The multipurpose plant Moringa oleifera (MO) has shown a variety of in vitro activities potentially beneficial for health and evidences are also numerous in animal models. However, the exact composition of the plant is highly variable depending on the area, culture and post harvesting conditions and the effects in humans are scarcely studied. This is a pilot study of the effect of different doses of MO from an Iberian Peninsula cultivar on postprandial glucose level in non-diabetic subjects. Five adult subjects (40 to 70 years, 3 males) with normal renal and hepatic function were included. Two had normal fasting glucose and 3 had pre-diabetic fasting glucose. A standard breakfast plus, respectively, one placebo capsule (PLC), or 1, 3 and 6 capsules containing 400 mg of MO dry leaf powder (MO-1cap, -3cap and -6cap) were consumed by each subject on 4 consecutive visits, one week apart. The basal and postprandial (30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min) glucose was measured. The mean glucose change from baseline (ΔGlc) at each measure time was calculated and compared between treatments with the Wilcoxon tests and considered significant at P < 0.05 level. The postprandial curves were also studied separately in pre-diabetic subjects. A difference was found 90 min after breakfast in ΔGlc for the MO-6cap compared to the MO-1cap, being lower in MO-6cap. No more significant differences were observed due to the small number of subjects and high variability in glucose values among subjects. However, the graphical representation of separated curves for the three pre-diabetic participants showed that all three MO doses led to values always below those with PLC. In addition, during the first experimental hour all MO doses showed lower ΔGlc than PLC while this was not the case when all subjects were studied. No adverse events occurred during the experiment. The study, thus, showed a trend to lower glycemic postprandial response with MO leaf powder which seems to be more evident in pre-diabetic subjects than in normoglycemic subjects and especially during the first postprandial hour. The MO-6cap seems to be the election daily dose for a long term intervention study on the glycemic control with MO in pre-diabetic subjects.

Rethinking food systems from production to consumption, in order to provide better nutritional inputs at lower environmental cost, is a priority challenge for a sustainable future. Pulses present benefits that may improve the sustainability of our systems and diets, such as their ability to restore soils in nitrogen and their high contents in proteins, fibers and minerals. However, pulses also contain several bioactive compounds such as phytates or tannins that can negatively affect mineral absorption. Additionally, we recently showed in the laboratory that these bioactives, together with fibers and saponins, could negatively impact fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability. The objective of this study was thus to follow up vitamin D (as a model of fat-soluble vitamin) and iron (as a model of mineral) transfer to the aqueous phase of the bolus during digestion of meal containing or not pulses. To this aim, we performed in vitrodigestion using tests meals made of beef (as a model of meat) and/or semolina (as a model of cereals) and/or chickpeas (as a model of pulses). To identify the compounds responsible for the observed effects, we also performed in vitrodigestion using test meals made of potatoes supplemented or not in fibers, phytates, tannins and saponines. Vitamin D bioaccessibility and iron solubility were expressed as the ratio of vitamin D or iron recovered in the aqueous phase of the digestion on the total amount of vitamin D or iron recovered in the whole digesta, at the end of the digestion.

Our results showed that the presence of chickpeas within a meal induced a significant decrease of both vitamin D bioaccessibility (up to -56%, p < 0.05) and iron solubility (up to -28%, p < 0.05) compared to meals containing only meat and/or semolina. However, this effect was largely compensated for vitamin D by the fact that this vitamin was less stable (loss > 50%, p < 0.05) during the digestion of meal containing meat compared to meals containing only plant-based foods (i.e. semolina and chickpeas). Among the different bioactives, tannins appear to be the most deleterious regarding iron solubility, while both phytates and tannins were responsible for a decreased in vitamin D bioaccessibility.

Our results confirm that in some conditions, the presence of pulses within a meal can be deleterious regarding vitamin D and iron bioavailability. These data thus encourage research to propose dietary and technological solutions to tackle pulse negative effects on micronutrient bioavailability.

