Food blogs are an increasingly popular source of information about food and nutrition. There is a perception that foods published on clean eating blogs, which promote unprocessed foods, are healthier than comparable foods without these claims. However, foods with these claims and their nutrient composition have not previously been evaluated. The purpose of the study was to describe the nutritional content of clean eating recipes compared to recipes without clean eating claims and the nutritional guidelines published by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Clean eating recipes were systematically selected from 13 popular clean eating blogs and were described and compared with control recipes without clean eating claims. The nutrient profiles from the included recipes were summarised and evaluated against criteria from WHO recommendations for chronic disease prevention and criteria from the U.K. Food Standards Agency. Data for 86 clean eating recipes were extracted that represented five food categories: breakfast, snacks, treats, desserts, and smoothies. These were matched with 86 control recipes without clean eating claims. The clean eating recipes, per portion, provide the equivalent of 15% of daily energy intake. The average serving sizes were not significantly different between clean eating and control recipes. Overall, the clean eating recipes contained significantly more protein (8.1 ± 7.3 g vs. 5.7 ± 4.1 g, p = 0.01), fat (15.8 ± 10.6 g vs. 12.4 ± 9.3 g, p = 0.03), and fibre (5.0 ± 4.3 g vs. 2.8 ± 2.9 g, p < 0.01) per serving than control recipes. There were no significant differences between clean eating and control recipes with respect to the energy (1280 ± 714 kJ vs. 1137 ± 600 kJ, p = 0.16), carbohydrate (31.5 ± 27.3 g vs. 33.9 ± 19.4 g, p = 0.51), sugar (21.1 ± 20.9 g vs. 23.2 ± 14.9 g, p = 0.46), and sodium content (196.7 ± 269 vs. 155.8 ± 160.8, p = 0.23). Less than 10% of clean eating and control recipes met the WHO constraints for proportions of energy from fat and sugar intake. A simulated nutrient profile of an average clean and control recipe shows that nutrients for both are similarly classified as moderate to high in fat, saturated fat, salt, and sugar. Foods with clean eating claims contained the same amount of energy, sugar, and sodium as foods without those claims. Clean eating claims are potentially misleading for consumers who may believe these foods are healthy alternatives, potentially undermining people’s efforts to eat a healthy diet.

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Cytokines (TNFα, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10) mediate the inflammatory process in various skin conditions, including acne. An in vitro co-culture model system involving different cell types was used to study the effect of UVB and other treatments on the inflammatory process, with nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) as markers of inflammation. Cultured macrophages were stimulated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and exposed to UVB radiation (50 - 200mJ/cm2). The expression of nitric oxide (NO) was measured by modified Griess assay and the expression of TNFα was measured by quantitative ELISA. For co-culture systems, SC monocytes were combined with irradiated human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) and cultured macrophages were combined with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Samples of culture supernatants were collected at 1-6 days. When NHEK were irradiated with UVB (290-320 nm), a dose-dependent stimulation of TNFα production was observed (33-200% increase), but NO production was unchanged. In contrast, when macrophages were irradiated with UVB, significant inhibition of NO production (40% suppression, p&lt;0.001) was seen. The macrophage-PBMC co-cultures showed no alteration in TNFα production, whereas NO production showed a dose- and time-dependent increase. These data indicate that keratinocytes and mononuclear phagocytes have distinct products and responses to UVB radiation. This co-culture system is an improved model of cutaneous inflammation.