Plant proteins constitute a rich and complex source of nutrients with health benefits for most populations. However, an ever-growing number of people have been affected by protein allergies and sensitivities. Furthermore, there is evidence suggesting that plant proteins can activate the innate immune system by stimulating the toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)-MD2-CD14 complex in cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Therefore, we have explored the effects of genetic variability, agricultural practices and area of cultivation (Andes vs Mediterranean) on the innate stimulatory capacity of quinoa proteins.

Plant proteins were exhaustively extracted from milled and defatted samples using salt solutions or enzymatic digestion (pepsin/trypsin) and dialyzed against neutral buffers, sterile filtrated and lyophilized. Ethanol soluble proteins were extracted from the resulting pellet and additionally, milled samples were digested with pepsin and trypsin, dialyzed and sterile filtrated. Extracts were cultured with monocytic cell lines and the concentration of IL-8 and other innate cytokines released was measured in cell culture supernatants after overnight incubation. Additionally, samples were tested with cells transfected with TLR4-MD2-CD14 and the Renilla luciferase reporter gene under the transcriptional control of the IL-8 promoter.

We observed that proteins from 4 quinoa cultivars from the Andes (cultivated at 3800 meters above sea level) had very low innate immune stimulatory activity (< 5% of modern wheat). However the same quinoa variants cultivated at sea level had significantly higher bioactivity (> 10 % higher than modern wheat) which was absent in the ethanol extracts and reduced by ~60% in the enzymatically digested extracts. Other samples such as millet and buckwheat also showed reduced bioactivity compared to modern wheat after enzymatic digestion in murine and human cells. To conclude: 1) We have identified that the innate stimulatory activity of quinoa proteins is significantly affected by agricultural practices and area of cultivation; 2) This immune-stimulatory activity can be reduced by enzymatic digestion; 3) Depending on the varieties, cultivation and further processing, plant proteins may impact on the development of allergies and sensitivities.

Recent findings point at novel benefits of specific fibres, like inulin, as their fermentation metabolites can improve mucosal immunity and protect against infections (1,2). This outcome is desirable for athletes, who are at increased exposure to oxidative damage and thus risk of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). However, whether inulin can improve immune function in athletes is unknown. We investigated the effect of supplementation with inulin-enriched foods on salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA), a marker of immunity associated with URTI, in rugby players. We hypothesised that inulin supplementation would increase sIgA, and such change would be greater than that observed in a group following a diet without inulin supplementation. Ten rugby players volunteered for this pilot study (24.2 ± 5.4 years, 93.2 ± 18.7 kg). Participants were randomly assigned to either control (CON) or intervention diet (IN) for 3-weeks; and provided with 2% inulin-enriched pasta and bread (IN) or the same products without inulin (CON), to be consumed as part of a prescribed diet plan. sIgA was measured before and after each condition by collecting saliva with validated swabs, and was quantified with enzyme-linked immunoassay. Differences within and between groups were assessed with paired-samples t-test and ANOVA, respectively. Relationships between inulin intake and sIgA were explored with Spearman's correlation and regression analysis. There was a significant increase in sIgA following inulin supplementation (p = 0.002), which was significantly different to CON (+ 53.6 ± 44.7 and 5.8 ± 37.2 mg/dL, p = 0.054). Average inulin intake was 10.9 ± 1.6 g/day, and it was positively associated with sIgA (rs = 0.661, p = 0.038) and correlated with sIgA changes (r2 = 0.438, p = 0.037). There were no significant differences in energy intake between and within groups (p > 0.10). There were no reports of upper-respiratory tract or other infections during the study period (winter). Some IN participants reported improved bowel function. Inulin-enriched products could represent a simple approach to promote mucosal immunity and gut health in athletes. Larger controlled trials are warranted to confirm the dose-response and long-term effects of inulin supplementation including metabolic and performance outcomes.

Does dietary intervention affect the change of the intestinal microflora, causes the unsealing of the intestinal mucosa. After four weeks of dietary intervention with FODMAP diets and a diet based on NICE recommendations in children with functional abdominal pain, the intestinal microflora will change and the level of zonulin will decrease.

