Serge Rezzi

Purpose of review: Omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) consumption remains widespread despite inconsistent reported health benefits. This review discusses multiple issues related to the efficiency of ω-3 PUFAs on human health including factors driving ω-3 PUFAs bioavailability and growing concerns about product quality. Recent findings: Recent clinical research reports ω-3 PUFAs benefits in various areas including cardiometabolic health, inflammation, cognitive protection, pregnancy outcomes, cancer and certain neuropsychiatric conditions. However, effects on healthy individuals and dietary recommendations need stronger clinical evidence. Heterogeneity in supplementation response involves genetic variability, microbiome, oxidative stress, diet and differences in supplementation protocols. Moreover, some of ω-3 PUFAs products are prone to significant oxidative degradation which can drastically reduce health benefits while possibly being detrimental. Yet ω-3 PUFAs oxidation status of products remains rarely reported and the effects of long-term consumption of oxidized lipids in humans still need to be established. Summary: Future clinical practices and research should shift toward biomarker-guided and personalized ω-3 PUFAs intervention strategies with mandatory prerequisite knowledge about product quality, e.g. dietary supplements and ω-3 PUFAs rich/fortified foods, and baseline blood-based ω-3 PUFAs nutritional status. Standardized reporting of formulation, oxidation status, and participant baseline characteristics is essential to clarify dose–response relationships and optimize therapeutic efficacy of ω-3 PUFAs.

Nutrient efficiency at the core of nutrition and sustainability

(1) Background: A recent review concluded that there was no strong evidence for beneficial vitamin D effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but whether individuals with vitamin D deficiency have a higher risk of CVD should be further studied. (2) Aims: We assessed the association between vitamin D levels and CVD events, CVD mortality, and overall mortality in a prospective population-based study in Lausanne, Switzerland. (3) Methods: A total of 5684 participants (53.6% women, 52.5 ± 10.7 years) were followed for a median of 14.4 years [interquartile range: 10.7–16.6]. Vitamin D blood levels were categorized as normal (≥75 nmol/L or 30 ng/mL), insufficient (50–74 nmol/L or 21–29 ng/mL), and deficient (<50 nmol/L or 20 ng/mL). (4) Results: In total, 568 cardiovascular events, 114 cardiovascular deaths, and 679 deaths occurred during follow-up. After multivariate analysis, vitamin D levels were negatively associated with CVD events: hazard ratio and (95% confidence interval) for a 10 nmol/L increase: 0.96 (0.92–0.99). However, no association was found for CVD [0.93 (0.84–1.04)] and overall mortality [0.98 (0.94–1.02)]. No associations were found between vitamin D categories and CVD events, 0.93 (0.71–1.22) and 1.14 (0.87–1.49); CVD deaths, 0.78 (0.41–1.50) and 1.10 (0.57–2.12); and overall mortality, 1.10 (0.82–1.48); and 1.17 (0.87–1.58) for insufficiency and deficiency, respectively. After excluding participants taking vitamin D supplements, similar results were obtained. (5) Conclusion: In this prospective population-based study, vitamin D levels were inversely associated with CVD events but not with CVD or overall mortality.

Functional food emulsions enriched in health‐promoting nutrients can help to maintain and improve health and lifestyle. The oil extracted from the Amazonian buriti fruit is renowned for its high levels of carotenoid, vitamin E, and unsaturated fatty acids, which have been linked to improvements in cardiometabolic health. Here, buriti oil in water emulsions are developed and their colloidal transformations are investigated in an advanced digestion model with oral, gastric, and intestinal parts with in situ synchrotron small‐angle X‐ray scattering, cryogenic electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering under simulated “healthy” and “compromised” digestive conditions. The interior oil phase of whey‐stabilized buriti oil‐in‐water emulsion transforms into highly ordered lyotropic liquid crystalline structures during simulated intestinal digestion at compromised bile conditions. Simulated gastric digestion influences intestinal digestion by slowing it down, resulting in less ordered structures. The digestion‐triggered structure formation is pH‐ and bile salt‐dependent and can be modulated by adding vitamin E to the oil. This tailoring of structures during digestion offers a new pathway to steer digestion kinetics and nutrient bioavailability.