There is a growing mortality related to co-morbidities associated with diabetes mellitus. Intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) has been associated with low cardiometabolic risk and reduction of inflammatory process. The objective of this paper is to review the impact of PUFA intake on glycemic control in diabetic patients as well as to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved. Medline/PubMed electronic database was searched to identify studies published within last five years regarding the effect of PUFA intake on glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetics. The search terms used were “polyunsaturated fatty acid(s),” “PUFA,” and “diabetes.” We included only interventional studies that assessed the effects of PUFA intake on glucose metabolism – fasting glucose, serum insulin, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR assessment– in type 2 diabetics. Initially, 48 articles were identified, of which one was not available and 41 did not match the inclusion criteria. Within the selected studies, three articles showed an improvement in fasting blood glucose, two showed an increase in fasting glycemia, and there was no effect of intervention in one article only. Based on the analyzed clinical interventional studies, supplementation of 0.42–5.2-g PUFA/day for at least eight weeks may become an alternative treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus, particularly in Asian subjects.

Tradicionalmente, a educação em saúde se baseia em metodologias de transmissão de conhecimentos. Porém, agora se exige a formação de profissionais com perfil crítico-reflexivo e capazes de trabalhar em equipes. O que requer novas metodologias de ensino-aprendizagem, tendo na problematização um instrumento de transformação. É relatada experiência utilizando a construção de portfólios coletivos na aprendizagem, como mudança de atitudes e na avaliação de alunos de graduação, em contexto de estrutura curricular tradicional e por disciplinas. Estudo exploratório descritivo, com abordagem quali-quantitativa, fundamentado na análise de portfólios coletivos (n= 9), construídos pelos acadêmicos da disciplina Políticas de Saúde, complementado com a aplicação de um questionário aberto aos alunos (n=58) e com a realização de grupos focais (n=3). Os portfólios coletivos mobilizaram o pensamento crítico-reflexivo sobre a política do Sistema Único de Saúde, ampliando a concepção sobre o processo saúde-doença e as práticas relacionadas aos serviços de saúde, valorizando o trabalho em equipe e a busca ativa na construção do conhecimento, destacando-se os exercícios da alteridade, resiliência e empoderamento.

Folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 intake can be important regulators for obesity development. Thus, we investigated the possible association between the intake of these vitamins and the excess body weight or obesity prevalence in the participants of the Cohort of Universities in Minas Gerais (CUME project). This study analyzed cross-sectional data of 2695 graduates and postgraduates from universities in the state of Minas Gerais (801 men, 1894 women, ages 36.2 ± 9.4). The first step consisted of collecting data online, and the second step consisted of blood collecting in the subsample living in the city of Viçosa and its region (Minas Gerais). Excess body weight and obesity prevalence were 38.1% and 10.1%, respectively. Inadequate intake of folate, B6, and B12 were 12, 6.3, and 11.1%, respectively. Beans/lentils and French bread presented the highest contribution to folate intake (23.45% and 10.01%, respectively). Those individuals in the third tertile for folate intake (≥511.12 μg/d) had a lower excess body weight [prevalence ratio (PR): 0.79, confidence interval (CI): 0.71–0.8] and obesity prevalence (PR: 0.60, CI: 0.45–0.78). These associations were maintained when the sample was categorized by sex. In addition, serum folate was positively associated with dietary folate (p for trend = 0.032) and negatively associated with serum homocysteine (p for trend = 0.003) in the subsample. Dietary folate intake was negatively associated with excess body weight and obesity in CUME participants, indicating the relevance of this vitamin dietary assessment.

We aimed to evaluate the postprandial secretion of inflammatory markers induced by SFA or MUFA high-fat meal consumption and whether orange juice intake could modulate this induction. This study included 55 healthy women (aged 20 to 40 years): 33 participants received an SFA high-fat meal (≈1000 kcal, 37.6% of energy intake (E) from SFA) and 22 participants received an MUFA high-fat meal (≈1000 kcal, 56.3% E from MUFA). Both interventions were accompanied by 500 ml of orange juice (test) or water (control). The plasma concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) and CRP were determined before (fasting) and 2, 3 and 5 hours after the test meal intake. The SFA high-fat meal induced a significant increase in AUC values (for TNF-α, IL-12, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-2 adjusted for baseline concentrations) in comparison with MUFA high-fat meal intervention. The results were independent of the drink which accompanied the meal (water or orange juice). Both IL-4 and IL-17A AUC values were significantly increased after an SFA high-fat meal intake, accompanied by water, but not by orange juice. In addition, these values were higher in relation to MUFA high-fat meal interventions. Also, IL-17A significantly increased at 3 h after an SFA high-fat meal intake accompanied by water, but not by orange juice. Overall, our conclusions indicate an anti-inflammatory effect of MUFA compared to SFA high-fat meal intake, while orange juice intake was able to mitigate the subclinical increase of postprandial inflammation, induced by SFA high-fat meal consumption, for a particular biomarker (IL-17A).

Resumo Esta revisão teve como objetivo apresentar e discutir os achados mais recentes do efeito dos ácidos graxos monoinsaturados (AGMI) sobre marcadores plasmáticos do metabolismo lipídico em estudos pós-prandiais e de intervenção clínica nutricional. Realizou-se busca em diferentes bases de dados entre 2010 e 2014, usando os seguintes termos de indexação: MUFA, Lipemia, Lipid Metabolism, Triglycerides e Postprandial. O consumo de refeição com alto conteúdo de AGMI tem demonstrado efeito benéfico na resposta lipidêmica pós-prandial, mas se essa resposta pode ser alterada em indivíduos com excesso de peso e/ou outras doenças crônicas após consumo de AGMI, ainda não está totalmente elucidado. De modo geral, após a intervenção com AGMI, os fatores de risco cardiovascular diminuíram, além de haver melhora no perfil lipídico. Em conclusão, os estudos recentes têm demonstrado um efeito benéfico do consumo de AGMI em curto e longo prazos, mediante aumento/manutenção das concentrações de HDL colesterol e diminuição do LDL colesterol.