The incidence of kidney stones is common in the United States and treatments for them are very costly. This review article provides information about epidemiology, mechanism, diagnosis, and pathophysiology of kidney stone formation, and methods for the evaluation of stone risks for new and follow-up patients. Adequate evaluation and management can prevent recurrence of stones. Kidney stone prevention should be individualized in both its medical and dietary management, keeping in mind the specific risks involved for each type of stones. Recognition of these risk factors and development of long-term management strategies for dealing with them are the most effective ways to prevent recurrence of kidney stones.
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The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life (QoL) depending on the postoperative survival period or nutritional status in gastric cancer patients. Surviving gastric cancer patients (n = 222) after the gastrectomy were included in the study at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital from April 2010 to August 2012. The Korean versions of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and a gastric cancer-specific module, the EORTC QLQ-STO22, were used to assess the QoL. The postoperative survival period of the patients fell into two groups; the less-than-1-year group or the more-than-1-year group, and the nutritional status of the patients fell into three groups by a score of patient generated-subjective global assessment (SGA)-A, B, and C. As a result, the rate of malnutrition was 34.5% in the less-than-1-year group and 19.8% in the more-than-1-year group, respectively. Score for the fatigue (p = 0.006), loss of appetite (p = 0.002), reflux (p = 0.027) and body image (p = 0.004) in which the QoL was significantly lower in the less-than-1-year group than in the more-than-1-year group. The score of QoL according to the nutritional status of all subjects, overall health status (p = 0.043), physical functioning (p = 0.016), fatigue (p = 0.006), pain (p = 0.028), loss of appetite (p = 0.017), reflux (p = 0.003), eating restriction (p = 0.002), anxiety (p = 0.010), and body image (p = 0.001) was significantly lower in the SGA-C group than in other SGA groups. These results suggest that the nutritional status of the gastrectomy patients with stomach cancer may impact on their QoL. It is necessary to to develop nutritional intervention to improve QoL in gastric cancer patients with postoperative malnutrition.
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Diets rich in fruits and vegetables reduce risk of adverse cardiovascular events. However, the constituents responsible for this effect have not been well established. Lately, the attention has been brought to vegetables with high nitrate content with evidence that this might represent a source of vasoprotective nitric oxide. We hypothesized that short-term consumption of spinach, a vegetable having high dietary nitrate content, can affect the arterial waveform indicative of arterial stiffness, as well as central and peripheral blood pressure (BP). Using a placebo-controlled, crossover design, 27 healthy participants were randomly assigned to receive either a high-nitrate (spinach; 845 mg nitrate/day) or low-nitrate soup (asparagus; 0.6 mg nitrate/day) for 7 days with a 1-week washout period. On days 1 and 7, profiles of augmentation index, central, and brachial BP were obtained over 180 min post-consumption in 4 fasted visits. A postprandial reduction in augmentation index was observed at 180 min on high-nitrate compared to low-nitrate intervention (-6.54 ± 9.7% vs. -0.82 ± 8.0%, p = 0.01) on Day 1, and from baseline on Day 7 (-6.93 ± 8.7%, p < 0.001; high vs. low: -2.28 ± 12.5%, p = 0.35), suggesting that the nitrate intervention is not associated with the development of tolerance for at least 7 days of continued supplementation. High vs. low-nitrate intervention also reduced central systolic (-3.39 ± 5.6 mmHg, p = 0.004) and diastolic BP (-2.60 ± 5.8 mmHg, p = 0.028) and brachial systolic BP (-3.48 ± 7.4 mmHg, p = 0.022) at 180 min following 7-day supplementation only. These findings suggest that dietary nitrate from spinach may contribute to beneficial hemodynamic effects of vegetable-rich diets and highlights the potential of developing a targeted dietary approach in the management of elevated BP.
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Appetite controlling has been an main strategy for regulating food intake and energy balance in obesity treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of drinking tea of the medicinal herbs, fennel and fenugreek, on the subjective appetite in overweight Korean women. The study was conducted using a placebo-controlled, single-blinded, randomized, and 3-way crossover design. Nine healthy women were given fennel tea (FT), fenugreek tea (FGT), or placebo tea (PT). After drinking a given tea, a lunch buffet was provided and then food consumption of subjects was analyzed. Subjective appetite, hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption were measured at seven independent time point using a visual analog scale (VAS). Mean age of 9 subjects were 49.7 ± 4.5 years and their mean body mass index were 24.6 ± 0.6 kg/m2. There was no significant difference in food consumption in the lunch buffet after drinking each tea; however, with respect to the subjective appetite scale, FGT decreased hunger, led to less prospective food consumption, and increased feelings of fullness compared with the PT (p < 0.05). Similarly, the consumption of FT resulted in decreased hunger, less prospective food consumption, and increased feelings of fullness compared with the PT (p < 0.05). The area under the curve of VAS graph indicated that FGT resulted in a higher feeling of fullness than the PT (p < 0.05). In conclusion, drinking the FT and FGT were significantly effective aid to suppress subjective appetite among overweight women in South Korea.
