There are many causes for hypertension, but among the modifiable factors, inadequate lifestyle is related to the higher prevalence of the disease. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the association between macro and micronutrient intake and blood pressure levels with the degree of food processing. Sixty-four adults from the rural area of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil were evaluated. Food consumption was assessed by a dietary recall using AVANUTRI Software, and the foods consumed were classified into three groups: in natura or minimally processed, processed and ultra-processed. Blood pressure was measured using an automatic inflation monitor. The data were analyzed in the Stata Software by means of the Student's T test. Most of the sample consisted of female adults (64.1%) and the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 122.8 mmHg (±17.1) and 77.7 mmHg (±10.9), respectively. The group of in natura or minimally processed food was responsible for the largest contribution (85.2%) of the average caloric intake (1,793.1 kcal/ day), while the consumption of ultra-processed foods was only 7.7%. In addition, there was a higher intake of carbohydrate, lipid, cholesterol, polyunsaturated fat, vitamin E, potassium and sodium among individuals who consumed only in natura or minimally processed foods. Individuals who did not consume ultra-processed foods had higher intakes of vitamin E and sodium. It was concluded that there was an association between the degree of food processing and nutrient intake, however, no association was found among blood pressure levels.

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Exhaustive and acute unusual physical exercise leads to muscle damage. Curcumin has been widely studied due to the variety of its biological activities, attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, it has shown positive effects on physical exercise practitioners. However, there is no literature consensus on the beneficial effects of curcumin in acute physical activities performed by sedentary individuals. Therefore, we systematically reviewed evidence from clinical trials on the main effects of curcumin supplementation on inflammatory markers, sports performance, and muscle damage during acute physical exercises in these individuals. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases, and only original studies were analyzed according to the PRISMA guidelines. The included studies were limited to supplementation of curcumin during acute exercise. A total of 5 studies were selected. Methodological quality assessments were examined using the SYRCLE’s risk-of-bias tool. Most studies have shown positive effects of curcumin supplementation in sedentary individuals undergoing acute physical exercise. Overall, participants supplemented with curcumin showed less muscle damage, reduced inflammation, and better muscle performance. The studies showed heterogeneous data and exhibited methodological limitations; therefore, further research is necessary to ensure curcumin supplementation benefits during acute and high-intensity physical exercises. Additionally, mechanistic and highly controlled studies are required to improve the quality of the evidence and to elucidate other possible mechanisms. This study is registered with Prospero number CRD42021262718.

This work aimed to evaluate the effects of whey protein concentrate admixtured of curcumin on metabolic control, inflammation and oxidative stress in Wistar rats submitted to exhaustive exercise. A total of 48 male rats were divided into 6 experimental groups (n = 8): standard diet group (AIN-93M); standard diet submitted to exhaustion test group (AIN-93M ET); whey protein concentrate admixtured of curcumin group (WPC + CCM); WPC + CCM submitted to exhaustion test group (WPC + CCM ET); CCM group, and CCM subjected to exhaustion test group (CCM ET). The swimming exhaustion test was performed after 4 weeks of experiment. The consumption of WPC + CCM as well as isolated CCM did not alter the biometric measurements, the animals’ food consumption and the hepatic and kidney function, as well as the protein balance of the animals (p>0.05), but reduced the glycemia and the gene expression of TNF- α and IL-6, and increased the expression of IL-10 (p<0.05). The animals that were submitted to the exhaustion test (AIN-93M ET) showed higher AST values when compared to the animals that did not perform the exercise (AIN-93 M) (p<0.05). WPC + CCM reduced the concentration of nitric oxide, carbonylated protein and increased the concentration of catalase (p<0.05). Both (WPC + CCM and CCM) were able to increase the concentrations of superoxide dismutase (p<0.05). We concluded that the WPC admixtured of CCM represents a strategy capable of decreasing blood glucose and oxidative and inflammatory damage caused by exhaustive physical exercise in swimming.

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(1) Background: Exhaustive exercise can induce muscle damage. The consumption of nutritional compounds with the ability to positively influence the oxidative balance and an exacerbated inflammatory process has been previously studied. However, little is known about the nutritional value of curcumin (CCM) when mixed with whey protein concentrate (WPC). This study was developed to evaluate the effect of CCM-added WPC on inflammatory and oxidative process control and histopathological consequences in muscle tissue submitted to an exhaustive swimming test (ET). (2) Methods: 48 animals were randomly allocated to six groups (n = 8). An ET was performed 4 weeks after the start of the diet and animals were euthanized 24 h post ET. (3) Results: WPC + CCM and CCM groups reduced IL-6 and increased IL-10 expression in muscle tissue. CCM reduced carbonyl protein after ET compared to standard AIN-93M ET and WPC + CCM ET diets. Higher nitric oxide concentrations were observed in animals that consumed WPC + CCM and CCM. Consumption of WPC + CCM or isolated CCM reduced areas of inflammatory infiltrate and fibrotic tissue in the muscle. (4) Conclusions: WPC + CCM and isolated CCM contribute to the reduction in inflammation and oxidative damage caused by the exhaustive swimming test.

Currently, it is widely recognized that in natura or minimally-processed foods are being substituted by processed and ultraprocessed products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the degree of food processing and antioxidant consumption in adults living in the rural area of the city of Viçosa, MG. A total of 64 adults from 11 rural census tracts were evaluated. Data collection was performed immediately through the measurement of blood pressure and the application of a survey on eating habits to evaluate food intake. The foods consumed were grouped for analysis according to the NOVA classification and the total antioxidant capacity of the diet was evaluated using existing databases of Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) values. There was a positive correlation between the consumption of antioxidants and calories from in natura foods (r = 0.289, p = 0.021), and between the consumption of calories from processed foods and calories from butter (r = 0.371, p = 0.003). In addition, a difference was observed in the consumption of calories from ultraprocessed foods between the sexes, being higher in the females (p = 0.02). Therefore, the results found reinforce the current recommendation of the Food Guidelines for the Brazilian Population: "Always prefer in natura or minimally-processed foods and culinary preparations to ultra-processed foods".