OBJECTIVE High-heat cooking of food induces the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are thought to impair glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients. High intake of fructose might additionally affect endogenous formation of AGEs. This parallel intervention study investigated whether the addition of fructose or cooking methods influencing the AGE content of food affect insulin sensitivity in overweight individuals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventy-four overweight women were randomized to follow either a high- or low-AGE diet for 4 weeks, together with consumption of either fructose or glucose drinks. Glucose and insulin concentrations-after fasting and 2 h after an oral glucose tolerance test-were measured before and after the intervention. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and insulin sensitivity index were calculated. Dietary and urinary AGE concentrations were measured (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry) to estimate AGE intake and excretion. RESULTS When adjusted for changes in anthropometric measures during the intervention, the low-AGE diet decreased urinary AGEs, fasting insulin concentrations, and HOMA-IR, compared with the high-AGE diet. Addition of fructose did not affect any outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Diets with high AGE content may increase the development of insulin resistance. AGEs can be reduced by modulation of cooking methods but is unaffected by moderate fructose intake.

The expected higher content of presumed health-promoting carotenoids in organic food products was not documented in this study.

During weight loss, dairy calcium is proposed to accelerate weight and fat-mass loss through increased fecal fat excretion. The primary objective was to investigate if a high-dairy energy-restricted diet is superior to low dairy in terms of changes in body weight, body composition, and fecal fat excretion over 24 weeks. Secondary objectives included fecal energy and calcium excretion, resting energy expenditure, blood pressure, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota. In a randomized, parallel-arm intervention study, 11 men and 69 women (body mass index, 30.6 ± 0.3 kg/m; age, 44 ± 1 years) were allocated to a 500-kcal (2100 kJ) -deficit diet that was either high (HD: 1500 mg calcium/day) or low (LD: 600 mg calcium/day) in dairy products for 24 weeks. Habitual calcium intake was ∼1000 mg/day. Body weight loss (HD: -6.6 ± 1.3 kg, LD: -7.9 ± 1.5 kg, P = 0.73), fat-mass loss (HD: -7.8% ± 1.3%, LD: -8.5% ± 1.1%, P = 0.76), changes in fecal fat excretion (HD: -0.57 ± 0.76 g, LD: 0.46 ± 0.70 g, P = 0.12), and microbiota composition were similar for the groups over 24 weeks. However, total fat-mass loss was positively associated with relative abundance of Papillibacter (P = 0.017) independent of diet group. Consumption of a high-dairy diet did not increase fecal fat or accelerate weight and fat-mass loss beyond energy restriction over 24 weeks in overweight and obese adults with a habitual calcium intake of ∼1000 mg/day. However, this study indicates that Papillibacter is involved in body compositional changes.

Early body size and growth in infancy are related to bone mass in late adolescence. Furthermore, the duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the markers of bone turnover at 6 mo seem to be positively related to LS bone mass at age 17 y.

Agricultural methods may affect the nutritional composition of plants and cause complex changes in the food matrix. Whether this affects the dietary absorption of minerals that are important for maintaining health thorough life remains unclear. We compared the effects of organic and conventional diets on intake and absorption of zinc and copper in men. Two double-blinded, cross-over, intervention trials (3 dietary periods of 12 days with 2-week-long wash-out) were performed in 2008 (n = 17) and 2009 (n = 16) in young men. The diets were based on 9 crops grown in rigidly controlled organic and conventional systems in 2 replications over 2 years. The primary outcomes were intake and absorption of zinc and copper. The absorption was determined by faecal excretion of stable enriched isotopes extrinsically added to the entire menu. Within each year, the intake and absorption of zinc (overall mean ± SD; 12.35 ± 0.47 mg per 10 MJ and 44.6% ± 12.1, respectively) and copper (overall mean ± SD; 2.12 ± 0.28 mg per 10 MJ and 41.2% ± 13.2, respectively) were not different between the organic and conventional diets. The growing season had no effect on zinc intake and absorption, but the copper intake was higher (P = 0.01) and absorption lower (P < 0.005) in 2008 compared with 2009 (overall mean absorption ± SD; 35.3% ± 13.5 in 2008 and 54.0% ± 10.7 in 2009). In conclusion, organic agriculture does not affect the intake and absorption of copper and zinc in men. Consequently, it does not seem to promote the health beneficial role of these minerals in vivo.