Bacterial intestine, intestinal bacteria is a set of microorganisms, the main bacteria that form a complex ecosystem in the digestive tract. Scientific research indicates that some bacteria may contribute to the formation of certain disease entities.

Children with functional abdominal pain participated in the research.

The study was a randomized intervention and a double-blind test. 32 children were examined, patients of gastroenterological counseling center of the Provincial Specialist Children's Hospital in Olsztyn. Children were 4–12 years old, functional abdominal pain was diagnosed on the basis of Roman criteria, a positive decision of the gastroenterologist regarding the inclusion of the patient, conscious and voluntary consent of the child's guardian to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria include irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal migraine, diagnosed food allergies or food intolerance, the coexistence of chronic diseases or antibiotic therapy in the last 8 weeks.

The dietary intervention lasted 4 weeks, meals were prepared on the basis of a menu developed by a dietician.

Diagnostic tests were carried out before and after dietary intervention. One group of children with functional abdominal pain received the Fodmap diet, the second group, a diet based on NICE recommendations.

The intestinal microflora, the level of zonulin in the stool were tested and the organic acids in the urine were determined by capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometers (GC/MS).

A preliminary analysis of test conditions prior to dietary intervention was found.

Dysbiosis occurred in all 26 children (4 children did not perform the test). An increased number of Bacteroides spp. Was observed in the majority of children in stool tests, studies have reported that the growth of this bacterium in the intestinal microflora occurs in IBD intestinal inflammatory syndrome. Preliminary researches show that this bacterium was dominant in the examined children. In the test, an intermediate urine dysbiosis test of 24 out of 26 children was tested had at least one parameter elevated. After the dietary intervention, the diet had an effect on changing the intestinal microflora, changing the parameters of dysbiosis and the parameter of zonulin, although more research is needed on a larger population.

Tea is often described as having “refreshing” properties. Indeed, components of both green and black tea have been shown to acutely improve aspects of cognition and mood and to affect cardiovascular function. There is, however, surprising little research directly comparing these effects between different types of tea. This study therefore examined acute cognitive, mood, and cardiovascular effects of green tea and black tea.

A double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled,balanced, three-way cross-over study was conducted. Fourteen healthy young adults (M = 23.8, SD = 3 years) consumed placebo (water), green tea and black tea in balanced order at least 24 h apart.The drinks were prepared according to standardised procedures and consumed under double-blind conditions (in opaque containers with lemon cordial added for taste-masking). Mood and cognition were measured at baseline then 90 min post-treatment, cardiovascular function was assessed post-dose only. Mood was evaluated using a series of visual analogue scales, cognitive performance was assessed using a suite of standardised tests from the Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS), gauging performance on aspects of attention, memory and executive function.Peripheral and central systolic and diastolic pressure,augmentation pressure, augmentation index,and blood flow velocity were measured via Sphygmocor pulse wave analysis and Doppler ultrasound, respectively. There were a number of significant effects associated with the active treatments. Compared with placebo, black tea and green tea was associated with significantly improved digit vigilance accuracy (p < .01), while green tea was associated with higher alertness (p < .05).Regarding cardiovascular outcomes, black tea and green tea significantly increased central diastolic pressure, and peripheral diastolic pressure in comparison to placebo (P < .01). Black tea also significantly increased central systolic pressure compared to green tea and placebo (p < .05). Analysis of treatment guessing suggested that the masking procedure was highly effective. In conclusion, the present study shows that green tea improves alertness. Since black tea contains higher levels of caffeine, this effect is likely underpinned by non-caffeine mechanisms or caffeine/non-caffeine compound interactions.Improved vigilance is consistent with caffeine effects which may be modulated by cardiovascular effects. Interestingly the cardiovascular effects are opposite to those reported for chronic tea interventions. These results suggest that acute cognitive and cardiovascular components of tea merit further investigation both in the presence and absence of caffeine.

