Do Vegetarian Diets Provide Adequate Nutrient Intake during Complementary Feeding? A Systematic Review.

During the complementary feeding period, any nutritional deficiencies may negatively impact infant growth and neurodevelopment. A healthy diet containing all essential nutrients is strongly recommended by the WHO during infancy. Because vegetarian diets are becoming increasingly popular in many industrialized countries, some parents ask the pediatrician for a vegetarian diet, partially or entirely free of animal-source foods, for their children from an early age. This systematic review aims to evaluate the evidence on how vegetarian complementary feeding impacts infant growth, neurodevelopment, risk of wasted and/or stunted growth, overweight and obesity. The SR was registered with PROSPERO 2021 (CRD 42021273592). A comprehensive search strategy was adopted to search and find all relevant studies. For ethical reasons, there are no interventional studies assessing the impact of non-supplemented vegetarian/vegan diets on the physical and neurocognitive development of children, but there are numerous studies that have analyzed the effects of dietary deficiencies on individual nutrients. Based on current evidence, vegetarian and vegan diets during the complementary feeding period have not been shown to be safe, and the current best evidence suggests that the risk of critical micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies and growth retardation is high: they may result in significantly different outcomes in neuropsychological development and growth when compared with a healthy omnivorous diet such as the Mediterranean Diet. There are also no data documenting the protective effect of vegetarian or vegan diets against communicable diseases in children aged 6 months to 2-3 years.

Nutritional Assessment of Baby Food Available in Italy.

Adequate complementary feeding practices are important for short- and long-term child health. In industrialized countries, the formulation of several commercial baby foods (CBFs) and an increase in their consumption has been noticed. AIM: To update and analyze the nutritional composition of CBFs available in the Italian market. METHODS: Data collection carried out in two steps (July 2018-January 2019) and updated in May-September 2021. The information on CBFs was taken from the websites of the major CBF producers available in Italy. The collected information were: Suggested initial and final age of consumption; Ingredients; Energy value; Macronutrients (protein, lipids, and carbohydrates); Fiber; Micronutrients (sodium, iron, and calcium); Presence of salt and added sugars, flavorings, and other additives. RESULTS: Time-space for which CBFs are recommended starts too early and ends too late; protein content is adequate and even too high in some food; Amount of fats and their quality must be improved, keeping the intake of saturated fats low; Sugar content is too high in too many CBFs and salt is unnecessarily present in some of them. Finally, the texture of too many products is purée, and its use is recommended for too long, hindering the development of infants' chewing abilities.

Timing of Complementary Feeding, Growth, and Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

No consensus currently exists on the appropriate age for the introduction of complementary feeding (CF). In this paper, a systematic review is conducted that investigates the effects of starting CF in breastfed and formula-fed infants at 4, 4-6, or 6 months of age (i) on growth at 12 months of age, (ii) on the development of overweight/obesity at 3-6 years of age, (iii) on iron status, and (iv) on the risk of developing (later in life) type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and hypertension. An extensive literature search identified seven studies that evaluated the effects of the introduction of CF at the ages in question. No statistically significant differences related to the age at which CF is started were observed in breastfed or formula-fed infants in terms of the following: iron status, weight, length, and body mass index Z-scores (zBMI) at 12 months, and development of overweight/obesity at 3 years. No studies were found specifically focused on the age range for CF introduction and risk of DM2 and hypertension. Introducing CF before 6 months in healthy term-born infants living in developed countries is essentially useless, as human milk (HM) and formulas are nutritionally adequate up to 6 months of age.

Breastfed and Formula-Fed Infants: Need of a Different Complementary Feeding Model?

Suboptimal nutrient quality/quantity during complementary feeding (CF) can impact negatively on infants' healthy growth, even with adequate energy intake. CF must supplement at best human milk (HM) or formulas, which show nutritional differences. Considering this, a differentiated CF is probably advisable to correctly satisfy the different nutritional needs. To assess whether current needs at 6-24 months of age can still be met by one single CF scheme or different schemes are needed for breastfed vs. formula/cow's milk (CM) fed infants, protein, iron and calcium intakes were assessed from daily menus using the same type and amount of solid food, leaving same amounts of HM and follow-up formula at 9 and again 18 months of age, when unmodified CM was added. Depending on the child's age, calcium- and iron-fortified cereals or common retail foods were used. The single feeding scheme keeps protein intake low but higher than recommended, in HM-fed children while in formula/CM-fed ones, it achieves much higher protein intakes. Iron Population Recommended Intake (PRI) and calcium Adequate Intakes (AI) are met at the two ages only when a formula is used; otherwise, calcium-fortified cereals are needed. ESPGHAN statements on the futility of proposing different CF schemes according to the milk type fed do not allow to fully meet the nutritional recommendations issued by major Agencies/Organizations/Societies for all children of these age groups.

Suboptimal Micronutrient Intake among Children in Europe.

