Mutagenic and/or carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs) have been found in meat and fish cooked at temperatures over 150ºC. To date, more than 25 HCAs have been isolated and identified in cooked meat and meat products as potent mutagens in the Ames/Salmonella test. HCAs are potent mutagens at ng/g levels in cooked foods and play an important role in the etiology of human cancer. Major precursors of HCAs are creatine and/or creatinine, amino acids and reducing sugars. IQ-type HCAs are formed by heat induced non enzymatic browning known as Maillard reaction which involves creati(ni)ne, amino acid and sugars whereas amino-carbolines are mainly formed by pyrolysis of amino acids and proteins at higher temperatures above 300ºC. Concentrations and variety of HCAs can be dependent on many factors such as precursor level, meat type, cooking method, cooking duration, pH and water activity, heat and mass transfer, lipid level, lipid oxidation and antioxidants. Due to better understanding, formation of HCAs has been studied both in model systems and cooked foods and this review gives an overview of the studies on the formation of carcinogenic and/or mutagenic HCAs.

1. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease responses to cytokines and inflammatory agents. The present study examines how different intakes of n-6 and n-9 fatty acids influence the metabolic response to endotoxin in Wistar rats. 2. Weanling male rats were, for 4 weeks, fed diets containing 50, 100 or 200 g/kg fat in the form of maize oil (rich in linoleic acid), butter (poor in linoleic acid, rich in oleic acid) or olive oil (adequate in linoleic acid, rich in oleic acid) or standard laboratory chow. All butter and olive oil diets included 10 g/kg maize oil, in total fat, to avoid essential fatty acid deficiency. 3. Rats subsequently received 800 micrograms/kg Escherichia coli endotoxin or sterile saline subcutaneously. Twenty-four hours after injection, the rate of tissue protein synthesis was measured in liver, lung, kidney, tibialis muscle and spleen by the 'flooding dose' method. Protein and zinc concentrations were assayed in all tissues and serum albumin and caeruloplasmin measured. 4. In animals fed chow, protein synthetic rate increased by 18%, 29% and 27% in liver, lung and kidney respectively. Tissue zinc concentrations increased by 33% in kidney, and tissue protein increased by 17%, 23% and 17% in liver, lung and kidney respectively. Serum caeruloplasmin increased by 60% and albumin concentration fell by 14%. 5. In animals consuming the 50 g/kg maize oil diet, protein synthetic rate increased by 56%, 36% and 34% in liver, lung and kidney respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

SummaryThe health benefits of physical activity and a healthy diet are well known, yet large proportions of modern societies do not meet recommended guidelines for these behaviours. Intervention programmes aimed at changing activity and eating behaviours, ranging from individual-level approaches to community-wide campaigns in effects on physical activity, diet and weight loss (Norman et al. 2007). A first step in healthy behaviour promotion aimed at behaviour change is to identify the health problems of a population that are serious and/or prevalent enough to justify spending time, money and other resources (Brug et al. 2005). Many behaviour change interventions aim to tackle obesity, the prevalence of which is still rising in many European countries, which is positively associated with chronic diseases affecting the health and wellbeing of Western populations. But other common risk factors for chronic disease, such as high intakes of salt or saturated fatty acids, are also the targets of health intervention programmes in a number of European countries.This paper provides examples of intervention programmes, conducted by government and other organisations, from eight European countries that aim to change behaviour in relation to diet and physical activity. It summarises the outcomes of a workshop held during a meeting of the European Nutrition Foundations (ENF) Network in London, UK, on 25 June 2012.

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Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. Lipid profile and anthropometric measurements might differ for patients with MS and healthy people. This study aimed to compare the lipid profiles and anthropometric measurements of patients with MS and healthy participants. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a controlled descriptive study, consisting of 392 people (196 patients in the MS-MS group, and 196 healthy volunteers in the control group) who presented to a state hospital in Turkey. Blood samples were collected and lipid profiles (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides) were analyzed. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios were calculated, and the parameters were compared between the groups. The relationship between the parameters and the presence of MS was investigated. Results: The weights, heights, hip circumferences, waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios of the people differed statistically significantly between the groups (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of the considered lipid profiles. The difference between the BMI values of males in the control and MS groups was statistically significant (p=0.006). Conclusion: The obtained results indicate that anthropometric measurements of patients with MS differ significantly from healthy individuals, although no significant difference could be observed in terms of lipid profiles. Most of the findings of this study are consistent with the literature and suggest that the anthropometric changes in individuals should be followed regularly to prevent a possible MS risk.