Apolipoproteins (apo) regulate lipoprotein characteristics and lipid metabolism. ApoC-III is a regulator of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TRL) metabolism and apolipoproteins are important biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction. A low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) diet improves cardiometabolic risk, especially via reduction of TRL. However, few studies have compared a LCHF vs. a high carbohydrate (HC), lower fat diet under ad libitum conditions on apoC-III levels. The objectives of this investigation were to measure the effect of a LCHF vs. a HC diet on apoC-III, apoA1, apoB and apoB/apoA1 in 16 healthy Caucasian adults aged 19–64. Ethical approval: Liverpool John Moores University Research Ethics Committee (16/ELS/029); registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Ref. NCT03257085). Participants randomly assigned to a HC diet (UK Eatwell guidelines; ≥ 50% of energy from carbohydrates) (n = 8), or a LCHF diet (consume < 50 g/day of carbohydrates) (n = 8) provided plasma samples at 0, 4 and 8 weeks. ApoA1 and apoB were analysed by an automated chemistry analyser (Daytona, Randox Laboratories Ltd, UK). ApoC-III was analysed via ELISA (Thermo Fisher Ltd, USA). Factorial 2×3 ANOVA and ANCOVA (IBM SPSS 25®) were undertaken to investigate significant differences and to control for variables influenced by baseline measures and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Results show 0, 4, and 8 weeks respectively: ApoC-III (LCHF: 19.12 ± 9.14, 16.05 ± 7.95, 15.11 ± 3.17 mg/dl; HC: 22.13 ± 8.38, 28.22 ± 13.85, 22.22 ± 7.7 mg/dl) showed no significant (P = 0.319) change. No significant (P = 0.23) change was also observed in ApoB (LCHF: 107.25 ± 20.35, 111.38 ± 24.81, 111.43 ± 19.93 mg/dl; HC: 94.38 ± 20.79, 105.00 ± 20.13, 99.00 ± 29.09 mg/dl). Similarly apoA1 (LCHF: 158.71 ± 14.27, 166.50 ± 23.09, 173.00 ± 29.42 mg/dl; HC: 164.71 ± 30.25, 172.50 ± 29.44, 174.00 ± 32.83 mg/dl) showed no significant change (P = 0.76). This resulted in a relatively unchanged apoB/A1 throughout the study in both diets (P = 0.30). No significant (P > 0.05) differences were found after 4 weeks or between groups also. ANCOVA revealed a trend (P = 0.06) in apoC-III for a difference between groups (LCHF: Δ-6.6 mg/dl vs. HC: Δ1.2 mg/dl) after 8 weeks but no significant (P > 0.05) changes in other apolipoproteins were detected. These preliminary data reveal that a LCHF diet does not improve the apolipoprotein profile; however, when accounting for other metabolic risk factors (i.e. VAT) there was a trend towards lowering apoC-III levels (P = 0.06). Modulation of apoC-III may lead to improved lipid metabolism, but higher-powered studies are warranted before any improvement on CVD risk can be inferred.

