Nutritional Quality of the Mid-Afternoon Snack of Schooled Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years in Three Areas in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the nutritional quality of mid-afternoon snacks for schooled children aged 3 to 12 years in three areas of Catalonia (Spain). METHODS: A descriptive observational study collected information on habits and the mid-afternoon snack of 782 schooled children aged 3 to 12 years in three cities, Barcelona, Girona, and Lleida, located in Catalonia (Spain). The children's families voluntarily agreed to complete an online questionnaire that collected information about demographic data and snacking habits in the afternoon, as well as a record of mid-afternoon snack intake over three school days. RESULTS: A total of 2163 mid-afternoon snacks were analyzed from a sample of 764 families with 3 to 12 year-old children. Sandwiches emerged as the most prevalent choice, accounting for 41.89%, followed by pastries at 23.86%, fruit at 14.38%, and a combination of fruit and pastries at 6.29%. Of the mid-afternoon snacks recorded, 22.19% were healthy, 20.90% were quite healthy, 12.85% were quite unhealthy, and 44.06% were unhealthy. CONCLUSIONS: The nutritional quality of mid-afternoon snacks for a large majority of schooled children should be improved. It is essential to develop food education programs to improve the quality of this intake from early childhood and to consider it as an opportunity to adjust the daily dietary requirements of Spanish children.

Assessment and Solutions to Food Waste at Congress Events: A Perspective of the MagNuS Project.

Addressing global food waste is a formidable challenge, requiring comprehensive efforts across the food supply chain, particularly in sectors prone to waste like HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering). In MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) tourism, where gastronomy is a major attraction, overlooked meal services during working meetings contribute significantly to food waste. The MagNuS (Magnitude, Nutritional value, and Sustainability) project aims to assess and address food waste during conference events at the Valencia Conference Center in Spain. This study quantifies waste, categorizes it by food groups, estimates the potential number of individuals that could be fed with discarded food, and assesses energy and nutritional values. Across three events, 104.4 kg of food waste was documented, with cereals having the highest wastage, followed by legumes, fish, and others. Acknowledging potential underestimation due to reliance on cooked values, this study suggests using residues for vermicomposting or composting as sustainable waste management alternatives. These findings have implications for future initiatives, advocating diverse strategies to minimize food waste during congress events, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals. The MagNuS project contributes valuable insights to sustainable practices in MICE tourism, informing policies and operational decisions to reduce the environmental impact of food waste.

Radioprotective Effects from Propolis: A Review.

Propolis is a natural bee-produced substance with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties, containing some components from the leaves, buds and resins of plants. It has been used for centuries for various health benefits. In this manuscript, our group reviewed the radioprotective effect of propolis using PubMed and Embase, and our review was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Finally, 27 articles were included in this review, which includes the radioprotective effect of propolis from cell-based studies (n = 8), animal models (n = 14), and human trials (n = 5). Results reflected that the dosage forms of propolis extracted in the scientific literature were ethanolic extracts of propolis, a water-soluble derivate of propolis, or capsules. The efficacy of the radioprotective properties from propolis is extracted from the bibliography, as several compounds of this resinous mixture individually or synergistically are possible candidates that have the radioprotective effect. In fact, studies prior to 2011 lacked a comprehensive characterization of propolis due to the variability in active compounds among different batches of propolis and were limited to analytical techniques. Furthermore, in this manuscript, we have selected studies to include primarily propolis types from Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, European countries, and those commercialized in Spain. They all contained ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) and were influenced by different dosage forms. EEP showed a significant presence of lipophilic bioactive compounds like flavones, flavonols, and flavanones.

A Narrative Review of the Herbal Preparation of Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese, and Kampo Medicines Applied as Radioprotectors.

In recent years, there has been growing scientific interest in the search for natural radioprotectors that can be used to mitigate the effects of radiation on patients, healthcare personnel, and even for space travel. This narrative review covers the past fifty years and focuses on herbal preparations of Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese, and Kampo Medicines that have the potential to reduce or eliminate the harmful effects of radiation. Our findings highlight ten herbal preparations, namely Abana, Amalakyadi Churna, Amritaprasham, Brahma, Bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang (BZYQT), Chyavanaprasha, Cystone, Geriforte, Mentat, and Triphala, which have demonstrated potential radioprotective effects. This review examines their composition, properties, and possible mechanisms of action in relation to their radioprotective properties. Exploring the ethnobotany of traditional Asian medicine is particularly interesting as it may lead to the discovery of new active compounds with radioprotective properties.

