Clinical Summaries
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April 19, 2022Innate Immunity May Also Have Immune Memory
In the past, only the adaptive immune system was considered to create new immune memory (via antigen-antibody interactions) and update its function after novel experiences. Recent studies, however, suggest that innate immunity can also be ‘trained’ by immune events and exposures.
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February 18, 2022Polyphenols Help Maintain Immune Equilibrium
Regulation of the immune response occurs through the collective actions of signaling pathways that direct innate and adaptive immune function. This review examines how dietary polyphenolic substances (quercetin, resveratrol, and others) affect immune signaling networks implicated in the development of autoimmune dysfunction.
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December 21, 2021EPA and DHA Attenuate Stress-Induced Vascular Senescence
This 12-week clinical trial of time-restricted but not energy-restricted eating in overweight and obese adults demonstrates that even a limited period of time-restricted eating (TRE) can improve weight and body composition in these individuals. It further establishes that TRE is a feasible approach to managing behaviors that impact glucose metabolism and risk for inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders.
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December 15, 2021EPA and DHA Affect Skin Immune Response Differently
This 12-week clinical trial of time-restricted but not energy-restricted eating in overweight and obese adults demonstrates that even a limited period of time-restricted eating (TRE) can improve weight and body composition in these individuals. It further establishes that TRE is a feasible approach to managing behaviors that impact glucose metabolism and risk for inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders.
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December 6, 2021TRE May Help Remodel Eating Behaviors
This 12-week clinical trial of time-restricted but not energy-restricted eating in overweight and obese adults demonstrates that even a limited period of time-restricted eating (TRE) can improve weight and body composition in these individuals. It further establishes that TRE is a feasible approach to managing behaviors that impact glucose metabolism and risk for inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders.
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December 6, 2021Dietary Polyphenols Affect Both Commensals and Pathogens in the Gut
This meta-analysis identifies dietary polyphenols that exert significant influence on the intestinal abundance of probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species as well as various pathogenic and beneficial Clostridium species. From data derived by the analysis, the authors estimate daily polyphenol intakes most closely associated with specific improvements in gut microbiota composition.
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November 29, 2021EPA’s Impact on Mood
This meta-analysis of 26 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials concluded that a daily dosage of ≤1 gram of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) provided in omega-3 formulations consisting of at least 60% EPA showed significant benefit in 2160 with depression or depressive symptoms, compared to placebo. The authors discussed several mechanisms for the efficacy of EPA in addressing mood.
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November 15, 2021Higher Flavonoid Intake Linked to Better Cognitive Function
Greater consumption of flavonoid-rich foods has been linked to cognitive health, and this study highlights the special contributions of quercetin, anthocyanins, catechins, flavonols, and flavanones to these findings. These flavonoids are found in berries, green and black tea, citrus fruits, buckwheat, cruciferous vegetables, and other deeply-colored fruits and vegetables.
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October 25, 2021Omega-3s as Potential Prebiotics
This clinical trial is among the first to demonstrate that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, even at a moderate daily dosage of 500 milligrams, alters the gut microbiome and intestinal fermentation processes in ways that may partly account for the well-known cardiovascular benefits of omega-3s.
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October 25, 2021How Plant Polyphenols Benefit Plants—and Their Consumers
This review examines the dual nature of polyphenolic substances created by food plants: protecting growing plants to ensure their survival and enhancing these foods’ nutritional and health advantages for consumers.
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October 19, 2021Omega-3s Coordinate Innate and Adaptive Immune Teamwork
Omega-3 fatty acids are known to be incorporated into the cell membranes of every type of immune cell tested. Many immune cells possess enzymes needed to produce omega-3 metabolites called specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs/PRMs), which in turn regulate their function. This review details how omega-3s (mainly eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, EPA and DHA) influence the activity and genetic expression of immune cells from both innate and adaptive compartments of the immune system.
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October 11, 2021Exposure to Forest Biodiversity Encourages Immune Regulation
Time spent in natural outdoors settings is a crucial immune-regulating experience for urban dwellers, and especially for children. Direct exposure to forest biomes—or even just forest floor vegetation and dirt—is an effective means of altering balance among circulating immune factors (interleukins, regulatory T cells, etc.) that are key to developing immune tolerance. Biodiversity intervention is of growing importance for the management of dysbiosis and immune imbalance.
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October 11, 2021Omega-3 Supplementation Reprograms the Immune Response
Omega-3 fatty acids like EPA, DHA, and DPA have demonstrated many direct benefits to immune, cardiovascular, and neurocognitive health. Their nutritional influence extends further, however, through the actions of their specialized pro-resolving mediator (SPM/PRM) metabolites.
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September 27, 2021Social Dynamics Guide Gene Expression and Immune Balance
Humans are remarkably attentive to environmental inputs—objectively as well as subjectively—and there is increasing interest in the long-term health impacts of changing social conditions. This review describes how our genetic programming allows us to adapt to social experiences and explores why negative social inputs have especially persistent effects on human physiology.
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September 20, 2021The Evolution of Prebiotics into Functional Synbiotics
Probiotics, prebiotics, and polyphenolic phytonutrients are all revered for gut microbiome and health benefits. New research is discovering that polyphenols can interact in complex ways with the gut microbiome and with probiotic species to release unique metabolites that possess heightened bioactivity. Strategic pairing of probiotics and polyphenols for targeted conditions is an emerging avenue of personalized intervention.
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August 30, 2021The Big Three in Nutritional Modulation of Immunosenescence
Cellular senescence is increasingly linked to biological aging of immune cells, which regulate the accumulation of senescent cells within tissues. This review examines aging processes that affect specific populations of immune cells from both adaptive and innate aspects of immunity. The authors propose three classes of nutraceuticals—phytonutrients, probiotics, and omega-3 fatty acids—for slowing and potentially reversing the progress of senescence in immune cells and, ultimately, reducing senescent cell burden.
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August 17, 2021
Dietary Flavonoid Intakes Impact Self-Assessment of Cognitive Decline
This decades-long prospective study of over 77,000 health professionals is among the first to demonstrate that a higher intake of flavonoids is associated with significantly reduced risk for subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Especially strong protection was found for flavones, flavanones, and anthocyanins, though other flavonoid subclasses were also associated with reduced SCD risk.
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August 17, 2021
The Flavonoid Rutin Modulates GLP-1 Secretion and Glucose Metabolism in Animals
Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a gut hormone that modulates postprandial levels of lipids and glucose. This series of preclinical investigations shows that, in an animal model of type 2 diabetes, dietary addition of either rutin or of Tartary Buckwheat (a rutin-rich relative of common buckwheat) has beneficial effects on blood glucose and HbA1c levels as well as pancreatic beta cell function. These influences were found to be dose-dependent upon intakes of rutin, which was discovered to activate GLP-1.
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July 20, 2021Certain Senolytic Phytonutrients May Also Trigger the Antioxidant Response
The concept of cellular rejuvenation centers upon encouraging immune-mediated autophagy of aged or dysfunctional ‘senescent’ cells. For maintaining performance of healthy cells, the ability to trigger a robust antioxidant and detoxification response is equally important. This review examines current research on how fifteen phytonutrients that possess both of these qualities may be potentially useful for targeting therapies aimed at transformed senescent cells.
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July 2, 2021Regenerative Agriculture Adapts to Unique Soil Needs
This study describes the evolution of regenerative agriculture as a concept and as a real-world system, and notes its flexibility in addressing the unique soil needs of land areas with varying baseline levels of essential fertility.
