International Journal of Food, Nutrition & Dietetics

 Chronic pain was globally recognized as a condition with multifactorial etiology, multidimensional clinical presentation and multidisciplinary therapeutic delivery. The objective of this short communication was to throw light on dietary and nutritional supplementation as a management option for people with chronic pain. Although goal-directed healthcare and multidisciplinary rehabilitation dictated a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to management, dietary interventions such as therapeutic fasting, oral cannabis, and oral tryptophan were reported to be effective dietary treatment options for people with chronic pain. The evidence however is too insufficient to provide any recommendation for practice.

 Phenolic compounds, found in all plants constitute an essential component of human diet. The major polyphenolic compounds found in plants are flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbenes, chalcones, phenol alcohol and lignans. These compounds are secondary plant metabolites and possess various health benefits such as cardio protective effect, antidiabetic and anticancer properties along with high antioxidative activity. There properties make polyphenols interesting for the treatment of various diseases like cancer and also used for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s). They have wide range of nutraceutical applications and exerts prebiotic effects as well. The antioxidative activity of phenolic compounds depends on their structure, in particular the number and position of the hydroxyl groups and the nature of substitutions on the aromatic rings. Fruits, vegetables and beverages are the chief sources of phenolic compounds in the human diet. This review is focused on plant polyphenols and discusses the aspects relative to their potential health benefits.

 The adequate nutrition is essential for good health and physical and cognitive development of human body. It requires a diverse diet including staple foods, vegetables, fruits, animal-source foods. Over 60% of the world’s under nourished people live in Asia, and a quarter in Africa. Surprisingly,  nearly 60-80% of the Indian population is deficient in Vitamin D. Dietary calcium intake among Indians remains significantly low, mainly in those who have vitamin D deficiency, as its absorption is dependent on adequate levels of vitamin D. The most common B12 deficiency was not thought to be prevalent in India but recent studies have shown 47-49% prevalence. Adequate levels of vitamin B12 are required for conversion of inactive folate to its active form. Naturally, those without  adequate levels of  B12 are likely to suffer from folic acid deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency still remains a major public health nutritional problem in rural pre-school children of India.  It also makes children more susceptible to iron deficiency because of its crucial role in mobilising iron from the site where it is stored. More than 75% of toddlers in  India suffer from  iron-deficiency anemia and about 52 % of young girls are severely anemic. Deficiency of zinc is common in pregnant and lactating  women, forming a predominant cause of death in children from rural areas. 

 The present project entitled “Utilization of Pumpkin & Papaya for preparation of Fruit Leather” was undertaken in the School of Bioengineering & Food Technology, Shoolini University, Solan in 2014.  Papaya & Pumpkin were undertaken in regard to physico-chemical analysis, effect of processing treatment on organoleptic characteristics of fruit leather. Papaya fruit contained 88.5% moisture, TSS 9°Brix, Titrable acidity 0.10% citric acid, colour pale yellow, %edible portion 80%, ascorbic acid 185.81mg/100g and total sugars 12.97g/100g. Pumpkin contained 83% moisture, TSS 10°Brix, Titrable acidity 0.38% citric acid, colour yellow, %edible portion 75%, ascorbic acid 14mg/100g and total sugars 9g/100g. Papaya leather made from different TSS of pulp had constant moisture content of 11%, ash content decreased from 6.9% in control sample to 0.9% in leather made from pulp of 25°Brix TSS, ascorbic acid content decreased from 60mg/100g in control sample to 40mg/100g in sample C and total sugar increased from 13g/100g in control sample to 20g/100g in sample C.

