Focus on nutrition for special populations and popularize the concept of national health

In recent years, the living standards of our people have been continuously improved, the nutritional supply capacity has been significantly enhanced, and the national nutritional health status has been significantly improved
.
Some special groups, such as the elderly, diabetics, tumor patients, etc.
, because of digestive decline, food intake restrictions or absorption disorders, resulting in unbalanced nutritional intake, for these special groups, nutrition is also an important means of
health care or treatment.
A few days ago, a face-to-face event of expert media with the theme of "'Special' Special Attention and Nutrition Protection" was held in Shanxi, focusing on the health management of special populations and special diseases, aiming to enhance the public's awareness and practicality of health and nutrition management, popularize the concept of national health, and lead residents to drive into the "fast lane"
of healthy life.

Nutritious diet

Slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease

As human lifespan increases, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease gradually increases
.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with insidious onset and clinical manifestations
of generalized dementia such as memory impairment, aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, impaired visuospatial skills, executive dysfunction, and personality and behavior changes.
Existing anti-Alzheimer's drugs cannot reverse the disease, so early, systematic and comprehensive prevention of Alzheimer's disease is particularly important
.

Studies have shown that abnormal blood sugar is strongly associated with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease
.
Insufficient dietary protein supply can lead to brain disorders, and L-carnitine also has the effect
of improving learning and memory.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may exert neuroprotective mechanisms
for inflammation and oxidative stress in the central nervous system.
Many vitamins and minerals can play a role
in preventing Alzheimer's disease through different mechanisms of action.
Polyphenols are mainly fruits and vegetables, and their metabolites are active in many brain processes, such as: scavenging free radicals, chelating metals, upregulating antioxidant enzymes and proteins associated with synaptic plasticity and neuronal repair; Improves cerebral blood flow; Inhibits pathological processes in specific areas of the brain; Interacts with neuronal signaling pathways involved in cell survival and programmed cell death, increasing synaptic plasticity and memory
.

Qiu Fubin, president of the Shanxi Nutrition Society, said that Alzheimer's disease is difficult to reverse, the onset is due to immunoaging, intestinal imbalance and obesity three factors, non-drug intervention is mostly considered to be the basis for preventing or delaying the development of the disease, through diet regulation can delay its deterioration process
.
Nutrition is essential, and patients should prefer to focus on the Mediterranean diet, a simple, light and nutritious diet that helps reduce the risk of cognitive impairment, cognitive decline and dementia on the one hand, and helps reduce the progression
from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease on the other.

In addition to the above dietary recommendations to prevent the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease, Qiu believes that it is also necessary to pay attention to low-carbohydrate diets
.
The intake of low-fat and highly processed carbohydrates immediately raises postprandial blood glucose levels, a condition that destroys serum proteins and drives the formation
of later glycation end products.
Fructose is a commonly used substance in the food industry, and the intake of fructose will highly induce glycosylase
.
Glycation end products alter lipid homeostasis in the brain, permanently enhance insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling, affect the normal function and integrity of neuronal membranes, and promote brain cell damage, leading to later behavioral and cognitive changes
.

Scientific diet

Enhance the body's self-healing ability

The effect of protein on postprandial blood sugar has long been debated, and high-protein diets have become a popular trend
because they have a good sense of satiety and are beneficial to diabetics who need weight control to effectively fight hunger.
However, population studies have shown that the effect of a high-protein diet on postprandial blood sugar is complex
.
In non-diabetic patients, dietary protein intake does not alter postprandial blood glucose levels
.
Protein intake stimulates the postprandial insulin response, and in order to maintain normal blood sugar, it also stimulates glucagon secretion, thereby promoting the release of glucose from the liver and the regulation of blood sugar levels, so it has less
effect on postprandial blood sugar.
However, in patients with type 1 diabetes, plasma glucagon levels increase after intake of a high-protein diet, while insufficient insulin secretion leads to an increase in
postprandial blood sugar.

"Diabetics do not need to control the intake of staple foods, meat, eggs, milk and other foods can be eaten
.
Nutrition must be reasonable, can not be because of the control of blood sugar and picky eating, partial eating, but only eat vegetables, otherwise it will lead to insufficient intake of protein and other trace elements and minerals, causing nutritional imbalance and reducing the body's immunity
.
Zheng Wenxia, director of the nutrition department of Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, put forward her own views
on diabetic patients in terms of dietary nutrition intake and health management.

