Efficacy of an herbal compound in decreasing steatosis and transaminase activities in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract Hepatoprotective effects of many herbal agents have been reported in animal studies and clinical trials. In this study, five hepatoprotective plants with potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypolipidemic effects were chosen to prepare a polyherbal compound for managing NAFLD. Sixty patients with NAFLD were randomly divided into treatment and control groups (2:1 ratio). Both group were advised to take healthy diet and exercise. The treatment group also received herbal capsules containing 400 mg of the mixture of Anethum graveolens, Citrus aurantium, Cynara scolymus, Portulaca oleracea, and Silybum marianum (2 capsules, thrice daily, for two months). The liver ultrasound and biochemical markers including the serum lipids, liver enzymes, and glucose were evaluated before starting the study and at the end of the treatment. Thirty patients in the treatment group and sixteen patients in the control group completed the study. The herbal compound significantly decreased the serum level of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and total cholesterol. Treatment with the herbal compound significantly improved the grade of the fatty liver, but no significant change was found in the control group. In conclusion, the formulated herbal compound appeared to be effective in biochemical improvement and decreasing the grade of the fatty liver in the patients with NAFLD.

Webpalestra COVID-19 (Coronavírus): alimentação saudável em tempos de pandemia

Assista mais vídeos sobre COVID-19 no link abaixo: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... Acesse os slides das nossas palestras na Biblioteca Virtual do Telessaúde ES! Confira a data da exibição e encontre o material desejado. Faça download e tenha o material preparado pelos nossos palestrantes. https://telessaude.ifes.edu.br/biblio...

Nutrition & WHO’S COOKING during Covid-19.

NMH: Nutrition during Covid-19. Dr. Leo Nederveen, WHO’S COOKING: • Mr Anderson • Maristela Monteiro • Staff in HQ /Salmon Risotto recipe • Patricia Cabrejo

The application of mHealth to monitor implementation of best practices to support healthy eating and physical activity in afterschool programs.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity continues to be a global epidemic and many child-based settings (e.g. school, afterschool programs) have great potential to make a positive impact on children's health behaviors. Innovative and time-sensitive methods of gathering health behavior information for the purpose of evaluation and strategically deploying support are needed in these settings. PURPOSE: The aim is to (1) demonstrate the feasibility of mobile health (mHealth) for monitoring implementation of healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) standards and, (2) illustrate the utility of mHealth for identifying areas where support is needed, within the afterschool setting. METHODS: Site leaders (N = 175) of afterschool programs (ASPs) were invited to complete an online observation checklist via a mobile web app (Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Mobile, HEPAm) once per week during ASP operating hours. Auto-generated weekly text reminders were sent to site leaders' mobile devices during spring and fall 2015 and 2016 and spring 2017 school semesters. Data from HEPAm was separated into HEPA variables, and expressed as a percent of checklists where an item was present. A higher percentage for a given item would indicate an afterschool has higher compliance with current HEPA standards. RESULTS: A total of 141 site leaders of ASPs completed 13,960 HEPAm checklists. The average number of checklists completed per ASP was 43 (range 1-220) for healthy eating and 50 (range 1-230) for physical activity. For healthy eating, the most common challenge for ASPs was 'Staff educating children about healthy eating', and for physical activity checklists, 'Girls only physical activity is provided at ASP'. CONCLUSION: HEPAm was widely used and provided valuable information that can be used to strategically deploy HEPA support to ASPs. This study gives confidence to the adoption of mHealth strategies as a means for public health practitioners to monitor compliance of an initiative or intervention.

Recomendações de alimentação para pessoas idosas no Brasil durante a pandemia de Covid-19 / Feeding recommendations for elderly people in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic

Até o momento, existem poucas evidências ou recomendações sobre alimentação e COVID-19, no entanto, sabe-se que o adequado estado nutricional, consumo alimentar, hidratação e o bom funcionamento do sistema imunológico contribuem para a recuperação dos indivíduos em situação de doença. Além disso, é sabido que o isolamento, em função da pandemia, irá alterar a dinâmica das famílias no momento da compra, preparo e consumo de alimentos, exigindo maior planejamento das refeições. Em idosos, as atenções são redobradas em função dos prejuízos da má nutrição e da falta de atividade física à sua saúde e qualidade de vida. Então, neste período de quarentena, é necessária uma atenção especial à alimentação do idoso. Caso você seja idoso ou esteja cuidando de uma pessoa idosa, atenção à sua alimentação, que deve ser a mais adequada e saudável possível! A seguir, elaboramos alguns passos para ajudar na organização da alimentação de pessoas idosas.

