Background: Of postpartum women, 15%-20% retain ‡ 5 kg of their gestational weight gain, increasing risk for adult weight gain. Postpartum women are also in a persistent elevated inflammatory state. Both factors could increase the risk of obesity-related chronic disease. We hypothesized that breastfeeding women randomized to a Mediterranean-style (MED) diet for 4 months would demonstrate significantly greater reductions in body weight, body fat, and inflammation than women randomized to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) MyPyramid diet for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding (comparison diet). Methods: A randomized, controlled dietary intervention trial was conducted in 129 overweight (body mass index [BMI] 27.2 -4.9 kg/m

The optimal amount of vegetable consumption required to reduce chronic disease risk is widely debated. Intervention trials evaluating biological activity of vegetables at various doses are limited. We conducted a 3-dose, crossover feeding trial to test the hypothesis that vegetable intake is associated in a dose-dependent manner with increased plasma carotenoids and subsequently reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in 49 overweight, postmenopausal women. Participants were assigned in random order to 2 (130 g), 5 (287 g), and 10 (614 g) daily servings of fresh, greenhouse-grown vegetables for 3-wk intervals with a 4-wk washout period between treatments. Plasma total carotenoids significantly increased from 1.63 to 2.07 μmol/L with a dose of 2 vegetable servings, from 1.49 to 2.84 μmol/L with a dose of 5 vegetable servings, and from 1.40 to 4.42 μmol/L with a dose of 10 vegetable servings (pre-post paired ttests, all P < 0.001). The change during each feeding period increased with each dose level (P < 0.001). Urine concentrations of 8-isoprostane F2α, hexanoyl lysine, and serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein were not affected by any administered vegetable dose. In this variable-dose vegetable study, a dose-response for plasma carotenoids was demonstrated without significant change in oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight, postmenopausal women.

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Fresh tomatoes higher in lycopene content than standard varieties have recently been designed. We hypothesized that consumption of fresh, high lycopene tomatoes (HEC) for 3-weeks, as compared to standard fresh tomatoes, (LEC) would result in significant increases in serum lycopene and reductions in oxidative stress and inflammation. Forty healthy adult men (37.5%) and women (62.5%) age 55.3±4.7 years (BMI = 25.1±3.3 kg/m 2) completed this randomized, crossover, controlled tomato intervention. Serum lycopene, oxidative stress (8-OHdG, 8-iso-PGF2) and inflammation (hsCRP) were assessed. Significant increases were seen in trans-and cis-lycopene (pre-and post-intervention, P < 0.0001), with cis-lycopene increasing significantly more during HEC consumption as compared to LEC (P=0.03). No significant changes in 8-OHdG, 8-iso-PGF2 or hsCRP were demonstrated. Consumption of HEC tomatoes resulted in significant elevations in serum lycopene but not significant reductions in oxidative stress or inflammation in this healthy adult population.

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