Over the last years, the consumption of unpasteurised milk has increased in popularity in the Western countries, despite the known risks associated with food-borne pathogens. Some people appear to experience milk-related gastrointestinal symptoms even when tested negative for lactose intolerance and milk allergy. In such cases, processing of milk, most often homogenisation or heat treatment, has been suggested to be involved in the induction of the gastrointestinal symptoms. Commercial milk is generally homogenised for the purpose of physical stability. Homogenisation reduces the size of fat droplets. Breaking of the fat globules creates new interface, which is covered with denaturated proteins. Further denaturation level of the proteins depends on the severity of the heat treatment. In this study entity, the effect of processing of bovine milk on the gastrointestinal symptoms in self-reported milk sensitive individuals was tested in two separate double blind crossover trials. Tested milks included raw milk (unprocessed), pasteurized milk, pasteurized and homogenized milk, and UHT treated and homogenized milk thus including milks at both end of commercially approved liquid milks in Finland. All milks came from the same herd of cows, which nulled the effect of genetic background and feeding of the cows. Ingestible pH-, pressure and temperature measuring probe was used to investigate gastrointestinal pressure. Self-reported diaries were used to measure perceived gastrointestinal symptoms. Additionally inflammation markers were studied from the plasma. In the first trial no significant difference was found in the amount of gastrointestinal symptoms or in the intestinal pressure after the consumption of native and processed milk. However, the obtained results on pressure in the large intestine (P = 0.068) as well as reported symptoms (P = 0.103) suggested that further studies in this area were needed. However, in the second trial where pasteurised, pasteurised and homogenised, and UHT -treated and homogenized milks were compared, the amount, severity or duration of the reported symptoms did not differ. This study demonstrates that the ingestible pressure-, pH and temperature measuring probe provided a novel possibility to study intestinal pressure in nutrition trials. The results of the present studies do not support the hypothesis that cows’ milk processing would induce gastrointestinal symptoms in milk sensitive but lactose tolerant subjects.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is a well-known aromatic plant, widely used as spice and remedy herb. It provides many beneficial effects and is used as diuretic and expectorant, as well as for various dyspeptic disorders. Beside essential oils, fennel seeds are abundant with various phenols, which are known as strong antioxidants and thereby contribute to human health. Among different extraction methods for phenols isolation, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) represents a novel technique with numerous advantages over conventional extraction approaches. Its efficiency manifests through combination of high temperature and pressure, enabling extraction time shortening, as well as decreased solvent consumption, thus being environment-friendly technique. In order to achieve maximum extraction yield, it is of great importance to select optimal PLE conditions, e.g., extraction temperature and time. Additionally, solvent selection also affects on content of targeted compounds, where phenols amount depends on polarity of solvent. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of temperature (75 and 100 °C), static time (5 and 10 min) and cycle number (1, 2 and 3) on total phenols (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) content, as well as the antioxidant capacity (AC) in fennel seeds using three-step exhaustive PLE. Firstly, grinded dry fennel seeds were subjected to PLE using non-polar solvent (hexane) under the mentioned conditions in order to remove seeds' lipid fraction. Afterwards, defatted samples were extracted with polar solvents by the increasing polarity: aqueous acetone solution (30 %, v/v) followed by aqueous methanol solution (30 %, v/v). Obtained acetone (AE) and methanol (ME) extracts (n = 24) were analyzed for TP (Folin-Ciocalteu method), TF (aluminium chloride colorimetric assay) and AC [ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) method]. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Tukey's HSD test (p ≤ 0.05) were applied for statistical analysis of collected data. Expectedly, AE were described with higher values of analyzed parameters (grand means: TP = 416.18 mg/100 g, TF = 41.87 mg/100 g, AC = 359.57 mg AAE/100 g) in comparison with ME (grand means: TP = 80.25 mg/100 g, TF = 16.41 mg/100 g, AC = 96.13 mg AAE/100 g. Furthermore, all examined influences significantly affected TP, TF and AC in all samples, except temperature on TP in ME. Thus, conditions of 100 °C/10 min/3 cycles showed the greatest yield of tested parameters in AE, while 100 °C/5 min/1 cycle were sufficient for maximum TP and AC levels in ME. Regarding TF in ME, slightly longer extraction time was required to achieve the highest efficiency (100 °C/10 min/1 cycle).

