Duplicate portion sampling combined with spectrophotometric analysis affords the most accurate results when assessing daily dietary phosphorus intake

Iranian population exposures to heavy metals, PAHs, and pesticides and their intake routes: a study protocol of a national population health survey

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world and the third leading cause of death in Iran. It has been proven that numerous cancer cases are caused by exposure to environmental pollutants. There is a public health concern regarding an increase in exposure to carcinogens across Iran through different sources (air, food, and water) and a lack of research to address this issue. This study aims to gather data on exposure to heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and pesticides and their intake routes during the implementation of a national population health survey. This is a cross-sectional study of environmental pollutants in Iran, with a stratified multi-stage random sampling method, which led to 660 nationally representative samples in 132 clusters in three sequential parts. The first will be questionnaires to obtain demographics, assets, food records, air quality, and food frequency. The second will be physical measurements, including anthropometric and body composition. The third will be lab assessments that measure 26 types of environmental pollutants (7 heavy metals, 16 PAHs, and 3 pesticides) in urine, inhaled air, and consumed food and water of the population under study using ICP-MS and GS-MS devices. The results of this study will inform policymakers and the general population regarding the level of threat and will provide evidence for the development of interventional and observatory plans on the reduction of exposures to these pollutants. It could also be used to develop local standards to control contaminants through the three exposure routes. This study protocol will obtain data needed for policymakers to set surveillance systems for these pollutants at the national and provincial level to address the public concerns regarding the contamination of food, air, and water.

Dietary Intakes of Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphorus, and Sodium by the General Adult Population Aged 20-50 Years in Shiraz, Iran: A Total Diet Study Approach

In the present total diet study, the dietary intake of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and sodium (Na) by healthy adults in Shiraz, Iran, was estimated from the foods as consumed. A total of 580 individual food items were collected, prepared, and pooled into 129 composite samples. The metal concentration was then evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The mean intakes of Zn (12.92 mg/d), Cu (3.80 mg/d), and Mg (412.68 mg/d) exceeded the estimated average requirements (EARs), but they were well below the upper limits. A high prevalence of inadequate intake was observed for Ca (91.6%) and P (89.7%), which was mainly due to nutritionally imbalanced diets. Sodium intake for average and high consumers (97.5th percentile) was 123.6% and 237.8% of the tolerable upper intake level of 2300 mg/d, respectively, with 70% of the participants having intakes higher than this threshold value. Nutrition education, nutritional rehabilitation, Ca supplementation, food fortification, mandatory reduction of salt content in processed foods, and discretionary salt use (in home cooking or at the table) are among the possible strategies that can be adopted to combat the health problems.

Association of dietary patterns with serum phosphorus in maintenance haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study

Sources of dietary phosphate differentially contribute to hyperphosphatemia in maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients. This cross-sectional study in Malaysia investigated association between dietary patterns and serum phosphorus in MHD patients. Dietary patterns were derived by principal component analysis, based on 27 food groups shortlisted from 3-day dietary recalls of 435 MHD patients. Associations of serum phosphorus were examined with identified dietary patterns. Three dietary patterns emerged: Home foods (HF_dp), Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB_dp), and Eating out noodles (EO-N_dp). The highest tertile of patients in HF (T3-HF_dp) pattern significantly associated with higher intakes of total protein (p = 0.002), animal protein (p = 0.001), and animal-based organic phosphate (p < 0.001), whilst T3-SSB_dp patients had significantly higher intakes of total energy (p < 0.001), inorganic phosphate (p < 0.001), and phosphate:protein ratio (p = 0.001). T3-EO-N_dp patients had significantly higher intakes of total energy (p = 0.033), total protein (p = 0.003), plant protein (p < 0.001), but lower phosphate:protein ratio (p = 0.009). T3-SSB_dp patients had significantly higher serum phosphorus (p = 0.006). The odds ratio of serum phosphorous > 2.00 mmol/l was significantly 2.35 times higher (p = 0.005) with the T3-SSB_dp. The SSB_dp was associated with greater consumption of inorganic phosphate and higher serum phosphorus levels.

Preparation, characterization and physicochemical properties of novel low-phosphorus egg yolk protein

BACKGROUND

In order to supply adequate dietary protein for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients while simultaneously controlling phosphorus intake, a novel method was developed for the preparation of low-phosphorus egg yolk protein (LPYP) using alkaline protease auxiliary dephosphorization. In addition, the physicochemical properties of LPYP were studied.

