Strategy for sodium-salt substitution: On the relationship between hypertension and dietary intake of cations

Glaucoma and dietary links: insights from high-salt intake, the Mediterranean diet, and specific nutrients

Glaucoma, a prevalent and potentially blinding eye disease, is linked to a variety of factors, including elevated intraocular pressure, optic nerve damage, and oxidative stress. In recent years, dietary habits, as a controllable lifestyle factor, have received increasing attention in the prevention and treatment of glaucoma. The purpose of this review was to investigate the effects of dietary factors on glaucoma, with a particular emphasis on two common dietary patterns: the high-salt diet and the Mediterranean diet. In addition, we investigated the association between many particular nutrients (including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, caffeine, and minerals) and glaucoma to fully assess the potential involvement of dietary variables in glaucoma pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment. This article reveals the importance of dietary components in glaucoma prevention and explores prospective possibilities for future research by conducting a comprehensive review of previous scientific studies.

Potential prebiotic effects of soy by-products as novel dietary fibre: Structure, function, in vitro simulation of digestion and fermentation properties

This study aimed to prepare soybean dregs dietary fibre (DF) using physically assisted chemical (KHMSO) modification and study its structure, function and vitro simulation experiments. The soluble dietary fibre (SDF) content in KHMSO increased and insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) content decreased. The modified DF surface becomes irregular and rough, and the results of XPS fitting indicated that the DF structure had different peak-splitting groups. The KHMSO-treated group had the lowest digestion rate in gastric fluid and the highest digestibility in intestine fluid. The OD600 of fecal cultures was increased to 0.915, and the increased abundance of microbiota was associated with the metabolism of SCFAs, such as Lachnospiraceae, as well as the higher n-butyric acid in the KHMSO-treated group compared to the other groups and lower than the inulin, suggesting KHMSO might enhance the production of functional foods aimed at promoting intestinal health.

Advancements in production, assessment, and food applications of salty and saltiness-enhancing peptides: A review

Salt is important for food flavor, but excessive sodium intake leads to adverse health consequences. Thus, salty and saltiness-enhancing peptides are developed for sodium-reduction products. This review elucidates saltiness perception process and analyses correlation between the peptide structure and saltiness-enhancing ability. These peptides interact with taste receptors to produce saltiness perception, including ENaC, TRPV1, and TMC4. This review also outlines preparation, isolation, purification, characterization, screening, and assessment techniques of these peptides and discusses their potential applications. These peptides are from various sources and produced through enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, or Millard reaction and then separated, purified, identified, and screened. Sensory evaluation, electronic tongue, bioelectronic tongue, and cell and animal models are the primary saltiness assessment approaches. These peptides can be used in sodium-reduction food products to produce "clean label" items, and the peptides with biological activity can also serve as functional ingredients, making them very promising for food industry.

Determinants and prediction of hypertension among Chinese middle-aged and elderly adults with diabetes: A machine learning approach

Objective

Multimorbidity, particularly diabetes combined with hypertension (DCH), is a significant public health concern. Currently, there is a gap in research utilizing machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict hypertension risk in Chinese middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients, and gender differences in DCH comorbidity patterns remain unclear. We aimed to use ML algorithms to predict DCH and identify its determinants among middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients in China.

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

Data were collected on 2775 adults with diabetes aged ≥45 years from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We employed nine ML algorithms to develop prediction models for DCH. The performance of these models was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC). Additionally, we conducted variable importance analysis to identify key determinants.

Results

Our results showed that the best prediction models for the overall population, men, and women were extreme gradient boosting (AUC = 0.728), light gradient boosting machine (AUC = 0.734), and random forest (AUC = 0.737), respectively. Age, waist circumference, body mass index, creatinine level, triglycerides, taking Western medicine, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and sleep disorders were identified as common important predictors by all three populations.

Conclusions

ML algorithms showed accurate predictive capabilities for DCH. Overall, non-linear ML models outperformed traditional logistic regression for predicting DCH. DCH predictions exhibited variations in predictors and model accuracy by gender. These findings could help identify DCH early and inform the development of personalized intervention strategies.

Association Between Adherence to EAT-Lancet Diet and Risk of Hypertension: An 18-Year National Cohort Study in China

OBJECTIVE

The EAT-Lancet Commission has proposed an EAT-Lancet diet (ELD), also known as a planetary health diet (PHD), which is environmentally sustainable and promotes human health. However, the association between this diet and the risk of hypertension remains unclear. This study aimed to determine whether adherence to ELD was associated with a lower risk of hypertension.

METHODS

11,402 adults without hypertension at baseline from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were included. The PHD score was used to evaluate ELD adherence, with higher scores reflecting better compliance. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was utilized to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Additionally, a subgroup analysis was performed to identify the possible effect modifiers, and a mediation analysis was conducted to explore the mediation effects of anthropometric measurements on the association between ELD and hypertension.