Targeted nutrition is defined as personalised nutrition tailored to groups of individuals. Such groups can be identified based on metabolic profiles and are named metabotypes. Metabotypes have been identified in a range of populations and offer the potential to deliver personalised nutrition advice. The objective of the current study was to optimise a targeted approach to deliver dietary advice through comparison with an individualised approach. Study participants (n = 160) were classified into metabotypes previously defined by four markers (triacylglycerols (TAG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-c, and glucose) in a cross-sectional study with Irish adults. Targeted advice was designed using a decision tree approach. A personalised approach was achieved through the use of the Food4Me decision trees(1). Agreement between methods was compared and the metabotype approach was optimised to incorporate the most prevalent advice exclusively given by the Food4Me decision trees. The optimised metabotype approach was subsequently tested by comparison with individualised advice manually compiled by a dietitian. Individuals in metabotype-1 had high TC (median 5.0 mmol/L, interquartile range 4.2–5.4 mmol/L); individuals in metabotype-2 had normal concentrations of the four biomarkers; and individuals in metabotype-3 had high TAG (1.8, mmol/L 1.4–2.6 mmol/L) and TC (5.4 mmol/L, 4.8–5.9 mmol/L), with the highest BMI and diastolic blood pressure, and the most unfavourable profile for glycaemia (highest fasting insulin and HOMA-IR). Using the metabotype approach, advice for lowering TC, weight, waist circumference, TAG, and blood pressure was given to 79.4%, 46.9%, 28.1%, 20.6%, and 11.9% of the individuals, respectively. Considering the personalised approach, the most frequent advice was given to improve the intake of saturated fatty acids (56.5%), fibre (56.0%), and folate (55.0%). The total agreement between the methods was 64.0%. The optimised metabotype approach revealed a good total agreement of 80.3% with the individualised manual approach, especially in metabotype-1 (93.8%) and metabotype-3 (94.3%). Agreement was higher in females (84.8% vs. 76.4%, p = 0.02) and in older (≥ 45 years old) people (92.5% vs. 78.1%, p = 0.02). These results confirm metabotypes as a promising approach to deliver targeted dietary advice. Future work should ascertain if targeted nutrition is effective in changing behaviours that will affect health outcomes.

The increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity is a major public health concern, which has led to the development of surgical treatment strategies that achieve long-term sustainable weight loss and improvement of comorbidities and quality of life. However, nonsurgical complications can occur which sometimes necessitate hospital readmission depending on the severity. Current literature about hospital admission for nonsurgical complications after bariatric surgery is especially sparse. We performed a 5-year retrospective analysis of patients admitted for nonsurgical complications after bariatric surgery at the Department of Endocrinology, University Hospitals Leuven (Belgium). Patient and readmission characteristics were described by type of first bariatric surgery performed, time after first surgery, amount of bariatric surgeries in total, reason for hospitalization (nutritional, functional, psychological, metabolic and medical), need for parenteral and enteral feeding during hospitalization and duration of hospitalization. In a period of five years, there were 152 hospitalizations of 107 patients (86% females). The majority of patients (53%) underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and had in total 1 (1–2) bariatric procedures. The median BMI before the first bariatric procedure was 40.7 (37.9–46.7) kg/m2. Patients were admitted 7.6 (3.4–13.1) years after surgery at an average age of 49 ± 12 years. Nutritional (66.4%), functional (37.5%) and co-presenting nutritional-functional (25.0%) problems were the most important reasons for hospitalization. In regard to the nutritional complications, the most important reasons for hospital admission were dumping syndrome (19.7%), macro- and micronutrient deficiencies (16.4%), bad compliance to prescribed nutritional guidelines (14.5%), anorexia (11.2%), extensive weight loss (10.5%) and failure to thrive (9.2%). During hospitalization, parenteral and enteral feeding was started in 19.1% and 9.9% of hospitalizations, respectively. The median duration of all hospitalizations was 8 (4–13) days. To conclude, the majority of hospitalized patients underwent RYGB and was female. Most patients were admitted late after surgery and nutritional problems were the most common complication. Nonsurgical complications after bariatric surgery are a clear illustration of the double-edged sword of surgical obesity management. The exact gastrointestinal anatomical and physiological changes provide the intended effect of weight loss, but may also elicit unintended imbalances of excessive losses of nutrients that compromise the outcome. Our findings demonstrate the need for lifelong multidisciplinary follow-up of lifestyle behavior and education on diet both before and after bariatric surgery.

Chrono-nutrition is an emerging field of research that focuses on the interplay between nutrition, circadian rhythms and metabolism. Most nutritional guidelines recommend regular and frequent meals for children and adolescents throughout the day. However, preliminary research, mostly in animals suggests that eating at the “wrong” time of the day and longer eating windows (and concomitant shorter fasting periods) may relate to metabolic health. This study aimed to identify meal-timing patterns of European children and adolescents in eight European countries.