RESULTS

In comparison with raw egg yolk protein (RYP) and defatted egg yolk protein (DFYP), LPYP was found to exhibit differences in amino acid (AA) composition, protein secondary structure, surface hydrophobicity, solubility and emulsion stability. It was observed that dephosphorization improved the AA composition, soluble protein content and dissolution stability of egg yolk protein. In addition, phosphate groups were found to impose a critical influence on the emulsion stability and particle size distribution. The final phosphorus to protein mass ratio (P/Pro) of LPYP was 5.64, which met the requirements of a protein diet for CKD patients. The FAO/WHO mode closeness and stability coefficient were 0.958 and 98.62% respectively.

CONCLUSION

LPYP can be effectively obtained by alkaline protease hydrolysis and subsequent alkali dephosphorization. The prepared LPYP can be considered to be a type of safe and suitable protein resource for CKD patients. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Accuracy of a Nutrient Database in Estimating the Dietary Phosphorus-to-Protein Ratio and Using a Boiling Method in Low-Phosphate Hospital Diets

The use of the dietary phosphorus-to-protein ratio (PPR) to reduce dietary phosphorus while maintaining protein intake is valuable for nutritional management in the dialysis population, but the actual PPR values in hospital meals have not been determined. We aimed to determine the accuracy of a nutrient database for estimating the PPR in low-phosphate hospital diets compared with the accuracy of chemical analysis and produce hospital diets with low-phosphate content by boiling meat for 30 minutes before cooking. The phosphorus and protein content of 26 cooked dishes selected from the hospital menu was estimated using a food composition table (FCT) and sent for chemical analysis. Comparisons of FCT-based estimated values with measured values for every 100 g of tested foods revealed an overestimation for the PPR both in plant-based dishes (mean difference ± SD, 4.1 ± 14.6 mg/g, P = 0.06), and in meats (2.1 ± 2.3 mg/g, P = 0.06). By boiling meats, we crafted diets with PPR as low as 8 mg/g. Caution should be exercised in estimating the PPR using a FCT in hospital diets and boiling should be used to prepare hospital meals. Such diets will be promoted for dialysis patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Dietary Food-Additive Phosphate and Human Health Outcomes

Dietary intake of phosphorus is required for human health, and dietary reference intakes for phosphorus have been established. Food-grade phosphates are used as additives to provide a wide range of technical functions in food production. Phosphates are often the most efficient ingredients to provide the required functionality in many applications, and in some cases, there are not effective and approved alternatives. However, many investigators have expressed concern about the quantities of phosphorus and food-additive phosphate present in the diets of many populations. This paper presents the outcome of an extensive review of 110 primary research articles focused on identifying evidence that substantiates or refutes associations of total dietary phosphorus and food-additive phosphate intake with health and disease in humans. The lack of conclusive evidence prevented the drawing of firm conclusions about the safety and possible risks of food-additive phosphate in the general population, which is consonant with the overall assessments of authoritative institutions who have concluded that available data are insufficient to make the required determinations. Despite the inadequacy of the evidence currently available, many of the authors of the publications reviewed for this paper expressed concerns about the quantities of phosphorus and food-additive phosphate in the diets of the populations and subpopulations they studied. At the same time, most of these authors offered only qualified conclusions and expressed themselves tentatively. In addition, authors of primary research publications, authors of review articles, and authoritative institutions have called for the conduct of further research.

Daily dietary intakes of zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium as determined by duplicate portion sampling combined with either instrumental analysis or the use of food composition tables, Shiraz, Iran

Estimation of essential and toxic element intakes is crucial to evaluate the risks of deficiency or toxicity. The purpose of this study was to investigate and also to compare the dietary intakes of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) by adults living in Shiraz, Iran, determined by two procedures: duplicate portion sampling of 21 hospital meals combined with either instrumental analysis (voltammetric measurement) or the use of food composition tables (FCTs). The level of exposure to lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) was evaluated as well. The daily Zn intakes of both methods were not significantly different and were higher than the RDA values except the value measured by the instrumental analysis which was lower than the RDA established for a male adult. Daily intake of Cu determined by instrumental analysis was significantly lower and closer to RDA for adults compared with the value estimated by FCTs. The dietary intakes of Pb and Cd were 313 and 61% of the respective provisional tolerable weekly intakes (PTWIs), respectively. The accuracy of two methods used for estimation of Zn intake was similar. In the case of Cu, the use of FCTs, in which the influence of environmental conditions and dietary habits of meal preparation is not taken into account, overestimated dietary intake. The risk of zinc deficiency was found in adult males. Moreover, the estimated intake of Pb, but not Cd, could be a cause of concern for Shiraz population. Thus, conducting regular periodic studies to assess the dietary intake of mentioned elements are recommended.