Vitamin D status in a sample of preschool children aged from 1 to 6 years visiting the pediatrics clinic at Jordan university hospital

Vitamin D status was investigated in 200 children [100 males and 100 females] visiting the Pediatrics Clinic at Jordan University Hospital. Subjects were categorized into two age groups: 1-3 years [toddlers] and 3-6 years [preschool children]. Data were collected on children's lifestyle factors, dietary intake, height, weight and BMI. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D[3] [25 [OH] D[3]] concentration was determined. 16.5% of the children had vitamin D deficiency [serum 25 [OH] D3 ? 15 ng/mL], while 15.5% had vitamin D insufficiency [serum 25 [OH] D[3] from 15 to 20 ng/mL]. Serum 25 [OH] D[3] levels for the toddlers [26.25 +/- 1.16] were significantly higher [P<0.05] than those of the preschool children [21.49 +/- 1.16]. Serum 25 [OH] D[3] was significantly higher [P<0.05] for exclusively formula-fed children [27.42 +/- 0.86] or children with mixed feeding [26.69 +/- 0.92] than for those who were exclusively breast-fed [17.02 +/- 0.90]. Also, serum 25 [OH] D[3] levels were positively correlated with the duration of formula feeding [r = 0.4849, P<0.0001], duration of outdoor physical activity [r = 0.3940, P<0.0001], monthly frequency of outdoor physical activity [r = 0.61087, P<0.0001], and vitamin D [r = 0.4678, p<0.0001] and calcium [r =0.4951, p<0.0001] intakes. However, serum 25 [OH] D[3] levels were negatively correlated with duration of breast feeding [r = -0.3554, P<0.0001] and BMI [r = -0.4235; P<0.0001]. It is concluded that hypovitaminosis D is common in preschool children and that lifestyle conditions influence vitamin D status

Lentils [Lens culmans, L.] attenuate colonic lesions and neoplasms in fischer 344 rats

Lentils [Lens culmans, L.] contain several bioactive compounds that have been linked to the prevention of cancer. However, the in vivo chemopreventive ability of lentils against chemically-induced colonic lesions has not been previously examined. Our present study examined the hypothesis that lentils could suppress neoplasmic growth in viva by virtue of their bioactive micro-and macro-constituents, and that culinary thermal treatment could affect the chemopreventive potential. To accomplish this goal, raw whole lentils [RWL], raw split lentils [RSL], cooked whole lentils [CWL] and cooked split lentils [CSL] were used. Pluronic F-68 [PF68], which is a well-studied chemopreventive agent, was used also for the purpose of comparison. Sixty weanling Fisher 344 male rats, 4-5 weeks of age, were randomly assigned to six groups [10 rats/group]: the control group [C] received AIN-93G diet; treatment lentil groups of RWL. CWL. RSL and CSL received the treatment diets containing AIN-93G+5% of lentils, while PF68 group received C+1% PF68 diet. After acclimatization for I week, all animals were put on the control and treatment diets separately for 5 weeks. At the end of the fifth week of feeding, all rats received two s.c. injections of azoxymethane [AOM] carcinogen at 1 5 mg/kg rat body weight/dose once a week for two consecutive weeks. After 17 weeks of the last AOM injection, all rats were euthanized. Total colonic lesions and neoplasms [mean +/- SEM] ranged from 6 to 8 for lentil groups, with a reduction value of 43 to 57% from the control [C] group [14 lesions]. Incidence of severe dysplasia was reduced significantly [P=0.0022] in the colons of rats fed on lentils [0%-10%], except RWL [20%] when compared with the control [40%] whilst incidence of adenocarcinomas was reduced significantly [P=0.0430] in lentil groups [0-10%], except RSL [20%], when compared with the control [40%]. Our findings indicate that the consuniption of lentils may attenuate colon carcinogenesis in animal models, and that hydrothermal treatment resulted in an improvement in the chemopreventive potential

Effect of Dehulling and Cooking of Lentils (Lens Culinaris, L.) on Serum Glucose and Lipoprotein Levels in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of lentils on serum glucose and serum lipid levels in diabetic rats. Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, 12 weeks of age weighing 220-290g, were used. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin at a level of 35 mg/kg intra-peritoneally. The animals were randomly divided into five groups, eight animals each: a casein diet (control), raw whole lentil (RWL), cooked whole lentil (CWL), raw dehulled lentil (RDL) and cooked dehulled lentil (CDL). Animals were fed with experimental diets for six weeks, sacrificed and blood samples were taken. Serum glucose level of the CDL group (387.9 ± 53.3 mg/dl) was significantly lower (P0.05) were detected in triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol among the experimental groups. It is concluded that cooked lentils rather than raw lentils was more effective in lowering blood glucose and improving HDL cholesterol in diabetic rats. There was no difference between whole and dehulled lentils with regard to effects on blood glucose and HDL cholesterol levels.

glycemic index of a new bread brand [biobread]

Wheat bread is a traditional food in the Arab Middle East countries. In these countries, as well as in other countries of the world, the prevalence of type II diabetes mellitus is high. The consumption of low Glycemic Index [GI] foods may provide a variety of health benefits including control of blood glucose and lipids. The purpose of this study was to measure the serum glucose response of a new bread [Biobread], which is produced from whole wheat and other ingredients, and compare it with the traditional Arabic type bread made from white flour. The study was performed in the laboratory of Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Jordan, Amman-Jordan. A group of 8 adult healthy volunteers [4 men, 4 women] participated in this study. They were fed the commercially prepared Biobread and white bread. The GI [mean +/- SEM] was calculated by standard methods. The glucose response of the Biobread was lower than that of the traditional white bread giving a GI value of 70.2 +/- 8.5. The Biobread can be classified as a relatively low- GI food item. There seems to be an effect of the added ingredients on the blood glucose response, particularly the rye and soybean flour incorporated in Biobread

study of effect of using different levels of tahinah[sesame butter]on the protein quality of chickpea dip

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of using different proportions of tahinah [0.0, 10, 15, 20 and 25%] on the protein quality of chickpea dip, and to evaluate the protein quality of chickpea dip when consumed with bread. Protein quality was evaluated using the methods of net protein utilization [NPU: operative[OP] and standardized[ST] and protein efficiency ratio [PER] in weanling Sprague- Dawley rats. Ranges of PER,NPU[op],NPU[st] and NDpE% for the six types of chickpea dip were respectively 1.85-2.47,55.0-74.8,58.01-83.4 and 4.97-7.88%. The level of tahinah that provided the best protein quality was 15% with value of NPU[op] of 74.8.It was significantly the highest [P

Effect of fasting in Ramadan on body weight

This study investigated the effect of Muslim fasting on body weight in 137 Jordanian adults, 91 males and 46 females, ranging in age from 19 to 59 years. The fasting was performed according to the Islamic religious practice which requires complete daily abstinence from all food and drink and smoking from dawn to sunset during the lunar month of Ramadan. The subjects were divided Into three groups: I, overweight [>5% of reference weight]; II, normal controls [within +/- 5% of reference weight] and III, underweight [<95% reference weight]. The results showed that there was a significant difference between initial and final weight in the three groups; the losses in groups I, II and 111 were 2.62 +/- 0.17 [SEM], 2.00 +/- 0.26 and 0.64 +/- 0.25kg respectively. The reduction in weight was significantly higher in the first half of the month than the second half [1.50 _0.12 and 0.60 +/- 0.10 kg respectively taking the three groups together]. Thus it seems that overweight patients can benefit more from this type of fasting than other groups