(1) Background: Numerous meta-analyses have shown that a high intake of dietary fiber plays a protective role in preventing the development of various types of cancer. However, previous studies have been limited by focusing on a single type of dietary fiber and variations in outcome measures, which may not be effectively applied to provide dietary guidance for the general population. (2) Object: We summarized the meta-analysis of dietary fiber and cancer, and provided references for residents to prevent cancer. (3) Methods: Systematic search of relevant meta-analyses on the association between dietary fiber and cancer occurrence in PubMed, Web of Science and other databases was conducted from the time of database construction to February 2023. The method logical and evidence quality assessments were performed by applying the criteria in the “A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews-2” (AMSTAR2) scale and the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) Expert Report, respectively. (4) Results: Our analysis included 11 meta-analyses, and the AMSTAR 2 assessment revealed that the overall methodological quality was suboptimal, with two key items lacking sufficient information. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that a high intake of dietary fiber is associated with a reduced risk of several types of cancer, including esophageal, gastric, colon, rectal, colorectal adenoma, breast, endometrial, ovarian, renal cell, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. The majority of these associations were supported by a “probable” level of evidence. (5) Conclusions: Dietary fiber intake has different protective effects on different cancers.

There is a pressing need to extend the knowledge on the properties of insect protein fractions to boost their use in the food industry. In this study several techno-functional properties of a black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) protein concentrate (BSFPC) obtained by solubilization and precipitation at pH 4.0–4.3 were investigated and compared with whey protein isolate (WPI), a conventional dairy protein used to stabilize food emulsions. The extraction method applied resulted in a BSFPC with a protein content of 62.44% (Kp factor 5.36) that exhibited comparable or higher values of emulsifying activity and foamability than WPI for the same concentrations, hence, showing the potential for emulsion and foam stabilization. As for the emulsifying properties, the BSFPC (1% and 2%) showed the capacity to stabilize sunflower and lemon oil-in-water emulsions (20%, 30%, and 40% oil fraction) produced by dynamic membranes of tunable pore size (DMTS). It was proved that BSFPC stabilizes sunflower oil-in-water emulsions similarly to WPI, but with a slightly wider droplet size distribution. As for time stability of the sunflower oil emulsions at 25 °C, it was seen that droplet size distribution was maintained for 1% WPI and 2% BSFPC, while for 1% BSFPC there was a slight increase. For lemon oil emulsions, BSFPC showed better emulsifying performance than WPI, which required to be prepared with a pH 7 buffer for lemon oil fractions of 40%, to balance the decrease in the pH caused by the lemon oil water soluble components. The stability of the emulsions was improved when maintained under refrigeration (4 °C) for both BSFPC and WPI. The results of this work point out the feasibility of using BSFPC to stabilize O/W emulsions using a low energy system.

In a preliminary study, commercial insect powders were successfully identified using infrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis. Nonetheless, it is necessary to check if this technology is capable of discriminating, predicting, and quantifying insect species once they are used as an ingredient in food products. The objective of this research was to study the potential of using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTMIR) combined with multivariate analysis to discriminate doughs and 3D-printed baked snacks, enriched with Alphitobius diaperinus and Locusta migratoria powders. Several doughs were made with a variable amount of insect powder (0–13.9%) replacing the same amount of chickpea flour (46–32%). The spectral data were analyzed using soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) algorithms. SIMCA models successfully discriminated the insect species used to prepare the doughs and snacks. Discrimination was mainly associated with lipids, proteins, and chitin. PLSR models predicted the percentage of insect powder added to the dough and the snacks, with determination coefficients of 0.972, 0.979, and 0.994 and a standard error of prediction of 1.24, 1.08, and 1.90%, respectively. ATR-FTMIR combined with multivariate analysis has a high potential as a new tool in insect product authentication.

Water-in-oil-in-water (W₁/O/W₂) emulsions are complex delivery systems for polyphenols amongst other bio-actives. To stabilize the oil–water interphase, dairy proteins are commonly employed, which are ideally replaced by other, more sustainable sources, such as insect proteins. In this study, lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) protein concentrate (LMPC) is assessed and compared to whey protein (WPI) and pea protein (PPI), to stabilize W₁/O/W₂ emulsions and encapsulate a commercial polyphenol. The results show that LMPC is able to stabilize W₁/O/W₂ emulsions comparably to whey protein and pea protein when using a low-energy membrane emulsification system. The final droplet size (d_4,3) is 7.4 μm and encapsulation efficiency is between 72 and 74%, regardless of the protein used. Under acidic conditions, the LMPC shows a similar performance to whey protein and outperforms pea protein. Under alkaline conditions, the three proteins perform similarly, while the LMPC-stabilized emulsions are less able to withstand osmotic pressure differences. The LMPC stabilized emulsions are also more prone to droplet coalescence after a freeze–thaw cycle than the WPI-stabilized ones, but they are the most stable when exposed to the highest temperatures tested (90 °C). The results show LMPC’s ability to stabilize multiple emulsions and encapsulate a polyphenol, which opens the door for application in foods.

BACKGROUND Using social media is among the most common activity of adults and older people. Social media provides people a new way to communicate with their friends, children, and grandchildren; to receive and provide social support; and to have access to knowledge and entertainment. However, does social media use led to changes in cognitive function in older adults are not well understood currently. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to systematically review what is the association between social media use and cognitive function among older adults. METHODS PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, CNKI, Wang Fang, and CBM were searched systematically from inception until October 31, 2023. The inclusion criteria were that the study had to be published in peer-reviewed journals and were written in English and Chinese, had full-text availability, target general older adults aged 55 years or older, and assessed any kinds of social media exposure and cognitive function. In total, two researchers independently and collaboratively assessed the eligibility of the retrieved articles and elicited the relevant data and findings using tables and charts. RESULTS A total of 7 studies were included: 3 experimental studies and 4 cross-sectional studies (6 English papers and 1 Chinese paper). The SQAC checklist ranged from 0.45 to 0.71. Of the 7 included studies, five were of medium quality, and two were of low quality. Among three experimental studies, one study showed that there was no significant cognitive improvement for treatment groups (social media intervention) versus the control groups; another two studies found the beneficial effects of the social media intervention on aspects of cognitive function, although the effect disappeared at follow-up in one study. For four cross-sectional studies, all studies reported that compared to social media non-users, social media users had higher cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS Although the evidence on the association between social media use and cognitive function is limited (e.g., very small number of studies), most of studies reported that social media use is positive associated with cognitive function among older adults. We recommended more researchers to perform more high-quality longitudinal or experimental studies with a large sample size to investigate the association between social media use and cognitive function among older adults. CLINICALTRIAL This review was registered at PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023431985).