuir para um melhor prognóstico.

Background: Ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption has been associated with unhealthy outcomes. However, the literature lacks robust longitudinal studies considering its cumulative effect, particularly in young populations. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between UPF consumption patterns throughout childhood with growth and adiposity trajectories. Methods:Participants from the Generation XXI population-based birth cohort (Porto, Portugal) were included. Food frequency questionnaire items at 4, 7 and 10 years were classified according to the processing degree using the NOVA classification. UPF consumption patterns were identified using a probabilistic Gaussian mixture model using participants with complete data and predicting for the total sample (n=8647). To assess whether the outcome trajectories from 4 to 13 years of age [body weight, height, body mass index (BMI) z-score, waist circumference (WC) and fat mass percentage (FM%)] depend on the UPF patterns, a mixed-effects model with linear and quadratic terms for age and adjusted for confounders was used. Participants with at least one measurement at 4, 7, 10 or 13 years were included in this study (n range: 5885-6272). Results: Four UPF consumption patterns were identified: constantly lower consumption(15.4%), constantly intermediate consumption (56.4%), transition from low to high consumption (17.2%), and constantly higher consumption(17.1%). Compared to the constantly lower UPF consumption, the constantly higher consumption pattern was associated with greater acceleration in body weight (β: 0.119; 95%CI: 0.027;0.212), BMI z-score (β: 0.014; 95%CI: 0.004;0.023), WC (β: 0.232; 95%CI: 0.144;0.319) and FM% (β: 0.200; 95%CI: 0.092;0.308) and with lower acceleration in height (β: -0.063; 95%CI: -0.111;-0.015). The constantly intermediate UPF consumption pattern was associated with greater acceleration in body weight (β: 0.123; 95%CI: 0.043;0.203), WC (β: 0.120; 95%CI: 0.045;0.195) and FM% (β: 0.146; 95%CI: 0.054;0.238). Conclusions: Constantly higher and constantly intermediate UPF consumption throughout childhood were associated with worse growth and adiposity trajectories until adolescence.

This study aimed to evaluate the risk of the Portuguese population’s exposure to six non-nutritive intense sweeteners (NNIS) and their main associated factors. A tiered approach was used to estimate the usual exposure to the NNIS obtained from two 1-day food diaries among children and two 24-hour recalls among adults in the Portuguese national dietary survey (IAN-AF 2015–2016; age: 3–84 y; n = 5005). The tiers considered were the following: Tier 2.1 represents the most conservative tier, in which all foods reported were matched with the respective maximum permitted levels (MPLs); in Tier 2.2, the MPLs were attributed only to the foods for which the brand’s label information identified the presence of an added NNIS; finally, Tier 3 was identical to Tier 2.2, but analytical NNIS occurrence data were used, instead of MPLs. The usual exposure of the Portuguese population to each NNIS was very low in all tiers across all age groups, as was the estimated prevalence of exposure above the acceptable daily intake. Soft drinks were the main source of exposure for most sweeteners, and acesulfame K and aspartame were the most consumed NNIS. The odds of exposure to at least one NNIS were higher in more highly educated adults and elderly, obese elderly, women, and people with lower healthy diet scores. The estimated risk of exceeding the safety levels of NNIS intake was very low in all evaluated population groups, even when considering the most conservative approach.

Although different methods for the evaluation of energy intake (EI) misreport have been described, it is unclear which one is the most appropriate.To assess the performance of these methods in the ...