Vitamins and Radioprotective Effect: A Review.

The radioprotective effect ex vivo, in vitro and in vivo of vitamins was reviewed using PubMed and Embase and conducted according to the PRISMA statement. A total of 38 articles were included in this review, which includes the radioprotective effect of vitamins from ex vivo, in vitro and in vivo studies. Vitamins A, C, D and E were used alone, in combination or with other nutritional and non-nutritional compounds. The use of vitamins in natural form or supplementation can be useful to reduce the radiation effect in the body, organs and/or cells. Only four (A, C, D and E) out of thirteen vitamins have been detected with radioprotective properties being mainly vitamin E followed by vitamin C, A and D.

"Five Keys to Safer Food" and COVID-19.

On 11 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and, up to 18:37 a.m. on 9 December 2021, it has produced 268,440,530 cases and 5,299,511 deaths. This disease, in some patients, included pneumonia and shortness of breath, being transmitted through droplets and aerosols. To date, there is no scientific literature to justify transmission directly from foods. In this review, we applied the precautionary principle for the home and the food industry using the known "Five Keys to Safer Food" manual developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and extended punctually in its core information from five keys, in the light of new COVID-19 evidence, to guarantee a possible food safety tool.

Análisis de las acciones de promoción de alimentación saludable informadas en un sistema de información institucional en España / Analysis of healthy nutrition promotion actions reported in an institutional information system in Spain

FUNDAMENTOS: La promoción de una alimentación saludable precisa de acciones multidisciplinares e intersectoriales con participación ciudadana. El Sistema de Información en Promoción y Educación para la Salud español es un repositorio institucional de acciones de Promoción de la Salud (PdS) para comunicar e intercambiar buenas prácticas en PdS. La finalidad del estudio es describir las actividades de promoción de alimentación registradas en este sistema de información. MÉTODOS: Se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo de los documentos registrados en SIPES hasta el 31 de enero del 2017. Tras lectura para confirmación de 645 documentos se seleccionó 182. Las variables estudiadas fueron: título, temática, tipo de acción, fecha inicio-fin, población diana, objetivo, localidad, ámbito de actuación, tipo de actividad, profesiones de los dinamizadores, presencia de dietistas-nutricionistas, materiales empleados y la evaluación. RESULTADOS: Se clasificó un 43,96% como proyectos, un 42,30% como programas y un 14,04% como campañas. Andalucía (13,97%), Madrid (12,85%), Cataluña(11,17%) y Comunitat-Valenciana (10,61%) reportaron mayor volumen de acciones. Los talleres (53,4%) y las charlas (41,3%) fueron las metodologías más utilizadas. La mayoría de las actuaciones (91,71%) fueron locales. En menos del 20% de las actuaciones registradas participaron dietistas-nutricionistas. CONCLUSIONES: El análisis de un repertorio de actuaciones de PdS es útil para conocer la realidad y oportunidades de implementación de intervenciones comunitarias relacionadas

BACKGROUND: The promotion of a healthy diet needs multidisciplinary and intersectoral actions with citizen participation. The Spanish "Sistema de Información en Promoción y Educación para la Salud" is an institutional repository of health promotion for communicating and exchanging good practices. The aim of the study is to describe the food promotion activities registered in this information system. METHODS: A descriptive study of the documents registered in SIPES was carried out from its beginning until January 31, 2017. After a confirmation reading of 645 documents, 182 were selected. The variables studied were: title, thematic area, type of action, start-end date, population, objective, location, scope of action, type of activity, Professions, presence of Nutritionists, material used, evaluation. RESULTS: It was observed that 43.96% were defined as projects, 42.30% were programs and the rest were campaigns. Andalucía (13.97%), Madrid (12.85%), Cataluña (11.17%) and Comunitat-Valenciana (10.61%) reported the most actions. The workshops (53.4%) and the talks (41.30%) were the most used methodologies. Most of the actions (91.71%) were local action. In less than 20% of the actions were involved Nutritionists. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of a repertoire of health promotion actions is useful to know the reality and opportunities of interventions to be carried out in the population