The relative contribution of nutrition-related chronic diseases to the total disease burden of the society and the health care costs has risen continuously over the last decades. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to better exploit the potential of dietary prevention of diseases. Carbohydrates play a major role in human nutrition – next to fat, carbohydrates are the second biggest group of energy-yielding nutrients. Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipoproteinaemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, coronary heart disease and cancer are wide-spread diseases, in which carbohydrates could have a pathophysiologic relevance. Correspondingly, modification of carbohydrate intake could have a preventive potential. In the present evidence-based guideline of the German Nutrition Society, the potential role of carbohydrates in the primary prevention of the named diseases was judged systematically. The major findings were: a high carbohydrate intake at the expense of total fat and saturated fatty acids reduces the concentrations of total, LDL and HDL cholesterol. A high carbohydrate consumption at the expense of polyunsaturated fatty acids increases total and LDL cholesterol, but reduces HDL cholesterol. Regardless of the type of fat being replaced, a high carbohydrate intake promotes an increase in the triglyceride concentration. Furthermore, a high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas a high dietary fibre intake, mainly from whole-grain products, reduces the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipoproteinaemia, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer at varying evidence levels. The practical consequences for current dietary recommendations are presented.

When compared with a standard infant formula, the new formula supported satisfactory growth, led to higher counts of bifidobacteria in the feces, produced blood bio-chemical values typical of formula-fed infants, and was well tolerated.

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The response to tHcy-lowering therapy is influenced by MTHFR genotype. Women with the TT genotype seem to benefit the most from supplementation with either FA or MTHF. In women with the CT or CC genotype, FA is more effective than MTHF in lowering plasma tHcy.

The metabolism of a substrate is closely linked to that of its cofactor(s). In the case of homocysteine, the vitamins B12, B6 and folic acid are involved in its metabolism, acting as coenzymes. To evaluate the role of these vitamins as determinants of homocysteine concentration in the healthy population, only data from this group should be considered. Studies dealing with vitamin deficiency and the occurrence of elevated homocysteine levels as well as with the treatment of elevated homocysteine levels by supplementing one or more of the vitamins have to be omitted. In the healthy population with "normal" homocysteine levels and a vitamin status currently regarded as adequate, folate seems to play the most important role in determining the blood homocysteine level. This has been derived from supplementation studies as well as from statistical correlation analysis regarding the relationship of the three vitamins to homocysteine. Until now, recommended dietary allowances for folate have been defined on the basis of the absence of clinical signs of deficiency as well as morphological alterations of blood cells indicating an early stage of folate deficiency. However, these recommended dietary allowance values do not seem to be sufficient when looking at homocysteine as a functional parameter of folate status. Due to the important role of folate status as a determinant of homocysteine concentration, it may be necessary to redefine an adequate blood folate level and probably reformulate dietary allowances for this B-vitamin.