Well-planned vegetarian diets that include a wide variety of plant foods, and a reliable source of vitamin B12, provide adequate nutrient intake. Government agencies and health/nutrition organizations should provide more educational resources to help Italians consume nutritionally adequate vegetarian diets.

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The content of total and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Italian foods was measured. The highest levels of PAHs were found in pizza baked in wood-burning ovens and barbecued beef and pork. Relatively high levels were also found in beet greens and squash, apples and bread, fried beef, pork and rabbit, cured meats and chocolate. Conversely low levels were detected in potatoes and cooked fish, beverages and eggs. The daily intake of total and carcinogenic PAHs also was calculated by multiplying the average consumption of each food by its mean concentration of PAHs. Cereal and milk products, meat, vegetables and fruits were the highest contributors to total PAH intake, since these products are the most important dietary components in Italy. The calculated total dietary PAH intake was 3 micrograms/day per person. The calculated intake of carcinogenic PAHs was 1.4 microgram/day per person. The dietary intake of PAHs was high compared with the calculated respiratory intake (370 ng/day) owing to polluted city air in Italy. These results confirm that food is the major source of human exposure to PAHs, due in particular to the high consumption of contaminated cereal products.

Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of risk factors which often includes central obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, as well as a pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidant, and pro-thrombotic environment. This leads to a dramatically increased risk of developing type II diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death both in the United States and worldwide. Increasing evidence suggests that berry fruit consumption has a significant potential in the prevention and treatment of most risk factors associated with Metabolic Syndrome and its cardiovascular complications in the human population. This is likely due to the presence of polyphenols with known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, such as anthocyanins and/or phenolic acids. The present review summarizes the findings of recent dietary interventions with berry fruits on human subjects with or at risk of Metabolic Syndrome. It also discusses the potential role of berries as part of a dietary strategy which could greatly reduce the need for pharmacotherapy, associated with potentially deleterious side effects and constituting a considerable financial burden.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation with procyanidins from Vitis vinifera on markers of oxidative stress. Ten healthy volunteers received a daily dose of 110 mg of procyanidins for 30 days. Fasting venous blood samples were taken before and at the end of the supplementation period and after 7 days of wash-out. The total antioxidant activity and the plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol were not modified. Conversely, the levels of alpha-tocopherol in red blood cell membranes increased significantly from 1.8 +/- 0.1 to 2.8 +/- 0.2 mg/g. Similarly, the lymphocyte oxidized DNA [8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine/2'-deoxyguanosine ratio] was reduced from 7.23 +/- 2.47 to 2.34 +/- 0.51, and the red blood cell membrane fatty acid composition shifted to a higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acids. On the basis of these results, it may be suggested that dietary procyanidins exert their antioxidant protection in vivo by sparing liposoluble vitamin E and reducing DNA oxidative damage.