Physiological And Clinical Aspects Of Short Chain Fatty Acids

This is the first comprehensive volume to look at the importance of short-chain fatty acids in digestion, the function of the large intestine and their role in human health. Short-chain fatty acids are the major product of bacterial fermentation of dietary carbohydrates in the human and animal large intestine. They represent the major end products of digestive processes occurring in the caecum and large intestine. As such, they form an important dietary component and it is increasingly recognised that they may have a significant role in protecting against large bowel cancer and in metabolism. Prepared by an international team of contributors who are at the forefront of this area of research, this volume will be an essential source of reference for gastroenterologists, nutritionists and others active in this area.

This volume includes contributions presented at the Second International Sym posium on Nutrition and Cancer, held in Naples, Italy, in October 1998 at the National Tumor Institute "Fondazione Pascale." During the Conference, experts from different disciplines discussed pivotal and timely subjects on the interactions between human nutrition and the development of malignancies. Comparing the themes of this Meeting with those discussed at the First Sympo sium in 1992, the major scientific advancements certainly derive from the extensive use of molecular approaches to perform research in nutrition. Moreover, the fundamental observation of R. Doll and R. Peto (1981), which suggested that at least 35% of all cancers (with large differences among different tumors) might be prevented by dietary regimens, has been definitively confirmed by epidemiological studies. On the other hand, the relationships between diet and cancer are quite intricate and complex; it is difficult, and at the same time not methodologically correct, to reduce them to simple terms. Metabolic and hormonal factors, contaminants and biological agents, and deficiency of specific protective nutrients are all pieces of the same puzzle.

This book summarizes available fiber sources and how they can be incorporated into new food products to provide improved health benefits. It rigorously examines health claims, recent research, and contradictory data; covers fiber for weight and glycemic control, and intestinal regularity; and discusses how food producers can find fiber sources and include finer in their products. Critically examining current research and future directions, this resource blends coverage of the latest scientific information on the health benefits of fiber with information on how to formulate foods with higher concentrations of this vital nutrient.

Dietary fibre technology is a sophisticated component of the food industry. This highly practical book presents the state-of-the-art and explains how the background science translates into commercial reality. An international team of experts has been assembled to offer both a global perspective and the nuts and bolts information relevant to those working in the commercial world. Coverage includes specific dietary fibre components (with overviews of chemistry, analysis and regulatory aspects of all key dietary fibres); measurement of dietary fibre and dietary fibre components (in-vitro and in-vivo); general aspects (eg chemical and physical nature; rheology and functionality; nutrition and health; and technological) and current hot topics. Ideal as an up-to-date overview of the field for food technologists; nutritionists and quality assurance and production managers.

Nutrition in Infancy: Volume 2 is a very useful resource for all clinicians treating and preventing nutritional problems in infants. This volume covers a wide range of topics that support wellness in infants through the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and developmental and genetic abnormalities. A variety of chapters deal with nutrients for infants with disabilities, surgery, and other special needs. The sections in this volume discuss GI Tract Considerations, Formulas, probiotics, hormones and lipids in the health and disease of infants, and the growth and development of infants. In Nutrition in Infancy: Volume 2, a wide range of nutritional and food related therapies to prevent or ameliorate disease, growth retardation and promote health are outlined. The latest developments in diagnostic procedures and nutritional support are also included. Written by a group of international experts, this volume is an indispensable new reference for clinicians with an interest in the nutrition and health of pregnant mothers and their infants.

This volume carries the proceedings of the Vahouny Fiber Symposium, which took place in Washington DC, in March of 1996. George V. Vahouny pioneered this conference, which was conceived as a means of exchanging information on the latest advances in fiber research. The conference was renamed in George Vahouny's honor after his untimely death. In this volume we have included the reminiscences of Prof. A.R.P. Walker, one of the pioneers in the field, and discussion of the epidemiological findings relating dietary fiber to heart disease, cancer, and gastrointestinal disease. As the overall definition of fiber has broadened we have included for discussion other aspects of carbohydrate chem istry and metabolism. Complex carbohydrates were the subject of a full session and resis tant starch and the role(s) of oligosaccharides were discussed later in the meeting. Another area of fiber metabolism that is beginning to burgeon is that of the short chain fatty acids, and this too was the subject of presentations and discussion. In addition, the more familiar topics in dietary fiber were updated. Workshops devoted to specific areas of fiber research have now become a mainstay of these meetings, and they were repeated successfully. Due to restraints on spending, the attendance at this meeting was somewhat smaller than usual but the discussion was lively and pertinent. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors and contributors for their continuing interest in dietary fiber research, and for their generous support of this symposium.

Some foods, as well as contributing essential nutrients to the body, also contain additional components that improve disease resistance and general health status over and above that induced by ingestion of conventional foods. The so-called functional foods, and prebiotics and probiotics exemplify the relationship that exists between nutrition, the gut (the largest element of the body’s immune system) and its flora, immunology and health. This important book contains chapters covering the basic principles of nutrition, gut microecology and immunology, as well as chapters which discuss the way in which this knowledge may be used to explain the positive and negative effects of food consumption, metabolism, probiotics and prebiotics. Food hypersensitivity and allergic reactions, carcinogenesis, and the role of nutrition in the reduced immunity of the aged are also discussed in detail. The editors of this exciting and informative book, who between them have a vast wealth of knowledge of the area, have drawn together and carefully edited international contributions from many well known and respected workers in the area. Gut Flora, Nutrition, Immunity and Health provides essential information for a range of professionals including nutritionists, dietitians, food scientists, microbiologists, gastroenterologists, immunologists and all personnel working in the development and use of functional foods and supplements, prebiotics and probiotics. Libraries in universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught, and pharmaceutical and food companies should have multiple copies of this very useful book on their shelves. Roy Fuller is a consultant in gut microecology, based in Reading, UK; Gabriela Perdigón is based at the Centro de Referencia para Lactobacillus (CERELA) and at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy of Tucuman University, Argentina.

"The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition was held in Rome from 14 to 18 April 1997"--P. xv.