This paper is intended to demonstrate to nutritionists, dietitians, paediatricians and other health care professionals as well as parents, primary and secondary school authorities, nutritional concerns pertaining to the consumption of soft drinks. High intake of soft drinks is associated with: 1) overweight or obesity because of the intake of additional calories in the diet; 2) increased risk of osteoporosis due to displacement of milk consumption, resulting in calcium deficiency and subsequent bone resorption; and 3) increased risk of dental caries and potential enamel erosion. School officials and parents should be aware of the health implications of vended drinks in schools before making a decision about pupils' and students' access to them.

Osteoporosis is defined as a progressive systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Although bone mass and quality is mainly determined genetically, many other factors, including lifestyle and nutrition also have an impact on bone health. It has been suggested that dietary protein intake may be a risk factor for osteoporosis, and high-protein diets are associated with increased bone loss. Many scientists have examined the relationship between types of protein and urinary calcium excretion, and found that although animal protein was associated with increased urinary calcium excretion, soy protein was not. There is sufficient evidence suggesting soy isoflavones may have potential benefits for bone. Soy protein with naturally occurring phytoestrogens, mainly isoflavones protect against bone loss and synthetic soy ipriflavone in some studies has been shown to favorably affect, but a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of ipriflavone and maintenance of bone mineral density in post-menopausal women. Therefore it is too early to recommend it as a supplement for this group of women.

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IntroductionThe prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection in patients with dyspepsia has important clinical and epidemiological implications. However, the current prevalence of Hp infection among patients within Poland is unknown; the last data were collected a decade ago and the majority of previous studies showed the prevalence to be between 60% and 100%.AimTo establish the current prevalence of Hp infection among patients with dyspepsia in Warsaw, Poland.Material and methodsThe study group comprised 148 patients (126 women and 22 men) with dyspepsia, treated in two outpatient clinics in Warsaw. The mean age in the group that tested positive for Hp was 45.8 years (SD = 14.86; median = 51; min = 19; max = 64). They were tested for Hp infection with a urea breath test that uses 13C-enriched urea and isotope ratio mass spectrometry.ResultsHelicobacter pylori infection was found in 53 patients (44 women and 9 men), i.e. in 35.8% of the whole study group. We did not find any significant relationship between Hp infection and the patients’ age, gender, or their body mass index.ConclusionsThe current prevalence of Hp infection among patients with dyspepsia treated in Warsaw is 35.8%. However, our data suggest almost a two-fold fall in the prevalence of Hp infection compared to the previous Polish studies.