Diabetic patients should strictly follow the dietary nutrition principle of "reasonable control of total calories and regular and quantitative meals", and increase the intake
of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals in the diet.
Patients with type 1 diabetes who adopt a high-protein diet need to increase the amount of insulin to control blood sugar, in addition, the absolute or relative insufficiency of insulin secretion in patients with diabetic nephropathy will also cause metabolic disorders of the body's 3 macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins), so in addition to limiting staple foods, foods rich in fat, protein, meat, eggs, milk and other foods should also be restricted to avoid increasing the burden on
the kidneys.

Healthy living

Prevention of sarcopenia syndrome

Sarcopenia syndrome, also known as sarcopenia, is a progressive
decrease in skeletal muscle mass associated with age, accompanied by decreased muscle strength and muscle function.
Sarcopenia is mainly manifested as weakness, easy falls, difficulty walking, slow gait and other symptoms, which have increasingly affected the quality
of life of the elderly.

Studies have shown that food protein intake is positively correlated
with muscle mass and strength.
The protein that the body absorbs from food promotes its own muscle protein synthesis and helps prevent sarcopenia syndrome
.
Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (EPA, DHA) can delay the onset
of sarcopenia syndrome by increasing resistance to exercise and in combination with other nutrients.
Vitamin D deficiency can easily lead to muscle decay and should be supplemented
when serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is below the normal range.

Zhang Wenqing, director of the Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, encouraged to increase the intake of foods rich in antioxidant nutrients such as dark vegetables, fruits and legumes, and dietary supplements containing a variety of antioxidant nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium) can also be appropriately supplemented to reduce muscle-related oxidative stress damage
.
For the elderly who already have or may be malnourished or at nutritional risk, oral nutritional supplementation with enteral nutrition preparations or medical foods on the basis of diet to increase dietary energy and protein intake can help reduce muscle loss, slow and sustained weight gain, and speed recovery
.

In addition, Zhang Wenqing suggested how to prevent the occurrence of sarcopenia syndrome through exercise in the elderly, and appropriate resistance training should be carried out on the basis of nutritional supplementation, combined with aerobic exercise, stretching and balance exercise to improve physical function
.
To avoid sarcopenia, the most fundamental principle is to "maintain a healthy lifestyle", which can be summarized into three aspects, namely exercise, diet and the rational use
of nutritional supplements.

Improve nutrition

Escort the healthy development of premature babies

Premature babies clinically refer to newborns born at less than 37 weeks' gestational age, premature babies come to the world in advance, in terms of nutrition, weight are much different from full-term infants, if you want to catch up and grow, you need to step by step
.
The goal of nutrition is to achieve a level comparable to the development of a term infant and achieve good long-term development
.

For premature infants, it is necessary to give an appropriate amount rather than too much, because their gastrointestinal tract and kidneys are not mature enough to overburden the baby's immature organs
.

The gastrointestinal tract of premature infants already has a certain function after birth, and after a period of hospitalization, it can achieve almost no difference from
the gastrointestinal function of ordinary full-term infants after discharge.
It should be noted that term infants can start to add complementary foods between 4-6 months after birth, and timely addition of complementary foods can effectively prevent the occurrence of nutritional certainty anemia, and also help babies enhance good eating habits
。 Gao Fang, director of the preventive health care department of Shanxi Bethune Hospital, said that for premature infants, the time of adding complementary foods cannot be calculated according to the actual age of birth of the child, but should be calculated according to the child's due date, that is, the time for premature infants to add complementary foods should be added between 4-6 months after the due date, and when adding complementary foods to children, attention should be paid to starting from pureed food and gradually transitioning to small particles, and finally to large particles, and then the child can eat
independently.

Gao Fang said that neonatal undernutrition not only affects the physical growth of premature infants, but also increases the risk of related complications, ensuring reasonable early nutrition of premature infants can lay a solid health foundation
for their lives.
She suggested that new mothers should breastfeed their premature babies as much as possible, and do a good job of nutrient supplementation and regular nutritional monitoring, so as not to overly catch up with the development of premature babies, and consult professional obstetricians as soon as possible if necessary to escort the healthy development of premature babies
.

(Wang Jiayi, comprehensive arrangement)

China Food News(November 09, 2022 Version 03)

(Editor: Wang Jiayi).