Adequate dietary intake of micronutrients is not necessarily achieved even in resource-rich areas of the world wherein overeating is a public health concern. In Europe, population-based data suggests substantial variability in micronutrient intake among children. Two independent surveys of micronutrient consumption among European children were evaluated. Stratified by age, the data regarding micronutrient intake were evaluated in the context of daily requirements, which are typically estimated in the absence of reliable absolute values derived from prospective studies. The proportion of children living in Europe whose intake of at least some vitamins and trace elements are at or below the estimated average requirements is substantial. The most common deficiencies across age groups included vitamin D, vitamin E, and iodine. Specific deficiencies were not uniform across countries or by age or gender.  Micronutrient intake appears to be more strongly influenced by factors other than access to food. Substantial portions of European children may be at risk of reversible health risks from inadequate intake of micronutrients. Despite the growing health threat posed by excess intake of calories, adequate exposure to vitamins, trace elements, and other micronutrients may deserve attention in public health initiatives to optimize growth and development in the European pediatric population.

Effects of olive polyphenols administration on nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the mouse brain.

OBJECTIVE: Polyphenols are chemicals derived from plants known to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. High intake of fruit and vegetables is believed to be beneficial to human health. Various studies have suggested that dietary polyphenols may protect against cancer and cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are neurotrophins that play key roles in brain cell development, growth, and survival. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not administration of olive (Olea europaea L.) polyphenols could have an effect on NGF and BDNF content and the expression of their receptors, TrkA and TrkB, respectively, in the mouse brain. METHODS: NGF and BDNF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. TrkA and TrkB were measured by Western blotting. RESULTS: We found NGF and BDNF elevation in the hippocampus and olfactory bulbs and a decrease in the frontal cortex and striatum. These data were associated with potentiated expression of TrkA and TrkB in the hippocampus and olfactory bulbs but no differences between groups in the striatum and frontal cortex. Polyphenols did not affect some behavioral mouse parameters associated with stressing situations. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, this study shows that olive polyphenols in the mouse may increase the levels of NGF and BDNF in crucial areas of the limbic system and olfactory bulbs, which play a key role in learning and memory processes and in the proliferation and migration of endogenous progenitor cells present in the rodent brain.

Efeitos da luminosidade no crescimento de mudas de Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul. (Leguminosae, Caesalpinoideae) / Effects of luminosity on the growth seedlings of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul. (Leguminosae, Caesalpinoideae)

Caesalpinia ferrea é uma espécie muito utilizada como planta medicinal e na arborização e paisagismo urbano no estado do Amapá. Entretanto, informações ecofisiológicas a seu respeito são escassas. A luz é um importante fator ambiental que controla processos associados ao acúmulo de matéria seca, contribuindo assim para o crescimento vegetal. Diante disso, estudou-se o efeito de diferentes níveis de luminosidade sobre o crescimento de mudas desta espécie. Para tal, plântulas foram repicadas para sacos plásticos contendo mistura de solo e areia (2:1), sendo mantidas a pleno sol, sob sombreamento artificial com redução de 50 por cento e 70 por cento da luminosidade e sob sombreamento natural de um dossel fechado de floresta. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente ao acaso, com cinco repetições. Mudas submetidas ao sombreamento natural tiveram seu crescimento fortemente inibido. A pleno sol, as mudas apresentaram maiores taxas assimilatórias líquida (TAL), menor razão parte aérea/raiz (RPAR) e menor razão de área foliar (RAF). Verificou-se pouca diferença no crescimento e alocação de biomassa entre mudas mantidas sob 50 e 70 por cento de sombreamento, sendo que as mudas desses tratamentos atingiram valores mais altos de RPAR e RAF. Isto indica existência de plasticidade, o que reflete no aumento potencial da captura de luz, importante para manter o crescimento e a sobrevivência das mudas em baixa luminosidade. Em conjunto, os resultados mostraram ajustamento morfológico e fisiológico aos diferentes níveis de luminosidade em Caesalpinia ferrea.

Caesalpinia ferrea is a species used a lot as a medicinal plant, for urban arborization and landscape design in the state of Amapa. Yet there is not much ecophysiological information available on it. Light is an important environment factor that controls processes associates with the accumulation of dry matter, contributing thus for plant growth. The object of this research was to study the effect of different luminosity levels on the growth of seedlings of this species. The seedlings were transplanted to plastics bags containing a mixture of soil and sand (2:1), which were maintained in the full sun, under artificial shade with reduction of 50 percent and 70 percent of the luminosity and under natural shade of a closed canopy of forest. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replicates. Seedlings submitted to natural shade showed strong growth inhibition. In the full sun, the seedlings presented higher net assimilatory rate (NAR), lower shoot/root ratio (SRR) and lower leaf area ratio (LAR). The results showed little difference in the growth and biomass allocation between seedlings kept in 50 and 70 percent shade; the seedlings submitted to this treatment presented higher values of SRR and LAR. This indicates plasticity which influences a possible increase in light capture and is important, therefore, to keep the seedling growth and survival under low light levels. The results as a whole showed morphological and physiological adjustment to different light levels in Caesalpinia ferrea.