Dietary zinc intake and plasma zinc each have a positive association with BMD in men.

AIM: This case-control study investigated the effects of kimchi, soybean paste, fresh vegetables, nonfermented alliums, nonfermented seafood, nonfermented soybean foods, and the genetic polymorphisms of some metabolic enzymes on the risk of gastric cancer in Koreans. METHODS:We studied 421 gastric cancer patients and 632 age-and sex-matched controls. Subjects completed a structured questionnaire regarding their food intake pattern. Polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), glutathione S-transferase mu 1 (GSTM1), glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) were investigated. RESULTS:A decreased risk of gastric cancer was noted among people with high consumption of nonfermented alliums and nonfermented seafood. On the other hand, consumption of kimchi, and soybean pastes was associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. Individuals with the CYP1A1 Ile/Val or Val/Val genotype showed a significantly increased risk for gastric cancer. Increased intake of kimchi or soybean pastes was a significant risk factor for the CYP1A1 Ile/Ile, the CYP2E1 c1/c1, the GSTM1 non-null, the GSTT1 non-null, or the ALDH2 *1/*1 genotype. In addition, eating soybean pastes was associated with the increased risk of gastric cancer in individuals with the GSTM1 null type. Nonfermented alliums were significant in individuals with the CYP1A1 Ile/Ile, the CYP2E1 c1/c2 or c2/c2, the GSTT1 null, the GSTT1 non-null, or the ALDH2 *1/*2 or *2/*2 genotype, nonfermented seafood was those with the CYP1A1 Ile/Ile, the CYP2E1 c1/c1, the ALDH2 *1/*1 genotype or any type of GSTM1 or GSTT1. In homogeneity tests, the odds ratios of eating kimchi for gastric cancer according to the GSTM1 or GSTT1 genotype were not homogeneous.

For decades, the traditional food folate extraction method involved two steps including heat treatment, to release folate from its binding proteins, and folate conjugase treatment, to hydrolyze polyglutamyl folate to monoglutamyl folate. However, a trienzyme-extraction method of food folate was developed in the mid 1990s. This method involves the use of alpha-amylase, protease, and folate conjugase and allows for a more complete extraction of folate trapped in carbohydrate or protein matrices in food than the traditional method. In the last several years, this extraction method became widely used. However, the method is not uniform among various investigators, and it may be difficult for a new investigator to select the most suitable method in his or her laboratory. Therefore, in the review presented here, we summarize a variety of trienzyme-extraction procedures that were used by various researchers and offer a recommended procedure for food folate extraction. It is our hope that the wide use of an appropriate procedure of the trienzyme-extraction method, in combination with a reasonable detection method, help in establishing accurate and reliable food-folate tables and that this, in turn, makes it possible to accurately assess folate intake in the general population.