We examined 1225 children and adolescents (mean age: 11.8 years, 50% boys, and 26% overweight/obese) from Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden enrolled in the European I.Family study (2013/2014). Information on energy intake and meal-timing patterns was derived from multiple web-based 24-hour dietary recalls (proxy-assisted for children < 12 years). We used the National Cancer Institute (NCI) method to estimate individual usual intakes. Subsequently, we applied the k-means algorithm to identify clusters for meal-timing patterns. Five variables were selected for the cluster analysis: 1) Duration between first and last meal of the day (eating window in hours), 2) Proportion of daily energy intake before 11am, 3) Proportion of daily energy intake after 5pm, 4) Number of meals per day, and 5) Pre-sleep fasting time.

Three clusters, labelled “late and time-restricted”, “late and long” and “early and frequent” meal-timing patterns were identified. Similar clusters were derived when excluding energy misreporters according to Goldberg cut-offs. Children in the “early and frequent” pattern were younger, had a lower body mass index (BMI) z-score, and a longer sleep duration than children in the other two meal-timing patterns. A higher proportion of plausible energy reporters were classified into the “early and frequent” pattern than into the other two patterns. The proportion of children from Italy, Cyprus and Spain was highest in the “late and long” pattern, while the proportion of children from Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Hungary was highest in the “early and frequent” patterns, and the proportion of children from Estonia was highest in the “late and time-restricted” pattern.

In conclusion, this study identified three different meal-timing patterns in children that varied by age, BMI z-score, country, misreporting status, and sleep duration. Investigations on the associations between meal timing patterns and metabolic health in this study sample are currently ongoing.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages around the world. Several studies have observed an inverse association between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality in population-based studies. Nevertheless, little is known about these associations in patient populations with a prior Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). To examine the association between coffee consumption and the risk of mortality in patients with a prior acute myocardial infarction (MI) or unstable angina. Data were from the longitudinal prospective study “Strategy of Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome Cohort - ERICO”. The cohort involved 1,085 patients diagnosed with ACS, between 2009 to 2013. For this analysis we used data after 180 days until 4 years’ follow-up, totalizing 928 participants. The coffee consumption was obtained using a questionnaire multiplying the reported frequency by the reported portion size. Subsequently was calculated the average of coffee intake (mL/day) and categorized (cups/day) into ≤ 1, 1–3, and > 3. Information on mortality was ascertained by medical registries and death certificates. Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality according to coffee consumption adjusted for potential confounders were performed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves with the log-rank test were analyzed. Most patients (99.0%) drank coffee, and the median total coffee intake was 125 mL/day. During a median follow-up of 4 years, a total of 111 deaths occurred, including 59 CVD-related and 24 MI-related deaths. Moderate coffee consumption was inversely associated with all-cause mortality. Participants who consumed 1–3 cups of coffee/day, showed an 81% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who consumed ≤ 1 cup/day (adjusted HR 0.19; 95%CI: 0.11, 0.34). For patients with higher coffee consumption (> 3 cups/day), there was a positive association with mortality, with HR of 2.10 (95%CI: 1.05, 4.22). Corresponding HRs were 0.22 (95%CI: 0.11, 0.48) for 1–3 cups/day and 2.66 (95%CI: 1.04, 6.83) for > 3 cups/day for CVD mortality; and 0.23 (95%CI: 0.07, 0.71) and 1.59 (95%CI: 0.25, 10.0) for MI mortality, respectively. After stratification by smoking status the analysis revealed lower risk of all-cause mortality in never and former smokers drinking 1–3 cups/day (HRs 0.10; 95%CI: 0.04, 0.24 and 0.18; 0.08, 0.42, respectively). Among current smokers there was a positive association between > 3 cups/day and mortality (HR 8.50; 95%CI: 1.18, 16.35). The moderate consumption of coffee, impacted in a lower risk of all-cause, CVD and MI mortality in patients with a prior Acute Coronary Syndrome, particularly in nonsmokers.

