Broccoli Consumption and Risk of Cancer: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

BACKGROUND: The scientific literature has reported an inverse association between broccoli consumption and the risk of suffering from several types of cancer; however, the results were not entirely consistent across studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies were conducted to determine the association between broccoli consumption and cancer risk with the aim of clarifying the beneficial biological effects of broccoli consumption on cancer. METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), and Epistemonikos databases were searched to identify all published papers that evaluate the impact of broccoli consumption on the risk of cancer. Citation chasing of included studies was conducted as a complementary search strategy. The risk of bias in individual studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A random-effects model meta-analysis was employed to quantitatively synthesize results, with the I2 index used to assess heterogeneity. RESULTS: Twenty-three case-control studies (n = 12,929 cases and 18,363 controls; n = 31,292 individuals) and 12 cohort studies (n = 699,482 individuals) were included in the meta-analysis. The results suggest an inverse association between broccoli consumption and the risk of cancer both in case-control studies (OR: 0.64, 95% CI from 0.58 to 0.70, p < 0.001; Q = 35.97, p = 0.072, I2 = 30.49%-moderate heterogeneity; τ2 = 0.016) and cohort studies (RR: 0.89, 95% CI from 0.82 to 0.96, p = 0.003; Q = 13.51, p = 0.333, I2 = 11.21%-low heterogeneity; τ2 = 0.002). Subgroup analysis suggested a potential benefit of broccoli consumption in site-specific cancers only in case-control studies. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the findings indicate that individuals suffering from some type of cancer consumed less broccoli, suggesting a protective biological effect of broccoli on cancer. More studies, especially cohort studies, are necessary to clarify the possible beneficial effect of broccoli on several types of cancer.

Development of a Sport Food Exchange List for Dietetic Practice in Sport Nutrition.

Food exchange lists have been widely used in dietary practice in health and disease situations, but there are still no exchange lists for sports foods. The aim of this study was to apply a previous published methodology to design food exchange lists to the development of a sports food exchange list, with sport products available in Spain. A cross-sectional study of the nutritional composition of sports foods, regarding macronutrients and energy, was carried out. A total of 322 sports foods from 18 companies were selected, taking into account their interest in sports practice and with nutritional data provided by companies. Sports foods were divided into seven groups: sports drinks; sports gels; sports bars; sports confectionery; protein powders; protein bars; and liquid meals. A sports food composition database based on portion size usually consumed by athletes and/or recommended in commercial packaging was created. Within each sports foods group, different subgroups were defined due to differences in the main and/or secondary macronutrient. The definition of each exchange list with the amounts-in grams-of each sports food within each group and subgroup, was done using statistical criteria such as mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and Z value. Final exchange values for energy and macronutrient have been established for each group and subgroup using a methodology to design food exchange lists previously published by the authors. In addition, those products with high Z values that can provide greater variability in dietary planning were included. The usefulness of sport foods lists as well as the use of an exchange system in the dietary practice of sports nutrition is discussed, and examples of how to use them with athletes are presented. This first sport foods exchange list showed in this study, with commercial sports products available in Spain, can be a novel tool for dietetic practice and also can allow sport nutrition professionals to develop another sport food list using the methodology described in this paper. Its management would allow dietitians to adapt dietary plans more precisely to the training and/or competition of the athlete.