Dietary enrichment by almond supplementation: effects on risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Europe responsible for more than 4.3 million deaths annually. The World Health Organisation funded the Monica project (1980s-1990s) which monitored ten million subjects aged 22-6Syrs, and demonstrated that coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality declined over 10 years, was due in two thirds of cases to reduced incidence of CHD (reduced risk behaviours e.g. poor diet and smoking) and one third by improved treatments. Epidemiological evidence suggests diets rich in antioxidants decrease incidence of CVD. Regular consumption of nuts, rich in vitamin E and polyphenols reduces atherosclerosis, an important risk for heart disease. Intervention studies to date using alpha tocopherol (an active component of vitamin E) have not consistently proved beneficial. This thesis aims to investigate the effect of almond supplementation on vascular risk factors in healthy young males (18-3Syrs); mature males and female(>SOyrs); and males considered at increased risk of CVD (18-3Syrs) in a cohort of 67 subjects. The effects of almond intake were assessed after 2Sg/d for four weeks followed by SOg/d for four weeks and compared to a control group which did not consume almonds or change their diet. Cardiovascular risk was assessed by plasma lipid profiles, apolipoprotein A1, plasma nitrates/nitrates, vascular flow, BMl, blood pressure, sVCAM-1 and protein oxidation. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced in almond supplemented volunteers but not in controls. Dietary monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acid content and total dietary fats were increased by almond supplementation. Neither sVCAM-1, venous occlusion plethysmography nor plasma nitrite levels were affected by almond intake in any independent group. No significant changes in plasma lipids, and apolipoprotein A1 were observed. In conclusion almonds supplementation caused a reduction in blood pressure that may be due to increased sensitivity of the baroreceptors after increased monounsaturated fatty acid intake.

Management of nut allergy influences quality of life and anxiety in children and their mothers

Nut allergy is known to impact on the quality of life (QoL) and anxiety of both the allergic child and their parents, but little is known about how the management of food allergy is associated with these variables. To investigate the impact of nut allergy on QoL and anxiety in mothers and children with nut allergy in order to identify management strategies that may influence these factors. Forty-one nut allergic children (age 6–16 yrs) and their mothers completed questionnaires to assess maternal and children’s QoL (PedsQL™, WHOQOL-BREF, FAQL-PB), anxiety (SCAS, STAI) and perceived stress scale (PSS). Children also completed a nut allergy specific QoL questionnaire. Demographic data, details of previous reactions, test results and management plans were collected using parent-report questionnaires and hospital notes. Children with nut allergy had poorer emotional (p = 0.004), social (p = 0.043), and psychological (p = 0.006) QoL compared to healthy normative data. Maternal and child QoL and anxiety were not influenced by the severity of previous reactions. Mother and child reported lower anxiety (p = 0.043 and p < 0.001 respectively) when the child was prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector. Anxiety was not associated with whether the child carried the auto-injector or whether they strictly avoided traces of nuts in foods. Prescribing auto-injectors is associated with reduced anxiety for food allergic children and their mothers, but is not associated with improved adherence with medical management or reduced risk-taking behavior.

The psychological impact of diagnostic food challenges to confirm the resolution of peanut or tree nut allergy

Background - Twenty percent of children outgrow peanut allergy and 10% outgrow tree nut allergy. Resolution can be confirmed by a food challenge. Little is known about the psychosocial impact of the challenge. We aimed to investigate effects of a food challenge on anxiety, stress and quality of life (QoL) in children and their mothers on the day of a food challenge to peanuts or nuts, and in the months following the challenge. Methods - One hundred and three families participated. Forty children undergoing food challenges to access resolution of allergy, and their mothers, completed validated questionnaires to measure generic and food specific quality of life, stress and anxiety prior to challenge, on the day of investigation and 3–6 months later. Sixty-three children with no clinical indication to challenge (i.e. in the opinion of the allergist had persistent allergy) acted as comparison group completing questionnaires 3–6 months apart. Results - Mothers reported raised anxiety on the day of challenge (P = 0.007), but children were less anxious. The children (P = 0.01) and mothers (P = 0.01) had improved food-related, but not general, QoL 3–6 months following challenge. Children reported lower anxiety levels following the challenge (P = 0.02), but anxiety remained unchanged in mothers. The improvements in maternal and children's QoL and anxiety levels were irrespective of the challenge outcome and despite co-existing food allergies in 50% of children. Conclusions - Mothers experienced increased anxiety on the day of food challenge, unlike the children, perhaps reflecting the differences in their perceived risks. Food challenges are associated with improved food-related QoL in the following months even in those with a positive challenge.

Truthiness and falsiness of trivia claims depend on judgmental contexts

When people rapidly judge the truth of claims presented with or without related but nonprobative photos, the photos tend to inflate the subjective truth of those claims-a "truthiness" effect (Newman et al., 2012). For example, people more often judged the claim "Macadamia nuts are in the same evolutionary family as peaches" to be true when the claim appeared with a photo of a bowl of macadamia nuts than when it appeared alone. We report several replications of that effect and 3 qualitatively new findings: (a) in a within-subjects design, when people judged claims paired with a mix of related, unrelated, or no photos, related photos produced truthiness but unrelated photos had no significant effect relative to no photos; (b) in a mixed design, when people judged claims paired with related (or unrelated) and no photos, related photos produced truthiness and unrelated photos produced "falseness;" and © in a fully between design, when people judged claims paired with either related, unrelated, or no photos, neither truthiness nor falsiness occurred. Our results suggest that photos influence people's judgments when a discrepancy arises in the expected ease of processing, and also support a mechanism in which-against a backdrop of an expected standard-related photos help people generate pseudoevidence to support claims. (PsycINFO Database Record)