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Few Evidence-Based Features of Dietary Interventions Included in Photo Diet Tracking Mobile Apps for Weight Loss.

BACKGROUND: Apps using digital photos to track dietary intake and provide feedback are common, but currently there has been no research examining what evidence-based strategies are included in these apps. METHODS: A content analysis of mobile apps for photo diet tracking was conducted, including whether effective techniques for interventions promoting behavior change, including self-regulation, for healthy eating (HE) are targeted. An initial search of app stores yielded 34 apps (n = 8 Android and Apple; n = 11 Android; n = 15 Apple). One app was removed (unable to download), and other apps (n = 4) were unable to be rated (no longer available). Remaining apps (n = 29) were downloaded, reviewed, and coded by 2 independent reviewers to determine the number of known effective self-regulation and other behavior change techniques included. The raters met to compare their coding of the apps, calculate interrater agreement, resolve any discrepancies, and come to a consensus. RESULTS: Six apps (21%) did not utilize any of the behavior change techniques examined. Three apps (10%) provided feedback to users via crowdsourcing or collective feedback from other users and professionals, 7 apps (24%) used crowdsourcing or collective feedback, 1 app (3%) used professionals, and 18 apps (62%) did not provide any dietary feedback to users. CONCLUSION: Few photo diet-tracking apps include evidence-based strategies to improve dietary intake. Use of photos to self-monitor dietary intake and receive feedback has the potential to reduce user burden for self-monitoring, yet photo diet tracking apps need to incorporate known effective behavior strategies for HE, including self-regulation.

Efficacy of the prescription of physical activity in the obese child population / Eficacia de la prescripción de actividad fisica en población infantil con obesidad

Objective To determine the effectiveness of prescribing physical activity to the population of overweight and obese children, in accordance with the levels of evidence. Methods To find literature pertaining to the intervention of physical activity in overweight and obese children. four electronic databases were used: Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane and Lilacs. The search was conducted with a cut-off date of June 2012. Randomized controlled clinical trials of intervention programs involving physical activity for both overweight and obese children were selected. Two independent researchers reviewed and evaluated the quality of the studies, and extracted intervention and result data. Results A total of 204 studies were identified. 19 randomized controlled studies which complied with inclusion and exclusion criteria were included. These studies evaluated the impact of physical activity among obese children and compared different types of intervention based on exercise and diet or both with the objective of reducing weight in obese children. Conclusions It is necessary to conduct studies on obese children with bigger sample sizes to determine the effects of the treatment, and more importantly, to devise comprehensive programs that include a structured exercise program complemented by a dietary program. Likewise, the development of public health policies that allow for the development of national programs for weight and obesity control in Colombian children and adults should be developed, taking into account that the causes of obesity are multiple, including social, familiar, metabolic, and dietary aspects.(AU)

Objetivo Determinar la eficacia de la prescripción de actividad física en población infantil con sobrepeso y obesidad de acuerdo a los niveles de evidencia. Métodos Para la búsqueda de la literatura de intervención en actividad física en niños con sobrepeso y obesidad se utilizaron 4 bases de datos electrónicas Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane y Lilacs la búsqueda se realizó con corte de junio de 2012. Se seleccionaron ensayos clínicos controlados aleatorizados de programas de intervención de actividad física en niños con sobrepeso y obesidad. Dos investigadores independientes revisaron y evaluaron la calidad de los estudios y extrajeron los datos de intervenciones y resultados. Resultados Un total de 204 estudios fueron identificados. Se incluyeron 19 estudios aleatorizados y controlados que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión y exclusión; los estudios evaluaban en impacto de la actividad fisca en niños obesos en diferentes tipos de intervención basados en ejercicio y dieta o combinados con el objetivo de reducir el peso en niños obesos. Conclusiones Es necesario realizar investigaciones en niños obesos con tamaños de muestra más grandes para determinar el efecto del tratamiento, y lo más importante, tener programas integrales compuestos de un programa estructurado de ejercicios complementado con un programa dietario. Del mismo modo fomentar el desarrollo de políticas públicas que permitan el desarrollo de los programas nacionales para el control de peso y la obesidad en niños y adultos colombianos, teniendo en cuenta que los determinantes de la obesidad son múltiples, incluyendo una base socio-economica, familiar, metabólica, y la dieta.(AU)