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The present study was conducted to compare serum leptin and insulin resistance levels between Korean postmenopausal long-term semi-vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Subjects of this study belonged to either a group of postmenopausal vegetarian women (n = 54), who maintained a semi-vegetarian diet for over 20 years or a group of non-vegetarian controls. Anthropometric characteristics, serum leptin, serum glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance), and nutrient intake were compared between the two groups. The vegetarians showed significantly lower body weight (p < 0.01), body mass index (p < 0.001), percentage (%) of body fat (p < 0.001), and serum levels of leptin (p < 0.05), glucose (p < 0.001), and insulin (p < 0.01), than the non-vegetarians. The HOMA-IR of the vegetarians was significantly lower than that of the non-vegetarians (p < 0.01) after adjustment for the % of body fat. A long-term vegetarian diet might be related to lower insulin resistance independent of the % of body fat in postmenopausal women.
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The present study was aim to evaluate the association between very long chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean population. The study population were recruited from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013). Using the cross-sectional study design, socio-demographic factors, medical history, and clinical measurements were investigated according to quartiles of VLSFAs intake. The associations between each and sum of VLSFAs intake and MetS were assessed by logistic regression. The result indicated that higher intake of VLSFAs was significantly associated with favorable metabolic status, including lower levels of circulating triglyceride (TG) (p < 0.05). Additionally, subjects with higher intake of arachidic acid and total VLSFAs were negatively associated with MetS risk compared to subjects with lower intake of those fatty acids (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary VLSFAs intake was associated with metabolic risk factors and lower risk of MetS in Korean population.
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This study investigated the dietary habits and food preferences of elementary school students. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed to 4th and 5th grade elementary school students (400 boys and 400 girls) in urban and suburban areas of Daejeon. The results of this study were as follows: male students in urban areas ate breakfast, unbalanced diets, and dairy products more frequently than male students in suburban areas (p < 0.05). Female students in urban areas ate dairy products (p < 0.01) and fruits (p < 0.001) more frequently than female students in suburban areas. Students had the high preferences for boiled rice and noodles with black bean sauce, beef rib soup, steamed beef rib, steamed egg, beef boiled in soy sauce, egg roll, bulgogi, pork cutlet, deep-fried pork covered with sweet and sour starchy sauce, and honeyed juice mixed with fruit as a punch. All students preferred kimchi, although students in the suburban areas preferred kimchi-fried rice (p < 0.05), and those in the urban areas preferred bean-paste soup (p < 0.01). Students in suburban areas showed a greater preference for seasoned bean sprouts and Altari kimchi. All of the students preferred fruits, rice cake made with glutinous rice, and pizza among other foods. Overall, there were distinct differences in the eating habits and food preferences of elementary school students according to the place of residence.
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We report the case in order to examine the effect of a mobile application program ("Diabetes & Nutrition") developed in 2011-2012 for self-management in patients with type 2 diabetes and to recommend important considerations when the mobile application program is developed. A 46-year-old man was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2013 and had no complications. The height of the patient was 168 cm and the body weight was 75.6 kg. Nutrition education was conducted according to a medical prescription, and follow-up nutrition education was conducted after 3 and 6 months. After nutrition education, the patient was engaged in self-management using "Diabetes & Nutrition" program during 3 months. At 3 months, the body weight had decreased by 4.4 kg (from 75.6 to 71.2 kg), waist circumference by 5 cm (from 88 to 83 cm) and HbA1c level from 7.9% to 6.1%. Also at 3 months, the medication was reduced from from the dose of 850 mg to the dose of 500 mg metformin per twice a day. Since then, the patient did not continue to use the "Diabetes & Nutrition" because the level of blood glucose had stabilized, and the patient felt inconvenient and annoying to use the program. At 6 months, no significant change in the body weight and body composition was observed in comparison with those at 3 months. The present case demonstrates that the early use of "Diabetes & Nutrition" could be helpful for self-management of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Developing self-management mobile application programs in the future will require strategies of how to promote continuous use of application program and self-management of type 2 diabetes.
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