Due to nowadays endeavoured green approach, the utilization of environmentally-friendly extraction techniques is encouraged, where pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) provides such possibility. The PLE application allows shorter extraction time and simultaneously less solvent consumption through combined temperature and pressure effect, thus improving energetic and economic efficiency. Accordingly, in order to accomplish satisfactory extraction yield, it is necessary to optimize PLE conditions, depending on sample type and aimed compounds. As fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seeds are rich source of structurally different bioactive compounds, this study aimed to examine the influence of PLE temperature (75 and 100 °C), static time (5 and 10 min) and cycle number (1, 2 and 3) on the content of fennel seeds’ polyphenols fractions: total hydroxycinnamic acids (THA), total flavonols (TF) and total flavan-3-ols (TFO). For this purpose, samples of grinded dry fennel seeds were extracted according to the mentioned PLE conditions in serial exhaustive extraction using solvents ordered by its polarity: hexane, aqueous acetone solution (30 %, v/v) and aqueous methanol solution (30 %, v/v). After defatting with hexane, acetone (AE) and methanol (ME) extracts of residues were collected (n = 24) and used for spectrofotometrically determination of THA, TF and TFO. In order to access data about effect of examined PLE conditions on analyzed parameters, results were statistically analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Tukey's HSD test at significance level p ≤ 0.05. Obtained results showed that observed fractions of polyphenols were present in 4–5 folds higher amounts in AE compared to ME, where established grand means in AE were as follows: THA = 312.82 mg/100 g, TF = 113.23 mg/100 g and TFO = 29.01 mg/100 g, while in ME they were THA = 56.90 mg/100 g, TF = 28.78 mg/100 g and TFO were determined in traces. As for influence of extraction temperature and time, content of all tested compounds was significantly affected by examined sources of variation in extracts of both solvent types, except static time on ME’ THA content. Generally, 100 °C/10 min/3 cycles were conditions which yielded the highest THA, TF and TFO in AE, while ME results showed diversity upon examined conditions. Accordingly, the highest THA content was established at lower temperature (75 °C/10 min/2 cycles), while 100 °C/10 min/3 cycles conditions documented the greatest TF content.

Food processing has been shown to influence starch digestibility, due to the formation of indigestible starches known as resistant starch (RS). RS has been shown to have similar health promoting properties to those of insoluble dietary fibre. These beneficial effects include lower glycaemic response, improved insulin sensitivity, enhanced overall gut health, and better plasma lipid profile. Additionally, the presence of other nutrients such as proteins or lipids may also impact the amount of RS formed.

The present work aimed to measure the effect of cooking and /or additional meal ingredients on the RS content of 5 different starchy meals, 3 made with pasta (one of which had cheese added) and 2 made with potato, using the Megazyme RS kit (K-RSTAR). The cooked meals were tested either freshly cooked, chilled overnight, or chilled overnight and reheated. Moreover, different amounts of fat were used in the test meals (10 g fat per 100 g pasta, 30 g fat per 100 g pasta, 5 g fat per 100 g potato and 10 g fat per 100 g potato) in order to examine the effect of the amount of fat on RS formation. The total number of meals tested was 15.

The amount of RS in the 2 pasta meals without cheese were 40% and 44% higher in the chilled and reheated meals compared to the same meals freshly cooked for the 10 g and 30 g of fat meals, respectively. The chilled overnight meals were not different from the freshly cooked meals for both fat amounts. Moreover, the potato meals showed a more substantial difference between the meals for the two fat amounts. The chilled and reheated potato meals were 73% and 85% higher in RS content than the freshly cooked identical meal, in the 5 g and 10 g of fat, respectively. Additionally, the chilled potato meals had higher RS contents compared to freshly cooked potato meals (68% and 83%, respectively). Furthermore, the presence of protein reduced the total amount of digested starch and RS in all pasta meals when compared to the meals without cheese. The findings of this in-vitro investigation suggests that chilling and reheating starchy meals significantly increases their content of RS. Future work will determine if these in vitro findings will translate to health benefits in vivo.