Diet is considered one of the key drivers of the world-wide obesity epidemic, and the gut microbiota may play a role in this multifaceted disease due to their mutualistic relationship. This study investigated relationships between habitual dietary intake of New Zealand European and Pacific women and their gut microbiota and body fat content. Pacific (44%) and NZ European (NZE; 56%) women (n = 287) aged 18–45 years were recruited based on body mass index (normal versus obese) and stratified as low (< 35%) or high (≥ 35%) body fat percentage (BF%). Dietary intake was assessed with a 5-day estimated food record and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, which were used to calculate habitual dietary intake using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) method. BF% was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Fasting blood samples were analysed for markers of insulin sensitivity. The DNA from faecal samples was analysed following shotgun sequencing. There were no significant differences in BF% between Pacific and NZE women (p = 0.498). Significant differences in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index were observed between Pacific (3.4 [2.3, 5.9]) and NZE (2.1 [1.5, 3.1], p ≤ 0.001) women, and between; low-BF% (1.9 [1.3, 2.7]) and high-BF% (3.4 [2.5, 5.9], p ≤ 0.001) groups. The highest (27.6g/d [24.9, 30.6]) compared to the lowest tertile (16g/d [13.3, 17.6]) of habitual total dietary fibre (DF) intake was associated with a significantly lower HOMA-IR (2.1 [1.3, 3.1] versus 3.3 [2.1, 5.3] p ≤ 0.001) respectively. Higher DF intake was also associated with significantly lower BF% (β -0.35, p ≤ 0.001), and this relationship became stronger when considering the intake of other macronutrients (β -0.47, p ≤ 0.001). Alpha diversity; observed taxonomic units (OTU's; rs = -0.15, p = 0.011), Pielou's evenness (rs = -0.20, p = 0.001), and Shannon index (rs = -0.22, p ≤ 0.001), were all negatively correlated with BF%. In contrast BF% was positively correlated with the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio (rs = 0.26, p ≤ 0.001). HOMA-IR index was significantly higher in Pacific and women in the higher BF% group, indicating an increased metabolic disease risk. Higher habitual DF intake was associated with lower BF% and HOMA-IR, suggesting a potential metabolically protective effect. The positive effects of higher DF intake may be associated with microbiota diversity, as higher BF% was associated with reduced alpha diversity and an increased Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Further analysis will explore which foods contributed to the higher DF intake, and associations with body composition, microbiota and biomarkers of metabolic health.

The timing of energy/nutrient intake has been previously shown to be associated with obesity and diabetes (Almoosawi et al, 2019) and recently derived diurnal patterns of energy/carbohydrate intake suggested the potential interplay of circadian biology and social behaviour contributing to obesity (Palla&Almoosawi, 2019) but didn't describe the relationship between food groups and the time when they are eaten, nor on how such relationships vary by type 2 diabetes status.

To assess such relationships in a representative sample of the British adult population (19–64 ys old), we have cross-classified 60 food groups and 7 time-slots (6–9am, 9–12,12–2pm,2–5pm, 5–8pm, 8–10pm, 10–6am) as recorded in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (2008–2014) and analysed the derived frequency by Correspondence Analysis (CA) of food entries, producing biplots separately for the foods included in the food healthiness score tertiles, for all adults combined and separately by diabetes status (self-reported diabetics with HbA1c > 6.5% and glucose < 6.1 mmol/L, prediabetics with HbA1c < 6.5% and glucose comprised between 6.1 and 7, undiagnosed diabetics with HbA1c > 6.5 but not self-reported and non diabetics). Where numbers allowed, the odds ratio estimate was derived of consuming unhealthy food groups later in the day compared to earlier in the day, by logistic regression.

