Increasing evidence suggests that light to moderate amounts of polyphenol-rich alcoholic beverages like wine or beer could have health benefits. Scientists have long debated the effects of alcohol on immune function, showing on the one hand, that high doses of alcohol consumption can directly suppress a wide range of immune responses, and that alcohol abuse is associated with an increased incidence of a number of infectious diseases. On the other hand, moderate alcohol consumption seems to have a beneficial impact on the immune system compared to alcohol abuse or abstinence. Therefore, the link between alcohol consumption, immune response, as well as infectious and inflammatory processes remains not completely understood. With this in mind, it is important to realise that other factors, unrelated or indirectly related to immune function, like drinking patterns, beverage type, amount of alcohol, or gender differences, will affect the influence that alcohol consumption may have on the immune system. This review summarises published data describing the effects that light to moderate amounts of polyphenol-rich beverages like wine or beer seem to have on immunity in healthy adults.

The diet in the elderly does not provide a sufficient level of nutrients needed to maintain an adequate healthy status leading to micronutrient deficiencies and impaired immune response with subsequent development of degenerative diseases. Nutrient "zinc" is a relevant micronutrient involved in maintaining a good integrity of many body homeostatic mechanisms, including immune efficiency, owing to its requirement for the biological activity of many enzymes, proteins and for cellular proliferation and genomic stability. Old people aged 60-65 years and older have zinc intakes below 50% of the recommended daily allowance on a given day. Many causes can be involved: among them, altered intestinal absorption, inadequate mastication, psychosocial factors, drugs interactions, altered subcellular processes (zinc transporters (Zip and ZnT family), metallothioneins, divalent metal transporter-1). Zinc supplementation may remodel the immune alterations in elderly leading to healthy ageing. Several zinc trials have been carried out with contradictory data, perhaps due to incorrect choice of an effective zinc supplementation in old subjects showing subsequent zinc toxic effects on immunity. Old subjects with specific IL-6 polymorphism (GG allele carriers; named C−) are more prone for zinc supplementation than the entire old population, in whom correct dietary habits with foods containing zinc (Mediterranean diet) may be sufficient in restoring zinc deficiency and impaired immune response. We summarise the main causes of low zinc dietary intake in elderly reporting an update on the impact of zinc supplementation upon the immune response also on the basis of individual IL-6 polymorphism.

The aim of this review is to present and discuss the effect of different levels of alcohol consumption on the immune system. Not only the amount consumed but also the type of alcoholic beverage have to be taken into account in order to determine the consequences on activity, number, distribution, balance, interaction and response of immunocompetent cells. The association between alcohol exposure and the risk of developing an alcohol-related disease is multifactorial. In fact, age, gender, smoking habits, dietary intake and exercise are involved among other factors. The evaluation of the host cellular and humoral immune responses has shown that alcohol may induce some benefits when consumption is moderate. Moreover, those alcoholic beverages that contain antioxidants, such as red wine, could be protectors against immune cell damage. According to the literature consulted, the daily consumption of 10 -12 g and 20 -24 g of alcohol for women and men, respectively, is considered to be a moderate intake; the type of beverage has been established not to be important when defining moderation. Particular attention is often focused on the U-or J-shaped curve which also suggests that light to moderate drinking produces a protective effect. Such an inverse relationship indicates a reduction of risk for both light and moderate consumers and a higher risk not only for hard drinkers, but also for non-consumers.

Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) aim to address the nutritional requirements at population level in order to prevent diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle. Diet quality indices can be used to assess the compliance with these FBDG. The present study aimed to investigate whether the newly developed Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (DQI-A) is a good surrogate measure for adherence to FBDG, and whether adherence to these FBDG effectively leads to better nutrient intakes and nutritional biomarkers in adolescents. Participants included 1804 European adolescents who were recruited in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study. Dietary intake was assessed by two, non-consecutive 24 h recalls. A DQI-A score, considering the components' dietary quality, diversity and equilibrium, was calculated. Associations between the DQI-A and food and nutrient intakes and blood concentration biomarkers were investigated using multilevel regression analysis corrected for centre, age and sex. DQI-A scores were associated with food intake in the expected direction: positive associations with nutrient-dense food items, such as fruits and vegetables, and inverse associations with energy-dense and low-nutritious foods. On the nutrient level, the DQI-A was positively related to the intake of water, fibre and most minerals and vitamins. No association was found between the DQI-A and total fat intake. Furthermore, a positive association was observed with 25-hydroxyvitamin D, holo-transcobalamin and n-3 fatty acid serum levels. The present study has shown good validity of the DQI-A by confirming the expected associations with food and nutrient intakes and some biomarkers in blood

Consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD), which is associated with chronic 'low-grade' systemic inflammation, alters the gut microbiota (GM). The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of an oleic acid-derived compound (S1) and a combination of n-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA, S2) to modulate both body weight and the GM in HFD-induced obese mice. A total of eighty mice were fed either a control diet or a HFD, non-supplemented or supplemented with S1 or S2. At week 19, faeces were collected in order to analyse the GM. Groupspecific primers for accurate quantification of several major bacterial groups from faecal samples were assayed using quantitative PCR. The HFD induced an increase in body weight, which was reduced by supplementation with S1. Furthermore, S1 supplementation markedly increased total bacterial density and restored the proportions of bacteria that were increased (i.e. clostridial cluster XIVa and Enterobacteriales) or decreased (i.e. Bifidobacterium spp.) during HFD feeding. S2 supplementation significantly increased the quantities of Firmicutes (especially the Lactobacillus group). Correlation analysis revealed that body weight correlated positively with the phylum Firmicutes and clostridial cluster XIVa, and negatively with the phylum Bacteroidetes. In conclusion, the consumption of a HFD induced changes in the faecal microbiota, which were associated with the appearance of an obese phenotype. Supplementation of the HFD with S1 counteracted HFD-induced gut dysbiosis, together with an improvement in body weight. These data support a role for certain fatty acids as interesting nutrients related to obesity prevention.Key words: Gut microbiota: Fatty acids: Obese mice: Quantitative PCR The worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased dramatically in the past decades, reaching epidemic levels (1) . It is well known that a high-fat diet (HFD) leads, especially in genetically predisposed individuals, to an accumulation of adipose tissue (2) and to the development of a cluster of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension and stroke (3) .The gut microbiota (GM) has an important role in supplying nutrients and vitamins, giving colonisation resistance against pathogenic bacteria and interacting with the host immune system and intestinal epithelium (4) . The possible involvement of the host genotype, particularly as it relates to immunophenotype, has been frequently postulated as a major influence on GM composition and stability. Other variables known to broadly influence the composition of the GM include the type of delivery (vaginal or caesarean), age, the use of antibiotics and other drugs, and 'lifestyle' (such as diet, physical activity and stress) (5 -9) . The significance of the protective role of the GM has been highlighted by the profound impact seen when the GM is absent or disrupted. Germ-free mice have poorly developed mucosal architecture and rudimentary development of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, b...