RESULTS

A total of 3993 participants (35%) developed hypertension during 93,058 person-years of follow-up. In the covariate-adjusted model, hypertension risk was reduced in the highest quartile participants compared to the lowest quartile of the PHD score (adjusted HR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.71-0.87; P-trend < 0.001), which remained significant after sensitivity analysis. Notably, the association was also observed in isolated systolic hypertension, isolated diastolic hypertension, and systolic-diastolic hypertension. Subgroup analysis revealed that the inverse association between the PHD score and hypertension risk was more pronounced in nonsmokers and high-sodium intake consumers than in smokers and low-sodium consumers (P-interaction < 0.05). Additionally, mediation analysis revealed that 23.3% of the association between the PHD score and hypertension risk was mediated by the waist-to-height ratio.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that a higher adherence to ELD is associated with a lower risk of hypertension. These results emphasize that ELD may serve as a potential strategy to prevent hypertension.

Salt reduction behavior of adults in Anhui province in 2019: a cross-sectional survey of 3,378 participants

Objective

A high-sodium diet is an important risk factor for hypertension in the Chinese population, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Although a large number of related studies have been carried out in Anhui province, clear, effective salt reduction interventions and policies that can be widely promoted have not yet been formed. This study sought to understand the prevalence and precise measures of salt reduction behavior, the variables affecting salt reduction behavior, and the reasons why salt reduction behavior was not practiced in Anhui Province, China.

Methods

The total number of participants in the study was 3,378. Using a multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method, residents between the ages of 18 and 69 years in 10 counties and districts were selected from March to October 2019. A survey questionnaire and physical measurements were given to each participant. The influencing factors of residents' salt reduction behavior were examined using a multi-factor unconditional logistic regression analysis. The chi-squared (χ2) test was used to analyze the implementation of salt reduction behaviors among different age groups and gender, the factors influencing the implementation of salt reduction measures, and the reasons for not implementing salt reduction measures.

Results

A history of hypertension was associated with salt reduction strategies (P = 0.014). Patients with hypertension were more likely to adopt salt reduction behaviors than those without hypertension (OR = 1.218, P = 0.040). The influence of eating out on the adoption of salt-reduction measures varied by age group (χ2 = 50.463, P < 0.001) and gender (χ2 = 81.348, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

In summary, residents of the Anhui Province are not very knowledgeable about salt reduction. Age, gender, education level, hypertension, and marital status are the main determinants. Our findings have significant implications for policymakers who want to devise salt reduction strategies.

Alleviation of Metabolic Disturbance by Substituting Kanjang High in Bacillus for Salt through Modulation of Gut Microbiota in Estrogen-Deficient Rats

A high salt intake may exacerbate menopausal symptoms and substituting for different types of traditionally made kanjang (TMK; soy sauce) may prevent it. This study examined whether substituting salt with lyophilized TMK containing low and high Bacillus and biogenic amines in a high-fat diet might modulate the menopausal symptoms and the energy, glucose, and lipid metabolism in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. They were categorized into salt (Control), TMK with high Bacillus and low biogenic amines (HBLB), TMK with high Bacillus and high biogenic amines (HBHB), TMK with low Bacillus and low biogenic amines (LBLB), and TMK with low Bacillus and high biogenic amines (LBHB). Sham-operated rats consumed the same diet as the Control. HBLB, HBHB, and LBHB prevented increased tail skin temperature compared to the Control. HBHB and HBLB partially inhibited the increased weight gain and abdominal fat mass by reducing the food efficiency without changing the serum 17β-estradiol concentrations. Serum glucose and insulin concentrations and the insulin resistance index by the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance showed a positive association for weight gain. HBLB and HBHB decreased the serum malondialdehyde and tumor-necrosis factor-α levels. Hepatic triglyceride storage was lower in all TMK groups than in the Control, while hepatic glycogen accumulation was higher in the HBLB, HBHB, and LBHB groups than in the Control and LBLB groups. Accordingly, the mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-γ(PPAR-γ) was higher in the HBLB and HBHB groups compared to the Control, and that of fatty acid synthase was opposite to PPAR-γ expression. However, HBLB and HBHB improved dyslipidemia and insulin resistance compared to the Control, but their improvement did not reach that of the Normal-control. The acetic acid concentrations in the portal vein were lower in the LBLB than in the Control, while the butyric acid contents were higher in the LBHB and HBLB groups than in the Control. HBHB, HBLB, and LBHB elevated Akkermansia and Lactobacillus, and HBLB and LBLB increased Bacteroides and Ruminococcus compared to the Control. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation, bile acid synthesis, and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis were significantly higher in the HBLB group than in the Control group. In conclusion, substituting salts to TMK with a high Bacillus content regardless of the bioamine contents partially improved the menopausal symptoms and metabolic disturbance in estrogen-deficient animals.