Preschool meals influence the child's growth, development and learning ability. According to the Finnish National Nutrition Council, preschool meals should cover two thirds of the daily energy requirements if the child attends to a full-time childcare. We investigated the contribution of preschool meals on a weekday's total energy and nutrient intake among Finnish preschoolers. A cross-sectional DAGIS Study was conducted in 2015–2016. Altogether 864 3- to 6-year-old children from 66 preschools participated. Parents and early educators kept 3-day food records for the child. To capture the seasonal variation in the diet, 24% of the families also kept an additional 2-day food record. To assess the nutritional contribution of preschool meals, we selected a sub-sample of children based on the criteria that they ate all three meals (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack) at preschool. This yielded a sub-sample of 557 children, each contributing the data with 1 to 4 full preschool days. Data was analysed using two age groups: 3–4 years (n = 324) and 5–6 years (n = 233). Mean intake of nutrients from different preschool meals and population proportions were calculated. Mean energy intake at preschool was 3.0 ± 0.8 MJ for 3–4-year-olds and 3.5 ± 0.9 MJ for 6–7-year-olds contributing 54% of the total daily energy intake in both age groups. At preschool, lunch was the main single source of energy, protein, and fat. It was also an important source of folate (27% of the total daily intake in the younger and 29 % in the older age group) and of fibre (25% of the total daily intake in both age groups). Most of the added sugar was consumed at home (61% in the younger and 63% in the older age group). Most of the polyunsaturated fatty acid intake occurred at the preschool meals, mostly at lunch. Salt intake at preschool was high (3.2 ± 1.1 g/day and 3.6 ± 1.2 g/day in the younger and older age group, respectively). Cereal products were the main sources of salt at preschool. Preschool meals did not cover two thirds of the daily energy as recommended but preschool food was an important source of fibre, polyunsaturated fatty acids, folate, and vitamin D but also of salt. Salt intake at preschool needs to be tackled by reducing salt in recipes and using low-sodium bread.

In Finland the recommendation for the use of vitamin D supplement is a daily supplement throughout the year for all children. It is also recommended that fluid milk products and fat spreads are fortified with vitamin D. The purpose of this study was to provide up-to-date data on children's dietary and supplemental intake of vitamin D. We also examined educational level differences in the intake and sources of vitamin D.

A cross-sectional study on the diet in Finnish 3–6-year-old preschool children (the DAGIS Study) was carried out in 2015–2016. Children were recruited in preschools in Southern Finland and in the Southern Ostrobothnia Region (n = 864). The parents reported child's supplement use (brand name, dose, frequency of use) during the last month and their own education level. The highest parental education level (PEL) was used in analysis. Parents and preschool personnel also filled in a 3-day food record for the child. A part of the families also kept an additional 2-day food record, which we sent to capture seasonal variation in the diet. In this analysis we included children (n = 794) with data for supplement use and at least 1-day food record. We calculated dietary intake based on the Fineli food composition database and created a dietary supplement database. We used Kruskal-Wallis test for statistical analysis.

Most of the children in all PELs used vitamin D supplements (low 77%, medium 85%, high 85%). Dietary supplements covered almost half of the total intake in all groups (low 42%, medium 48%, high 47%, p = 0,087). The main dietary sources of vitamin D were fortified fluid milk products, fortified fat spreads and fish dishes. A higher proportion of vitamin D was obtained from fish dishes in families with higher PEL (low 4.3%, medium 4.5%, high 6.1%, p = 0.005), but otherwise there were no differences in the proportions of the main sources. The vitamin D intake from diet and supplements was lowest in families with low PEL but the total intake of vitamin D was adequate in all groups (low 18.3, medium 20.7, high 20.7 μg/day, p = 0.001).

The use of vitamin D fortified fluid milk products and fat spreads and the vitamin D supplementation seem to ensure adequate vitamin D intake in all children, regardless the level of parental education.

Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder and frequently co-occurs with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a chronic disease characterized by repetitive pauses of breathing during sleep due to obstructions of the upper airways. The link between lifestyle and sleep quantity and quality is an area of intensive research, however data exploring associations between lifestyle habits and insomnia symptoms are still scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential association between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle (ML), a healthy lifestyle pattern incorporating the prudent Mediterranean diet, adequate physical activity and healthy sleep habits, and insomnia presence and severity. The study sample consisted of 243 adult patients with polysomnography-diagnosed OSA. Participants’ insomnia-related disorders were evaluated through the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), an 8-item index ranging from 0 (absence of any sleep-related problem) to 24 (severe degree of insomnia); AIS values of > 6 were used to establish the diagnosis of insomnia. All patients were evaluated with regard to anthropometric indices and lifestyle habits, and adherence to the ML was estimated through the MEDLIFE index, a 28-item index ranging from 0 to 28, with higher values indicating greater proximity to the healthy lifestyle of the Mediterranean region. An inverse correlation was observed between the MEDLIFE index and total AIS (rho = -0.22, p = 0.001), as well as most individual components of AIS, including difficulty in sleep induction (rho = -0.14, p = 0.03), awakenings during the night (rho = -0.2, p = 0.008), short sleep duration (rho = -0.16, p = 0.01), low quality of sleep (rho = -0.13, p = 0.05), low well-being during the day (rho = -0.16, p = 0.02), and low functioning capacity during the day (rho = -0.15, p = 0.02). Patients with insomnia (AIS > 6), compared to those without (AIS ≤ 6), exhibited lower MEDLIFE index values [13 (11–15) vs. 14 (12–15), P = 0.002], had more severe OSA as assessed by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) [55 (24–87) vs. 35 (17–57) events/hour, P < 0.001] and tended to have higher body mass index (BMI) [35.0 (30.6–39.7) vs. 32.4 (29.5–38.6) kg/m2, P = 0.06]. According to logistic regression analysis, MEDLIFE index was inversely associated with the presence of insomnia (OR: 0.89, 95%CI: 0.80–0.99, P = 0.04) after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, BMI, daily energy intake and AHI. In conclusion, a higher adherence to the ML is inversely associated with insomnia presence and severity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Future research should assess whether this association applies in other samples, as well as whether the ML could be an efficient therapeutic tool alleviating or treating insomnia symptoms.