The general CA biplots (representing about 80% or more of the total system inertia) pointed at a very strong association between evening/night and beer, spirits and a strong association between evening/night and ice-cream, sugar confectionary, chocolate, biscuits, crisps. The odds ratio (95% CIs) of consuming the listed foods at night evening rather than earlier were respectively 4.37 (CI:3.75–5.10), 7.78 (CI:6.11–9.91),1.63 (CI:1.34–1.98), 1.59 (1.24–2.03), 2.06 (CI:1.84–2.31), 1.53(CI:1.39–1.68), 1.26 (CI:1.11–1.42). The stratified biplots were mostly consistent with the findings for general CA biplots except for puddings which additionally appeared strongly associated with evening time for prediabetics and undiagnosed diabetics but not for diabetics and non-diabetics. The limited number of diabetics (n = 84,2.3%), undiagnosed diabetics (n = 41,1.1%) and prediabetics (n = 63,1.7%) and high diabetes status missingness (n = 1445,39.5%) prevented from applying regression analyses within subgroups.

Assessing the relationships between less healthy foods and timing of eating is a first step towards identifying specific public health targets for behaviour change, which include alcoholic beverages and foods rich in added sugars and saturated fats. The greater likelihood of eating puddings in the evening might partly explain the undiagnosed/prediabetic state. The survey cross-sectional nature warrants further investigations by longitudinal cohort studies.

‘Food sustainability’ is now acknowledged as integral to the achievement of food security, a healthy community and protection of the environment. Understanding consumers’ knowledge of and attitudes towards food sustainability is poorly understood in Ireland. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes towards food sustainability among visitors to an Irish restaurant, known to prepare foods in a sustainable way. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 426 visitors at the Overends Kitchen, Airfield Estate, Dublin, Ireland using a short questionnaire informed by previously collected data on Irish consumers’ attitudes towards food purchasing and a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK) questionnaire. Information on demographics, food choice motives, food preferences, basic nutritional knowledge, awareness and attitudes toward food sustainability was obtained. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM, v23, Chicago, Ill, USA). Quality (98%) and health (92%) were the most important motives for food choice. Females (P = 0.001) and older (P = 0.029) participants had greater interest in health as a motivating factor for food choice compared to males and those who were younger. Free-range (eggs) and fresh vegetables and fish were most frequently purchased. Poor knowledge of recommendations about saturated fat, and daily fruit and vegetables intakes was demonstrated though this was better in female (P = 0.005) and younger (P = 0.007) participants. Participants demonstrated positive attitudes towards food sustainability and over half (57%) were aware of GLAS principles (Go with the seasons, Local for produce, Avoid food waste, Sustainably produced) although only 37% reported that these principles influence their dietary choices. Misinformation about the environmental sustainability and nutritional value of farmed vs. organic or wild fish and fresh vs. frozen vegetables was apparent. This research provides some understanding of Irish consumers' knowledge and attitudes towards food sustainability. The need to enhance understanding of how diets can be made more sustainable is clear.

Meat and meat products are one of the most relevant food groups in the human diet due to high content of protein. Meat from wild animals is considered a delicacy and commands a high price compared to other sorts of meat. Due to the characteristic sensory properties (taste), lower fat and cholesterol contents and higher share of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) a growing interest of this meat is noted(1,2).

The aim of the study was to compare fatty acid profile in wild boars muscles depending on the feeding grounds.

The research material consisted of 37 samples of wild boars (Sus scrofa) muscles from three different regions in Poland: Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie and Silesia. The fat was extracted from the muscle samples by the Folch method. The fatty acid (FA) composition was determined after the acids were trans-methylated according to the Peisker method. Chromatographic separation was performed using an Agilent Technologies 7890A gas chromatograph with a flame-ionization detector (FID).

The average share of sum of saturated fatty acids (ΣSFA) in wild boars fat from Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie and Silesia regions were 41.5%, 39.6% and 38.8%, respectively. In wild boars fat from Silesia the highest share of sum of monounsaturated fatty acids (ΣMUFA) was found (46.9%), while in wild boars fat from Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie it accounted for: 44.4% and 39.9%, respectively. A similar share of ΣPUFA (approx. 14%) was determined in wild boars fat from Warmia and Mazury, and Silesia region, whereas in those from Podlasie region ΣPUFA accounted for approx. 12%.

Meat fat from wild boars is a valuable source of fatty acids with a beneficial impact on human health. However, the fatty acids profile depends of the region, which indicated the predominant influence of the animal's feed on FA composition of meat fat.