 With the increase in number of families, the food consumption pattern and nutritional status of 50 marginal and 50 small farm families in U.S. Nagar district of Uttarakhand state were assessed. The results indicated that the per capita availability of cereals per day on marginal and small farms were 402.82 and 413.52 grams respectively, which were lower than the recommended quantity of cereals per day (420 g).  Similarly, availability and consumption level of pulses, vegetables and milk were also found to be quite low than the recommended quantities given by ICMR.  Iron and carotene were the most deficient nutrients among the subjects of all the age groups in both marginal and small farm families. Thiamine, calcium and vitamin C intake was in safer zone in both types of families. The results of triceps skinfold thickness for females indicated 16.3 percent and 5.5 percent in marginal and small farm families respectively while figures with respect to males was 16.9 and 5.7 percent in marginal and small farms. The mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) results  that  3.4 to 22 percent males and 4.8 to 22 percent females were at risk category(<5 percentile). The results of Gomez classification for children upto 5 years revealed that  71.43 and 45.45 percent children respectively on marginal and small farms suffered from various type of malnutrition. According to Water low classification, 65.22 percent and 39.02 percent children of 5-18 years on marginal and small farms were suffering from various degree of malnutrition. The overall results indicated that, from the point of view of food security and nutritional status, the subjects from both the small farm families as well as marginal families were unsecured. 

 The study concludes that the buckwheat flour had high antinutritional properties (TPC & TFC) while white sorghum flour had high functional properties (WHC, WAI & WSI). Various processings like puffing, drying and roasting results in decreasing antinutritonal properties while increasing functional properties in all the three flours. It also concluded in the case of Red sorghum flour, different treatments results in decreasing the moisture and ash content.

 Background: Nutrition of pre-school children (0-5 years age group) is of paramount  importance because the foundation for lifetime health, strength and intellectual vitality is laid during this period. Malnutrition among under-five children is an important concern for the health authorities in India. Aim and Objectives: To assess the burden of under-nutrition and over-nutrition, its determinants and strategies required to tackle malnutrition among under-five children in India. The information retrieved was reviewed and analyzed for discrepancies. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Material and Methods: Distribution of various types of risk factors and its influence on nutrition status of children in a given set up should be analyzed for planning the control measures. Strengthening public health interventions for mild malnutrition cases and vulnerable groups, effective implementation and evaluation of the strategies at regional level, research on overweight, obesity and its etiological factors and steps for improving socioeconomic development are the prerequisites for tackling malnutrition among under-five children in India. Result: Existing evidence shows that the prevalence of under-nutrition among under-five children was high and varied widely (under-weight: 39-75%, stunting: 15.4-74%, wasting: 10.6-42.3%) depending on the assessment methodology adopted. Studies on assessment of over-nutrition status among under-five children were limited. Conclusion: Malnutrition among under-five children  appears to be a sustained crisis instead of an acute, self-limited problem linked to the post-election violence. 

 The incidence of Diabetic Mellitus (DM) is increasing at an alarming rate especially in developing countries like India. Bakery products are highly popular and lend themselves easily for modification into therapeutic products. Therefore, the present study was planned to develop high fiber (wheat bran) bread and testing it for possible use in the dietary management. Wheat bran bread (WBB) was developed in the laboratorythrough various trials. Bread prepared with maximum 7.5 % replacement found acceptable sensorily and used for further study. A total of 25 subjects (20 type II diabetics and 5 non diabetics) of average age 53 years were fed white bread (WB) and WBB (approximately 5 slices, weighing 97.84 g for WB and 104.40 g for WBB, providing 50 g carbohydrate) on 2 different days. Blood glucose levels were determined at fasting, 60, 120 and 180 min. The glucose increments were estimated by area under the curve (AUC) and expressed as GI. The GI for non-diabetics was found to be significantly lower (69.16 + 1.75) when compared to diabetics (77.04 + 3.84). Similar trend was observed in females (75.05 + 9.50) when compared to males (77.70 + 4.24) within the diabetic group.  The average GL calculated for the WBB was found to be 38.20 g for diabetics and 40.97g for non diabetics. It may be concluded that the bread prepared by supplementing 7.5% wheat bran is acceptable and could be useful in the dietary management of diabetics as well as healthy subjects.