The home environment is acknowledged as an important setting that can shape dietary habits in early childhood. For instance, parents influence their children's dietary intakes through the foods they make available to their children, their own eating habits and their parenting practices. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the associations between home environmental characteristics and children's fruit, vegetable and confectionary/sugary drink intakes. A total of 332 children aged 3–5 years old and their parents/guardians participated in the study. Home environmental characteristics, including mealtimes, child television viewing, parental control feeding practices, food availability and accessibility, were explored using questions from validated questionnaires. Parent and child food consumption was also measured. The data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression. Independent variables (home environment and parental diet) were included in the multivariate analysis if they were significant in the bivariate analysis. An association between household income and children's fruit intake was observed with children from lower income households being 54% less likely to eat fruit daily (95% CI 0.22–0.96, p < 0.040) compared with those from higher income households. Home food availability also influenced children's fruit intake. Greater variety of fruits available in the home increased the likelihood of fruit consumption in children (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.09–1.68, p < 0.005). Watching television for ≥ 1 hour per day had a negative impact on children's diets, decreasing their probability of eating vegetables on a daily basis (OR 0.38 95% Cl 0.22–0.72, p < 0.003) and increasing by 2.7 times their likelihood of consuming confectionary/sugary drink more than once a week (95% CI 1.11–6.36, p < 0.027). Those children whose parents had lower vegetable consumption and higher confectionary intake were 59% less likely to eat vegetables, and 4.42 times more likely to consume confectionary/sugary drinks (OR 0.41, 95%Cl 0.21–0.82, p < 0.012) and (OR 4.42, 95% CI 1.69–11.59, p < 0.002) respectively. Pressure to eat from parents was associated with lower fruit intake only (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.47–0.96, p < 0.032). This study has demonstrated that modifiable home environmental characteristics were significantly associated with decreased fruit and vegetable intake and increased confectionary/sugary drink consumption among children aged 3–5 years. These findings may help in the development of intervention strategies to encourage a healthier diet for this age group.

Horse racing is a unique weight-making sport which requires jockeys to maintain a chronically low body weight throughout an extended racing season. These athletes typically eat one main meal per day when racing and often depend on racecourses for food provision. To date, racecourse catering provision to jockeys in Ireland has not been assessed. The aims of this study were to evaluate food provision at racecourses in Ireland, assess jockeys’ satisfaction with current food provision and to explore key stakeholders’ perceptions of current food provision. An audit tool was used to evaluate current food provision at 25 of the 26 Irish racecourses. The audit was scored out of 44.5 points and each racecourse was categorised as < 50% ‘Requires nutritional guidance from a dietitian/sports nutritionist’, 50–60% ‘Bronze’, 61–75% ‘Silver’, 76–90% ‘Gold’, > 90% ‘Platinum’. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with jockeys (n = 125), racecourse managers (n = 2), racecourse catering managers (n = 2), and race day caterers (n = 1) to establish their perspectives on current food provision. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Audit scores ranged from 14.5–27.5. Based on their current food provision, nine racecourses were identified as ‘Requiring nutritional guidance from a dietitian/sports nutritionist’, 13 were categorized as ‘Bronze’ and two as ‘Silver’. Grade 3 racecourses achieved significantly lower audit scores than Grade 1 and 2 racecourses. Jockeys’ satisfaction ratings were positively associated with audit score. The main themes identified by jockeys included hot food, autonomy over food choices, and greater variety of foods. The main themes identified by managerial and catering staff were categorised under two domains, including perceptions of and factors influencing current provision, and barriers to and facilitators for improved provision. Support from a dietitian/sports nutritionist was identified in 22 of the 25 racecourses to improve food provision to support the needs of modern-day jockeys. Recommendations include development of minimum standards for weigh room food provision and basic training for catering staff on healthy, appetizing foods that are conducive to making weight. Guidelines endorsed by the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board (IHRB), Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Irish Jockeys Association (IJA) should be developed and food provision at racecourses should be audited regularly. Achievable racecourse-specific interventions should be implemented to improve the provision of food and nutrient delivery to this athlete population.

