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Article
| Open AccessMalnutrition enteropathy in Zambian and Zimbabwean children with severe acute malnutrition: A multi-arm randomized phase II trial
Childhood malnutrition in Africa is a glaring example of global inequality, and mortality remains high. Here, the authors report the results of the TAME randomized phase II clinical trial, in which intestinal healing was the target of four potential interventions in malnourished children in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- Kanta Chandwe
- , Mutsa Bwakura-Dangarembizi
- & Paul Kelly
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Article
| Open AccessLongitudinal quantification of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis reveals late colonization in the infant gut independent of maternal milk HMO composition
Here, the authors develop a high-throughput method to quantify Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (BL. infantis), a proficient HMO-utilizer, from metagenomic sequencing, and applied it to a longitudinal cohort consisting of 21 mother-infant dyads, suggesting BL. infantis colonization to start late in the breast-feeding period.
- Dena Ennis
- , Shimrit Shmorak
- & Moran Yassour
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Article
| Open AccessEfficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99 in the treatment of functional dyspepsia: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common chronic gastrointestinal disorder. Here, in a randomized, parallel-group, positive-drug, and placebo-controlled clinical trial, the authors show that supplementation with the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99 (BL-99) improves FD clinical response rate and promotes accumulation of SCFA-producing microbiota.
- Qi Zhang
- , Guang Li
- & Fazheng Ren
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Article
| Open AccessDietary circadian rhythms and cardiovascular disease risk in the prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort
The relation between daily meal and fasting timing with cardiovascular disease incidence remains unclear. Here, authors show that a later daily meal timing is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, especially in women. This study suggests that adopting earlier daily eating patterns may be beneficial for cardiovascular prevention.
- Anna Palomar-Cros
- , Valentina A. Andreeva
- & Bernard Srour
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Article
| Open AccessThe Personalized Nutrition Study (POINTS): evaluation of a genetically informed weight loss approach, a Randomized Clinical Trial
Genotype patterns may modify diet effects on weight loss, with greater weight loss on genotype-concordant diets. Here, the authors show that with the current ability to genotype participants as fat- or carbohydrate-responders, evidence does not support greater weight loss on genotype-concordant diets.
- Christoph Höchsmann
- , Shengping Yang
- & Corby K. Martin
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Article
| Open AccessA comparative study of postnatal anthropometric growth in very preterm infants and intrauterine growth
The majority of growth references for preterm infants were assumed to reflect intrauterine growth. Here, the authors identify postnatal growth patterns of very preterm infants that are distinctly different than intrauterine growth.
- Fu-Sheng Chou
- , Hung-Wen Yeh
- & Reese H. Clark
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Review Article
| Open AccessThe intersection of undernutrition, microbiome, and child development in the first years of life
In this review article, the authors provide an overview of the interrelationships between the microbiome and nutrition in child growth and healthy development and discuss the potential of the microbiome in undernutrition interventions.
- Fanette Fontaine
- , Sondra Turjeman
- & Omry Koren
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Article
| Open AccessMachine learning prediction of the degree of food processing
Evidence suggests that increased consumption of ultra-processed food has adverse health implications, however, it remains difficult to classify processed food. Here, the authors introduce FPro, a machine learning-based score predicting the degree of food processing.
- Giulia Menichetti
- , Babak Ravandi
- & Albert-László Barabási
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Article
| Open AccessValidation of Food Compass with a healthy diet, cardiometabolic health, and mortality among U.S. adults, 1999–2018
The Food Compass is a nutrient profiling system to characterize the healthfulness of diverse foods, beverages and meals. In a nationally representative cohort of 47,999 U.S. adults, the authors validate a person’s individual Food Compass Score against health outcomes.
- Meghan O’Hearn
- , Joshua Erndt-Marino
- & Dariush Mozaffarian
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Intergenerational nutrition benefits of India’s national school feeding program: Reality or a bridge too far?
- Suman Chakrabarti
- , Samuel Scott
- & Daniel Gilligan
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessIntergenerational nutrition benefits of India’s national school feeding program: Reality or a bridge too far?
- Harshpal Singh Sachdev
- , Clive Osmond
- & Tinku Thomas
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Article
| Open AccessLarge-scale GWAS of food liking reveals genetic determinants and genetic correlations with distinct neurophysiological traits
Genetic determinants of food consumption and food liking are likely to be distinct, although it has not been well studied. Here, the authors identify genetic variants associated with food-liking, finding that different food-liking traits correlate with different brain areas and other food consumption traits.
- Sebastian May-Wilson
- , Nana Matoba
- & Nicola Pirastu
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Article
| Open AccessEconomic shocks predict increases in child wasting prevalence
Economic shocks may lead to food insecurity and therefore acute child malnutrition (wasting). Here, the authors use data from Demographic Health Surveys to estimate impacts of past economic shocks on wasting and project possible effects of shocks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Derek D. Headey
- & Marie T. Ruel
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Article
| Open AccessPopulation-scale dietary interests during the COVID-19 pandemic
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has altered people’s lives around the world, not only through the disease it causes, but also through unprecedented restrictions. Here the authors document population-wide shifts in dietary interests in 18 countries in 2020, as revealed through time series of Google search volumes.
