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ABSTRACT:The intake of fat, saturated and monounsaturated FA (SFA and MUFA), and omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA has been estimated in 641 Belgian women (age 18-39 y). Their food intake was recorded using a 2-d food diary. The PUFA included were linoleic (LA), alpha-linolenic (LNA), arachidonic (AA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. The mean total fat intake corresponded to 34.3% of total energy intake (E). The mean intake of the FA groups corresponded to 13.7%, 13.1%, and 6.0% of E, for SFA, MUFA, and PUFA, respectively. The mean intake of LA was 5.3% of E and of LNA was 0.6% of E, with a mean LA/LNA ratio of 8.7. The mean intake of AA was 0.03% of E. The mean intake of EPA, DPA, and DHA was 0.04%, 0.01%, and 0.06% of E, respectively. According to the Belgian recommendations, the total fat and SFA intake was too high for about three-quarters of the population. The mean LA and overall n-6 PUFA intake corresponded with the recommendation, with part of the population exceeding the upper level. Conversely, the population showed a large deficit for LNA and n-3 PUFA. The major food source for LA and LNA was fats and oils, followed by cereal products. The main sources of long-chain PUFA were fish and seafood, and meat, poultry, and eggs. From a public health perspective, it seems desirable to tackle the problem of low n-3 PUFA intake.Paper no. L9945 in Lipids 41, 415-422 (May 2006).Advances in the knowledge concerning physiological functions of dietary PUFA, in particular omega-3 PUFA, have led to an increased interest in the food sources and the level of dietary intake of these nutrients. Alpha-linolenic acid (LNA, C18:3n-3) is a plant-derived omega-3 FA. Together with linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6), LNA is one of the two essential FA in the human diet; LA and LNA cannot be synthesised by the human metabolism. LNA can be desaturated and elongated in the human body to its longer-chain relatives, long-chain n-3 PUFA (LC n-3 PUFA), but the efficiency of this conversion is reduced by high intake levels of LA, which competes more effectively than LNA for desaturation and elongation enzymes because LA is abundantly present in Western diets (1). There is evidence to suggest that the conversion rate of dietary LNA to LC n-3 PUFA is insufficient to achieve adequate levels, even when the LNA intake is increased (2,3). Nevertheless, a British study suggested that women may possess a greater capacity for LNA conversion than men (4,5). LC n-3 PUFA are not synthesised by plants, but they are present in animals and in the marine food chain, EPA (C20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, C22:5n-3), and DHA (C22:6n-3) being the most abundant in the human diet. It is via planktivorous fishes that LC n-3 PUFA enter the marine food chain and accumulate in seafood (2). Therefore, seafood products are excellent food sources of LC n-3 PUFA. For more than 30 years, a lot of fundamental clinical and epidemiological research work has been done with regard to the relationship between n-3 FA and health, showin...

Objective: To investigate associations between nutritional and non-nutritional variables and Fe status parameters, i.e. serum ferritin and soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR). Design: Cross-sectional design. Fe status parameters were determined on a fasting venous blood sample. Nutritional variables were assessed using a 2 d food record and non-nutritional variables by a general questionnaire. A general linear model was used to investigate associations between the variables and Fe status parameters. Setting: Region of Ghent, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. Subjects: Random sample of 788 women (aged 18-39 years). Results: Median (interquartile range) ferritin and sTfR were 26?3 (15?9, 48?9) ng/ml and 1?11 (0?95, 1?30) mg/l, respectively. BMI and alcohol intake were positively associated and tea intake was negatively associated with serum ferritin. Women who used a non-hormonal intra-uterine device, who gave blood within the past year or who had been pregnant within the past year had lower serum ferritin values than their counterparts. Significant determinants of sTfR were smoking habit and pregnancy, with higher values for non-smokers and women who had been pregnant within the past year. Conclusions: The present study indicates that contraceptive use, time since last blood donation, time since last pregnancy, BMI, alcohol and tea intake are determinants of Fe stores, whereas smoking habit and time since last pregnancy are determinants of tissue Fe needs. When developing strategies to improve Fe status, special attention should be given to women who use a non-hormonal intra-uterine device, gave blood within the past year and had been pregnant within the past year.

Aims: To determine the iron intake and food sources of iron in young adult women and to compare women with high versus low iron intake on diet and iron status. Methods: Iron intake and food sources were assessed by a 2-day estimated food record. Iron status was determined by a fasting venous blood sample. Differences in diet and iron status between women with high versus low iron intake were examined by comparing women of the fourth respectively first quartile of total iron intake (mg/day). Results: The median total, heme and non-heme iron intake was 10.6, 0.6 and 9.8 mg/day, respectively. The median iron intake was 93 and 131% of the estimated average requirement (EAR) of the UK (11.4 mg/day) and USA (8.1 mg/day), respectively. The most important iron intake contributors were cereals and cereal products (31%), meat and meat products (12%) and vegetables (10%). Women with a high iron intake showed a significantly higher energy-adjusted intake of alcoholic beverages and soups and a lower intake of non-alcoholic beverages than women with a low iron intake. Approximately 5% of the women had anemia, of which 3% had iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Almost 20% was iron-deficient non-anemic. In this regard, no significant differences were found between the iron intake quartiles. Conclusion: The median iron intake in this study population is considerably below the national recommended dietary allowance (20 mg/day). However, based on the approach of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, iron intake seems to pose no major health problem when using the EAR as a reference. The number of women with IDA was indeed not alarming (3%), although 20% was iron-deficient non-anemic. The question remains whether an increase in iron intake can improve iron status.