Gluten-related disorders form the umbrella term for all conditions related to gluten ingestion, such as celiac disease (CeD) and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). A life-long exclusion of gluten from diet is currently the only effective treatment in remitting the symptoms of these diseases. However, a life-long, strict GFD is challenging to maintain due to social and economic burdens. In addition, it may lead to restricted and nutritionally suboptimal diet. Thus, the possibility of using nutritious and fiber-rich oats would diversify the GFD, improving general palatability, sensory properties such as texture and fiber-content of the diet. Pure oats are being grown and produced following strict agricultural practices to minimize any contamination with other cereals. Indeed, consumption of pure, uncontaminated oats would allow a wider selection of foods for individuals with gluten related disorders. However, the inclusion of oats into GFD is not globally applied yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of daily consumption of oat products on intestinal microbiota composition and activity in subjects with gluten-related disorders. Subjects with CeD (n = 19) or NCGS (n = 10) and healthy volunteers (n = 14) were recruited to the study. Study subjects completed food diaries for four days preceding fecal sample collection. Intestinal microbiota composition was characterized using 16S MiSeq sequencing. The total energy intake was comparable between the study groups. However, NCGS subjects consumed more energy (E %) from protein and less from carbohydrates when compared to healthy controls (p = 0.025 and p = 0.045, respectively). Dietary fiber intake was relatively high in all subjects and no differences were observed between the study groups (p = 0.79). Total microbiota profiles were comparable between CeD, NCGS and healthy controls. In addition, no differences were observed in microbiota richness or diversity between the study groups. Phylum-level microbial abundances exhibited high inter-individual variation, but did not differ between the study groups. To conclude, microbiota markers demonstrated that oat consumption was safe and beneficial for subjects with CeD or NCGS. Oat consumption was shown to enrich available gluten-free diets and to increase dietary fiber intake to the recommended levels.

The recent development of diagnostic methods and current well-being trend have increased the awareness of gluten-related diseases, such as celiac disease (CeD) and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), 1% and 6 % of general population, respectively. Currently for both CeD and NCGS, the only effective treatment is a life-long gluten-free diet, which makes adequate intake of fiber challenging. Despite of improving gut function, dietary fibers promote the growth of gut beneficial microbes. They are in charge of production of numerous compounds, which are essential for human health, such as enzymes and short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Moreover, dietary fiber has an effect on ammoniacal nitrogen levels and beta-glucuronidase activity, which are harmful for human in high concentrations. Gluten-free oats are an excellent source of dietary fiber and they have exceptionally good nutritional properties.

In this observational study, SCFA production, ammoniacal nitrogen levels and beta-glucuronidase activity of oat-using CeD patients, NCGS patients and healthy controls were compared. SPME-GC-MS method was developed for SCFA analysis and the other biomarkers were analyzed by spectrophotometer.

There were no significant differences between groups on propionic acid and butyric acid production, only the percentage of acetic acid of total SCFAs was higher in control group compared to NCGS group, (p = 0,03). Neither was there significant differences between groups in ammonia production or beta-glucuronidase activity.

It has been scientifically proven that pure oats are suitable for celiac disease and gluten-sensitive patients, but they are not commonly used outside of Scandinavia. Our results stated that oat-using CeD and NCGS patients, whose disease is in balance, have gut microbiota capable of healthy production of essential SCFAs and normal levels of harmful compounds.

