ABSTRACT
Mentions the pandemic as starting in China, with a subsequent worldwide spread. The viral infection can seriously affect multiple organs, mainly lungs, kidneys, heart, liver, and brain, and may lead to respiratory, renal, cardiac, or hepatic failure. Vascular thrombosis of unexplained mechanism may lead to widespread blood clots in multiple organs and cytokine storms that are a result of over-stimulation of the immune system subsequent to lung damage, may lead to sudden decompensation due to hypotension and cause more damage to liver, kidney, brain or lungs. Until now, no drug has proved to be efficient in getting rid of the problem and controlling the pandemic mainly depends on preventive measures. Many measures can be considered to prevent the worldwide spread of the viral transmission. Polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids (PUFAs), medium chain saturated fatty acids (MCSFAs), and their corresponding monoglycerides have high antiviral activities against the enveloped viruses, which reached more than 10,000-fold reduction in the viral titers in vitro and in vivo after testing for gastric aspirate, and can contribute to the systemic immunity against the enveloped viruses.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Background: Schools play a vital role in childhood nutrition. Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, 21 million free meals were distributed by Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors begin in childhood and school meals establish healthy eating patterns. To our knowledge, school meal nutrition has not been studied from a CV disease prevention perspective. Guidelines published by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 2012 strongly recommend that 2-21-yearolds consume <30% of calories/day from fat, <10% of calories/day from saturated fat, and <300 mg of cholesterol/day to promote CV health in adolescence. As CPS currently follows USDA nutrition guidelines, we sought to determine the alignment of school meals for K-8th graders with NHLBI recommendations. Methods: May and June 2021 CPS breakfasts and lunches were analyzed. Menus were obtained from the CPS website and nutrition information from a school nutritionist. Total breakfast and lunch calories, calories from fat, calories from saturated fat, and mg of cholesterol were recorded. The percent of daily caloric intake from fat and saturated fat was calculated. Days that cholesterol content exceeded 200 mg (2/3 of daily recommended) were analyzed as we examined 2/3 of daily meals. The effect of milk (skim, chocolate skim, or 1%) was considered. The number of meals meeting NHLBI guidelines were counted, and the percentage of meals meeting standards were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Results: CPS meals met the standards for total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol on 62%, 60%, and 78% of days, respectively with median values meeting NHLBI standards. When factoring milk consumption, skim and chocolate milk respectively add 85 and 115 calories with no fat and 5 mg cholesterol. Both of these milk choices improve compliance with total and saturated fat standards while having a negligible impact on the cholesterol standard. 1% milk adds 105 calories at the expense of 27 calories of fat, 18 calories of saturated fat, and 15 mg of cholesterol. This milk has minimal impact on the total fat standard and total cholesterol standards but a negative impact on the saturated fat standard. Cholesterol results are greatly impacted by eggs. On all the days where total cholesterol exceeded 200 mg, hardboiled eggs were served at breakfast. Conclusion: Over the last several decades, the nutritional quality of school meals has vastly improved. Specifically, CPS is a leader in nutrition standards and has made monumental strides to improve school meals. As a program federally funded by the National School Lunch Program, CPS represents many other qualifying schools. While CPS currently exceeds the USDA guidelines it is expected to comply with, the rates of compliance with NHLBI guidelines suggest there is room for improvement. Current guidelines may want to consider implementing standards specific to CV health promotion. (Left). Proportion of active IEP initiated and/or managed by RHCSP education liaisons by diagnosis. Values listed represent N, percentage (%). Figure 1b (Right). Proportion of active 504 initiated and/or managed by RHCSP education liaisons by diagnosis. Values listed represent N, percentage (%).
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Dietary habits influence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, mainly through risk factors such as lipids, blood pressure, body weight and diabetes. Therefore, a healthy diet is recommended as a cornerstone of CVD prevention in all individuals and in reducing risk of recurrent disease, yet few studies have examined diet quality in cardiac-rehabilitation patients on a long-term basis. Purpose: To evaluate the compliance with dietary guidelines in patients who attend a long-term cardiac rehabilitation program (phase III) during COVID-19 era. Methods: The study was developed between October 2020 and October 2021 in a phase III centre-based cardiac rehabilitation program. To evaluate dietary intake a 24hour recall questionnaire was used. Diet composition was analysed using ESHA's Food Processor® software. Cunningham equation was used to evaluate resting energy expenditure and physical activity expenditure measured by accelerometery was added to calculate daily energetic requirements. The nutrients and cut-offs considered for the analysis were saturated fat (<10%), sodium (<2g), potassium (≥3.5g), fibre (≥30g), and alcohol (<100g/week), considering the 2021 ESC Guidelines on CVD Prevention in Clinical Practice or the World Health Organization guidelines for a healthy diet. To evaluate weight and height a digital scale SECA 799 and a stadiometer SECA 220 were used, respectively. Results: A total of 57 patients (78.9% men) with a mean age of 63.8±8.5 were evaluated. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.4±3.8kg/m2, being most patients overweight or obese (61.7%). A higher caloric consumption, compared to the individual energy requirements, was found in 26.3% of patients. No statistical differences were found between mean saturated fat intake (10.1±3.6%) and the recommended intake (p=0.85). Mean sodium consumption was 3.42±1.46 grams and mean potassium intake was 3.0±1.0 grams. Sodium intake was significantly higher (p<0.001), and potassium intake significantly lower (p<0.001) than the recommendation. Fibre intake was also significantly lower than the recommendation (median intake was 21.1±12.2 grams, p<0.001). Among patients who drank alcoholic beverages (n=28), the median alcohol intake per day was 17.4±26.3 grams which was significantly higher than the limit recommended (p=0.043). Conclusion: Our findings showed that these patients deviated from the recommendations in some key nutrients. The intake of sodium and alcohol was higher than the recommendations, and the intake of potassium and fibre were lower than the recommendations. Moreover, most patients were overweight or obese. This study highlights the need for individual nutritional counselling sessions as a reinforcement of a standard educational program, to effectively promote an adequate diet, which may reduce the risk of recurrent disease. Further research about nutritional intervention in patients undergoing on a long-term basis cardiac rehabilitation is warranted.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused many lifestyle changes, especially in the diet. Policies such as physical distancing and quarantine orders aimed to mitigate to spread of COVID-19 have affected the economy and, therefore, the dietary habits of the people. AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyze the associations between income levels and dietary habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 697 Indonesian adults from various regions in Indonesia. The study was conducted from June to August 2020. Data were obtained through a self-administered online questionnaire including dietary habits, lifestyles, and quality of life data adapted from MyNutriLifeCOVID-19 online survey. To analyze the associations between income levels and dietary habits during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Chi-square test was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Respondents had mean age of 27.56 ± 8.58 years and the majority were women (83.6%). The percentage of people with large-scale social restrictions was 47.5%. Respondents reported that their dietary habits were healthier during the pandemic (46.2%), with the majority categorized as high-and very high-income status (59.1%). From self-reported of the people in Indonesia, there was association between high-income level and selfperceived healthier dietary habits. Higher-income level was also associated with higher frequency of online food/ drink delivery, consuming western diet foods, consuming dietary supplements, and probiotic consumption (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the dietary habits of people with a very high monthly income had eating healthier than before the pandemic. However, it is also related to higher energy, cholesterol, and saturated fat intakes due to consuming high western diet foods. Social inequalities in dietary intake should be considered through promoting a healthy balanced diet with affordable price and healthy food processing in the community.