- Kristina Gligorić
- , Arnaud Chiolero
- & Robert West
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Article
| Open AccessRandomized controlled trial for time-restricted eating in healthy volunteers without obesity
Time-restricted eating, both early (eTRF) and mid-day (mTRF), have been shown to have metabolic benefits. Here the authors report a randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of eTRF and mTRF in healthy volunteers without obesity, and find that eTRF is more effective in improving the primary outcome insulin sensitivity.
- Zhibo Xie
- , Yuning Sun
- & Yilei Mao
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Article
| Open AccessBST1 regulates nicotinamide riboside metabolism via its glycohydrolase and base-exchange activities
Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a NAD + precursor exhibiting beneficial effects against aging. Here the authors demonstrate that orally administered NR increases NAD + levels in a diphasic manner and that bone marrow stromal cell antigen 1 plays a crucial role for NAD + synthesis from NR.
- Keisuke Yaku
- , Sailesh Palikhe
- & Takashi Nakagawa
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Article
| Open AccessGut microbiota mediate the FGF21 adaptive stress response to chronic dietary protein-restriction in mice
Dietary protein restriction induces a hepatic stress response mediated by the endocrine molecule FGF21, which triggers host adaptive pathways. Here the authors demonstrate that the gut microbiome is required to trigger the FGF21 response and can be manipulated through dietary fiber supplementation.
- Anthony Martin
- , Gertrude Ecklu-Mensah
- & Suzanne Devkota
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Article
| Open AccessComprehensive genomic analysis of dietary habits in UK Biobank identifies hundreds of genetic associations
The choice of food intake is at least partially influenced by genetics, even though the effect sizes appear rather modest. Here, Cole et al. perform GWAS for food intake (85 individual food items and 85 derived dietary patterns) and test potential causal relationships with cardiometabolic traits using Mendelian randomization.
- Joanne B. Cole
- , Jose C. Florez
- & Joel N. Hirschhorn
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Article
| Open AccessDietary tryptophan links encephalogenicity of autoreactive T cells with gut microbial ecology
Food intake shapes intestinal microbiome composition, which in turn shapes adaptive immune responses. Here the authors show that dietary tryptophan restriction (DTR) protects mice from subsequent autoimmune neuropathology challenge by altering intestinal microbiota, highlighting the potential of diet-regulated microbiota to prevent immune pathology.
- Jana K. Sonner
- , Melanie Keil
- & Michael Platten
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Article
| Open AccessAcute hunger does not always undermine prosociality
Previous studies have suggested that being hungry causes people to make more selfish and less prosocial decisions. Here, the authors carried out a series of studies to test this claim and found that the effect of acute hunger was very weak at best.
- Jan A. Häusser
- , Christina Stahlecker
- & Nadira S. Faber
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Article
| Open AccessPaternal grandfather’s access to food predicts all-cause and cancer mortality in grandsons
Nutritional experience can have phenotypic consequences in subsequent generations, as is evident from studies in animals and plants. Here, Vågerö et al. find in a large three-generation cohort that access to food in the paternal grandfather associates with all-cause and cancer mortality in male grandchildren.
- Denny Vågerö
- , Pia R. Pinger
- & Gerard J. van den Berg
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Article
| Open AccessPostnatal β-cell maturation is associated with islet-specific microRNA changes induced by nutrient shifts at weaning
Pancreatic β-cells are less responsive to changes in glucose concentration in newborn than in adult rats. Here, the authors show that functional β-cell maturation is associated with changes in miRNA expression induced by nutritional shifts at the suckling-to-weaning transition.
- Cécile Jacovetti
- , Scot J. Matkovich
- & Romano Regazzi
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Article |
Fat, fibre and cancer risk in African Americans and rural Africans
African Americans have much higher colon cancer rates than rural South Africans, which is associated with dietary and metabolic differences. Here, O’Keefe et al.show that switching quantities of fat and fibre leads to reciprocal changes in gut microbiota, metabolites and cancer biomarkers.
- Stephen J. D. O’Keefe
- , Jia V. Li
- & Erwin G. Zoetendal
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Article |
Dietary sugar promotes systemic TOR activation in Drosophila through AKH-dependent selective secretion of Dilp3
Fruit flies have eight insulin-like peptides (Dilps), whose regulation and function is largely unexplored. Here the authors show that, whereas dietary amino acids promote secretion of Dilp2, sugar-dependent release of the glucagon-related hormone AKH drives Dilp3 secretion.
- Jung Kim
- & Thomas P. Neufeld
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Host genetic determinants of microbiota-dependent nutrition revealed by genome-wide analysis of Drosophila melanogaster
The gut microbiota affects animal nutrition, but it is unclear whether this effect depends on host genetic makeup. This study shows that host genotype modifies the gut microbiota’s impact on host nutrition, and identifies genetic determinants of this variation in the fruit fly.