Nitrites are commonly used as food additives E 249 and E 250 in the production of meat products, mainly to protect them from the contamination of bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The nitrite intake should be limited because of their potential carcinogenicity in humans (IARC). The EFSA experts derived an ADI of 0.1 mg sodium nitrite/kg bw per day, corresponding to 0.07 mg nitrite ion/kg bw per day. Besides the meat products the other its sources are: cheese and fish products. The aim of this work was the assessment of nitrite intake (expressed as sodium nitrite) with the diet of Polish population.

The data on sodium nitrite intake were based on the daily consumption of food products and dishes by the representative sample of Polish population (4134 persons) aged 1–96 years studied in 2000 and the actual content of this substance in food products. These data were combined with the results of the chemical analyses made by the State Sanitary Inspection. The risk assessment was based on the sodium nitrite intake calculations of: mean (X), median (Me), percentile 95 (P95) and its comparison to ADI. The data were analysed in the respect of the total studied sample and the group ‘consumers only’. The statistical analyses with use of U-Mann-Whitney test were done.

The daily sodium nitrite intake expressed in mg/persons/day was as follow: 1.87 (X), 1.03 (Me) and 6.88 (P95) in the group of total surveyed persons. The percent of ADI was as follow: 31.8% (X), 17.4% (Me) and 111% (P95). The mean and median values did not exceed the ADI level in all studied groups. However the sodium nitrite intake at the level of P95 exceeded the ADI value in the most surveyed groups, except women. The most exposed group were children aged 1–3 (P95 = 287% ADI). The NaNO2 intake in the group ‘consumers only’ in mg/person/day was resulted as follow: 2.39 (X), 1.53 (Me) and 7.60 (P95) whereas the % of ADI was: 40.7% (X), 26.2% (Me) and 122% (P95) respectively.

The Polish population was characterized by the average intake of sodium nitrite at the safe level (below ADI). However, there were observed some intake of sodium nitrite (P95 level) which exceed ADI. A balanced and varied diet, with limited consumption of meat products (up to 0.5 kg per week) will help to diminish the risk of excessive intake of nitrites by consumers in Poland.

A diet rich in plant-based foods with fewer animal products may offer improved health and environmental benefits. There is little consensus on the definition for a plant-based diet in the literature with some defining it as one rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, excluding animal foods and with heavy restrictions on processed foods. Other definitions make no reference to the inclusion/exclusion of processed foods and refer only to the exclusion of all animal foods from the total diet. This study aimed to examine the nutritional quality of the Irish diet using each of these plant-based diet definitions.

A 4-day semi-weighed food record collected food intake data from 1500 Irish adults (18–90y) in the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS). Nutrient intake was analysed using WISP© based on UK and Irish food composition databases. All foods and beverages consumed in the NANS were categorised (included/excluded) into the two definitions; 1.plant-based component of the diet and 2.total diet excluding all animal components. The plant-based component included vegetables, legumes, fruits, wholegrains, nuts and seeds and excluded all animal foods and processed foods. The second categorisation included all non-animal foods regardless of processing. Nutritional quality was assessed by estimating energy-adjusted intakes of macronutrients, saturated fat, free sugars, dietary fibre and sodium. Stastical analysis was conducted using SPSS© v24.

The plant-based component of the diet provided 309 ± 214kcal/d (1.3 ± 0.9MJ/d) comprising of 68% carbohydrate, 20% fat and 12% protein. Mean intakes of saturated fat and free sugars from the plant-based component of the diet were 5% of energy (%E) and 1%E, respectively. Mean intakes of dietary fibre and sodium were 70g/10MJ and 1855mg/10MJ, respectively.

Allowing for inclusion of processed foods, mean energy intake from the total diet excluding all animal foods was 1051 ± 411kcal/d (4.4 ± 1.7MJ/d) comprising of 66% carbohydrate, 23% fat and 10% protein. Mean intakes of saturated fat and free sugars were 7%E and 14%E, respectively. Mean intakes of dietary fibre and sodium were 40g/10MJ and 2642mg/10MJ, respectively.

Overall, the macronutrient profile of the plant-based component of the diet and the total diet excluding animal foods were similar. However, the plant-based component of the diet was of higher nutritional quality; providing lower intakes of saturated fat, free sugar and sodium and higher intakes of dietary fibre compared to the total diet excluding animal foods. This study highlights the variability in nutritional quality between different definitions of plant based-diets.