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Diets/Nutrients and Microbiota for Weight Management

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Obesity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 14993

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Interests: Microbiota; microbioma; obesity; metabolic diseases; nutrition; ketogenic diet; eating disorder; gasto-intestinal system; sarcopenia; food intolerance; multiple chemical sensitivity; inositols; probiotiocs; nutrition in oncology.

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Guest Editor
Oncology Departement, Ospedale di Gallarate, ASST Valle Olona, 4-21013 Gallarate, Italy
Interests: neuroendocrine tumours; colorectal cancer; nutrition; vitamin deficiencies; vitamin D deficiency; niacin; fat-soluble vitamins; malnutrition; chemotherapy-induced diarrhea; dietary habits; food intolerance; lifestyle; mediterranean diet
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The search for the “perfect” diet that could be able to decrease weight and, above all, to maintain the decrease, has challenged scientists for decades, giving rise to the widest range of unlikely combination of nutrients and regimens, resulting in a confusing message to the patients and poor results. In fact, to date the ambitious target of ameliorating the level of well-being and the reduction of mortality risk due to overweight is far from being reached.

Recently, worldwide scientists focused their attention on the need to evolve towards nutritional regimens that are mainly based on vegetal foods, with a limited use of those from animal sources.

Therefore, the actual challenge focuses on the finding of tailored diets that are able, not only to obtain a safe weight decrease, but also to maintain it for an indefinite period of time. Moreover, the concomitant administration of natural substances known to ameliorate the response to dieting, such as an example the inositols, is widely used to facilitate and amplify the results.

In this view, an adequate nutritional therapy, in terms of micro- and macro-nutrients, should be able to obtain a complete metabolic reset, also acting through its specific activity on gut microbiota, in order to reach the eubiosis state, which is known to be able to give additional protection in terms of ideal weight maintenance.

For that reason, I would like to invite Scientists from all over the world to give their contribution, under the form of original articles or reviews for the preparation of the Special Issue “Diets/nutrients and microbiota for Weight management” that will be published in Nutrients.

Main topics are:

  • Diet programs focused not only on weight decrease, but also (and especially) on the management of the critical post-decrease phase, in order to efficiently support the patient during the critical maintenance period.
  • Diet programs not only based on the amounts of each nutrient to be given, but mainly on nutrients quality. In addition, articles dealing on strategies to modify insulin resistance using a natural approach will also be welcome.
  • Strategies to efficaciously modify and re-balance gut microbiota, in order to facilitate weight decrease and maintenance.

Dr. Sabrina Basciani
Dr. Salvatore Artale
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • diets
  • nutritional strategies
  • protein
  • microbiota
  • probiotics
  • amino acids
  • vegan
  • lacto-vegetarian
  • omnivore
  • sarcopenia
  • inositols

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5515 KiB  
Article
Functional Fiber Reduces Mice Obesity by Regulating Intestinal Microbiota
by Mengdi Zhang, Jianhua Liu, Chen Li, Jianwei Gao, Chuanhui Xu, Xiaoyu Wu, Tiesheng Xu, Chenbin Cui, Hongkui Wei, Jian Peng and Rong Zheng
Nutrients 2022, 14(13), 2676; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14132676 - 28 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2492
Abstract
Obesity may cause metabolic syndrome and has become a global public health problem, and dietary fibers (DF) could alleviate obesity and metabolic syndrome by regulating intestinal microbiota. We developed a functional fiber (FF) with a synthetic mixture of polysaccharides, high viscosity, water-binding capacity, [...] Read more.
Obesity may cause metabolic syndrome and has become a global public health problem, and dietary fibers (DF) could alleviate obesity and metabolic syndrome by regulating intestinal microbiota. We developed a functional fiber (FF) with a synthetic mixture of polysaccharides, high viscosity, water-binding capacity, swelling capacity, and fermentability. This study aimed to investigate the effect of FF on obesity and to determine its prevention of obesity by modulating the gut microbiota. Physiological, histological, and biochemical parameters, and gut microbiota composition were investigated in the following six groups: control group (Con), high-fat diet group (HFD), low-fat diet group (LFD, conversion of HFD to LFD), high-fat +8% FF group (8% FF), high-fat +12% FF group (12% FF), and high-fat +12% FF + antibiotic group (12% FF + AB). The results demonstrated that 12% FF could promote a reduction in body weight and epididymal adipocyte area, augment insulin sensitivity, and stimulate heat production from brown adipose tissue (BAT) (p < 0.05). Compared with the HFD, 12% FF could also significantly improve the intestinal morphological integrity, attenuate systemic inflammation, promote intestinal microbiota homeostasis, and stabilize the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (p < 0.05). Consistent with the results of 12% FF, the LFD could significantly reduce the body weight and epididymal adipocyte area relative to the HFD (p < 0.05), but the LFD and HFD showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the level of inflammation and SCFAs. Meanwhile, 12% FF supplementation showed an increase (p < 0.05) in the abundance of the Bifidobacterium, Lactococcus, and Coprococcus genus in the intestine, which had a negative correlation with obesity and insulin resistance. Additionally, the treatment with antibiotics (12% FF + AB) could inhibit the effect of FF in the HFD. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) function prediction revealed that 12% FF could significantly inhibit the cyanogenic amino acid metabolic pathway and decrease the serum succinate concentration relative to the HFD group. The overall results indicate that 12% FF has the potential to reduce obesity through the beneficial regulation of the gut microbiota and metabolites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diets/Nutrients and Microbiota for Weight Management)
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10 pages, 673 KiB  
Article
Whey Protein, L-Leucine and Vitamin D Supplementation for Preserving Lean Mass during a Low-Calorie Diet in Sarcopenic Obese Women
by Elisabetta Camajani, Agnese Persichetti, Mikiko Watanabe, Savina Contini, Michaela Vari, Settimia Di Bernardo, Maria Faro, Carla Lubrano, Lucio Gnessi, Massimiliano Caprio and Sabrina Basciani
Nutrients 2022, 14(9), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091884 - 29 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3383
Abstract
In sarcopenic obese subjects it is essential to reduce body weight and preserve lean mass, in order to avoid a worsening of muscle function. Several studies have shown that leucine supplementation can be useful to improve skeletal muscle mass in sarcopenic patients. The [...] Read more.
In sarcopenic obese subjects it is essential to reduce body weight and preserve lean mass, in order to avoid a worsening of muscle function. Several studies have shown that leucine supplementation can be useful to improve skeletal muscle mass in sarcopenic patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term low-calorie diet (LCD) combined with supplementation with whey protein and leucine on weight loss, lean mass and muscle strength in sarcopenic, obese, hyperinsulinemic and post-menopausal women. Sixteen females with a mean age of 60 years (range: 50–70 years), BMI 37.6 kg/m2 (range: 31.7–44.1 Kg/m2), HOMA-index ≥ 2.5 (range: 2.9–12) were assigned to an LCD regimen (1000 kcal/day) with supplementation of 18 g whey proteins which 4.1 g of leucine for 45 days. Anthropometric indexes, blood and urine chemistry, body composition by DEXA, muscle strength by handgrip test and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) were assessed at baseline and at the end of the treatment. A significant reduction in BMI (37.6 vs. 35.7 Kg/m2), waist circumference (107 vs. 102.4 cm), HOMA index (4.8 vs. 2.3) and fasting insulin (17.4 vs. 10.4 μIU/mL) was observed in all patients. Women preserved total lean body mass (55 vs. 5%) and significantly improved their muscle strength, as measured by handgrip (15.3 vs. 20.1 Kg), and their muscle function, as measured by SPPB (7.5 vs. 8.9). A significant increase in BUN was also observed (36.1 vs. 46.3). We conclude that LCD with adequate protein intake and supplementation with whey protein and leucine should be promoted to maintain muscle mass and improve muscle strength in post-menopausal women with sarcopenic obesity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diets/Nutrients and Microbiota for Weight Management)
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Review