- Adam J. Dobson
- , John M. Chaston
- & Angela E. Douglas
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Article
| Open AccessDietary cholesterol directly induces acute inflammasome-dependent intestinal inflammation
Chronic consumption of a Western-type diet leads to systemic inflammation of undefined origin, which contributes to metabolic disease. Here Progatzky et al. identify an immediate early step in the process by showing that dietary cholesterol rapidly activates inflammasomes in the gut epithelium.
- Fränze Progatzky
- , Navjyot J. Sangha
- & Margaret J. Dallman
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Article |
Steroid hormone signalling links reproduction to lifespan in dietary-restricted Caenorhabditis elegans
Dietary restriction increases the lifespan of many species, but often at the cost of reduced fertility. Here, Thondamal et al. show that the dietary restriction-mediated increase in lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegansdepends on the production of a steroid hormone and its inhibition of germline plasticity.
- Manjunatha Thondamal
- , Michael Witting
- & Hugo Aguilaniu
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Article
| Open AccessIndividual diet has sex-dependent effects on vertebrate gut microbiota
Diet variations can alter gut microbial composition, but the potential influence of host genetic factors on these effects is unclear. Here, the authors show, in humans and in natural and laboratory fish populations, that such effects are dependent on the host’s sex, a genetically determined factor.
- Daniel I. Bolnick
- , Lisa K. Snowberg
- & Richard Svanbäck
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High-fat maternal diet during pregnancy persistently alters the offspring microbiome in a primate model
The influence of diet on the establishment of gut microbiota early in life is poorly understood. Here the authors show, in a primate model, that maternal diet during pregnancy affects the offspring’s microbiome, and that dietary intervention after weaning only partially reverses this effect.
- Jun Ma
- , Amanda L. Prince
- & Kjersti M. Aagaard
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Article
| Open AccessThe short-chain fatty acid acetate reduces appetite via a central homeostatic mechanism
The consumption of fermentable carbohydrates, or fibre, is associated with weight loss. Here the authors show that the metabolite acetate, created by fermentation of fibre in the mouse colon, is taken up into the brain where it induces appetite-suppressing neuronal activity in the hypothalamus.
- Gary Frost
- , Michelle L. Sleeth
- & Jimmy D. Bell
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Article
| Open AccessMaternal nutrition at conception modulates DNA methylation of human metastable epialleles
Maternal diet affects DNA methylation in the developing offspring, leading to phenotypic changes. Here, Dominguez-Salas et al. exploit seasonal variation in the diet of Gambian women to show that maternal methyl donor nutrient status around the time of conception predicts methylation levels at metastable epialleles in infants.
- Paula Dominguez-Salas
- , Sophie E. Moore
- & Branwen J. Hennig
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Article
| Open AccessD-Glucosamine supplementation extends life span of nematodes and of ageing mice
D-Glucosamine is a dietary supplement widely used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Here Weimer et al. show that D-glucosamine extends the life span of Caenorhabditis elegans and of mice by mimicking the molecular effects of a diet low in carbohydrates.
- Sandra Weimer
- , Josephine Priebs
- & Michael Ristow
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Article |
Methionine restriction extends lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster under conditions of low amino-acid status
Dietary restriction of the amino acid methionine extends the lifespan of rodents. Here the authors systematically test diets with varying amino-acid content and show that methionine restriction extends the lifespan of yeast and flies only when the content of other amino acids in the diet is also low.
- Byung Cheon Lee
- , Alaattin Kaya
- & Vadim N. Gladyshev
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Article
| Open AccessCaloric restriction reduces age-related and all-cause mortality in rhesus monkeys
Caloric restriction extends the lifespan of various organisms but whether it works in monkeys is controversial. Here, Colman et al.report that caloric restriction reduces all-cause mortality of rhesus macaques, and perform a weight comparison that aims to reconcile their findings with contradictory results from a similar study.
- Ricki J. Colman
- , T. Mark Beasley
- & Rozalyn M. Anderson
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Article |
Genome-wide RNAi ionomics screen reveals new genes and regulation of human trace element metabolism
The composition of trace elements in human cells (the ionome) is an important component of metabolism. Here, the authors carry out a high-throughput, genome-wide analysis of the human ionome and identify cellular regulators of important trace elements such as selenium, copper and iron.
- Mikalai Malinouski
- , Nesrin M. Hasan
- & Vadim N. Gladyshev
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Article
| Open AccessLow paternal dietary folate alters the mouse sperm epigenome and is associated with negative pregnancy outcomes
Paternal diet has been shown to influence the metabolism of offspring in rats and mice. Here Lambrot et al.report DNA and histone methylation changes in the sperm of male mice on a folate-deficient diet and observe developmental defects in their offspring.
- R. Lambrot
- , C. Xu
- & S. Kimmins