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19 pages, 1541 KiB  
Review
The Crosstalk between Gut Microbiota and White Adipose Tissue Mitochondria in Obesity
by Luca Colangeli, David Israel Escobar Marcillo, Valeria Simonelli, Egidio Iorio, Tommaso Rinaldi, Paolo Sbraccia, Paola Fortini and Valeria Guglielmi
Nutrients 2023, 15(7), 1723; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15071723 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4321
Abstract
Adipose tissue (AT) dysregulation is a key process in the pathophysiology of obesity and its cardiometabolic complications, but even if a growing body of evidence has been collected over recent decades, the underlying molecular basis of adiposopathy remains to be fully understood. In [...] Read more.
Adipose tissue (AT) dysregulation is a key process in the pathophysiology of obesity and its cardiometabolic complications, but even if a growing body of evidence has been collected over recent decades, the underlying molecular basis of adiposopathy remains to be fully understood. In this context, mitochondria, the intracellular organelles that orchestrate energy production and undergo highly dynamic adaptive changes in response to changing environments, have emerged as crucial regulators of both white (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism and function. Given that the gut microbiota and its metabolites are able to regulate host metabolism, adipogenesis, WAT inflammation, and thermogenesis, we hypothesize that their frequently observed dysregulation in obesity could affect AT metabolism by exerting direct and indirect effects on AT mitochondria. By collecting and revising the current evidence on the connections between gut microbiota and AT mitochondria in obesity, we gained insights into the molecular biology of their hitherto largely unexplored crosstalk, tracing how gut microbiota may regulate AT mitochondrial function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diets/Nutrients and Microbiota for Weight Management)
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14 pages, 725 KiB  
Review
Positive Effects of α-Lactalbumin in the Management of Symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
by Vincenzo Cardinale, Elisa Lepore, Sabrina Basciani, Salvatore Artale, Maurizio Nordio, Mariano Bizzarri and Vittorio Unfer
Nutrients 2022, 14(15), 3220; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14153220 - 06 Aug 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4126
Abstract
To date, the involvement of α-Lactalbumin (α-LA) in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) refers to its ability to improve intestinal absorption of natural molecules like inositols, overcoming the inositol resistance. However, due to its own aminoacidic building blocks, α-LA is involved [...] Read more.
To date, the involvement of α-Lactalbumin (α-LA) in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) refers to its ability to improve intestinal absorption of natural molecules like inositols, overcoming the inositol resistance. However, due to its own aminoacidic building blocks, α-LA is involved in various biological processes that can open new additional applications. A great portion of women with PCOS exhibit gastrointestinal dysbiosis, which is in turn one of the triggering mechanisms of the syndrome. Due to its prebiotic effect, α-LA can recover dysbiosis, also improving the insulin resistance, obesity and intestinal inflammation frequently associated with PCOS. Further observations suggest that altered gut microbiota negatively influence mental wellbeing. Depressive mood and low serotonin levels are indeed common features of women with PCOS. Thanks to its content of tryptophan, which is the precursor of serotonin, and considering the strict link between gut and brain, using α-LA contributes to preserving mental well-being by maintaining high levels of serotonin. In addition, considering women with PCOS seeking pregnancy, both altered microbiota and serotonin levels can induce later consequences in the offspring. Therefore, a deeper knowledge of potential applications of α-LA is required to transition to preclinical and clinical studies extending its therapeutic advantages in PCOS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diets/Nutrients and Microbiota for Weight Management)
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