Epidemiologic data have established a continuous relationship between vascular risk and blood pressure that extends down to levels as low as 115/75 mmHg and doubles with each increment of 20/10 mmHg (1-4), emphasizing the lack of a critical threshold value that defines 'high' blood pressure. Acknowledging the graded and continuous nature of the relations of blood pressure to vascular risk all the International guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of arterial hypertension (2-4) introduced the new concepts of "high-normal blood pressure” and “pre-hypertension".

The implementation of health claims legislation in the European Union has involved a steep learning curve for everyone. While a few years ago many food companies were quite enthusiastic about the ideas of the easier circulation of goods within the community and protecting the consumer from misleading claims, the picture today is no longer so clear. Due to the high standards needed for the scientific substantiation of health claims, many currently used health claims will soon be banned from the market.

Plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants and polyphenols. It has been reported that the polyphenol-rich Mediterranean Diet as well as flavonoid-rich foods (cocoa, red wine, olive oil etc.) are able to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. According to this, the Mediterranean Diet has been considered a correlated food model to the style of life. Further, flavonoids seem to be a fundamental part of “healthy diets”

The increased momentum for mass participation events, such as marathons and triathlons, across the globe has triggered a boom for sports nutrition products. The sports nutrition category itself is tremendously diverse. From tablets, to powders, to bars, gels and other supplements – the choice available to today’s active consumer is staggering

Satiation, the processes leading to termination of a meal, and satiety, the state of inhibition over eating after a meal, both arise through the integration of cognitive, sensory and post-ingestive signals arising from consumption of foods and drinks. Although signals arising from nutrient ingestion are important, especially for satiety, both satiation and satiety are influenced by more cognitive aspects of the consumer experience. Recent research in particular highlights the importance of expectations about the likely effects of consumption and memories of effects of related products as elements of both satiation and satiety. This brief review assesses some of these psychological influences and discusses their implications for effective product development

Obesity incidence and prevalence rates are extremely high and growing, in both sexes and in all age groups. The consequences on physical and psychological status, on disability, on the quality of life call for complex and coordinated action strategies, both in terms of primary prevention and in terms of treatment and secondary prevention. The definition of these strategies must concern authorities in charge of public health, research centres, scientific societies, basic and specialist health facilities. On the basis of international scientific literature and experiences carried out in Italy, the rehabilitation approach proves to be the most appropriate for the treatment of obesity: it is best suited for the chronic features and the presence of co-morbidity and disabilities and the need to have various professionals involved in the treatment.

The purpose of this work was to test the efficacy of three kind of different diet on some health risk factors. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the effects of diets, amount of carbohydrate intake and use of phytoextracts on weight loss, body composition and related risk factors and on metabolic values as Resting Energy Expenditure (REE ) and Respiratory Ratio (RR).We tested 44 subjects randomly assigned to one of 3 groups of diet: Mediterranean (MED), Zone (ZON) and Tisanoreica® i.e. ketogenic diet plus phytoextracts (TIS). Anthropometry, blood chemistry and urine analysis were performed. After 40 days TIS led to a significant average weight and fat loss compared to ZON and MED . Moreover TIS showed a significant reduction in fasting glucose whilst there weren't significant differences in creatinine, uric acid and urea. ..

Omega 3 fatty acids derived from fish oils have been shown to be associated with improved health, cardiac function and several other benefits. Fish oils are a major source of these components but the level is insufficient for use in nutritional supplements. Also, the ethyl ester of the fatty acids is not as bio-available as a tri-glyceride making the latter form preferable. This article examines enzymatic routes for the production of omega 3 concentrates and future possibilities for new production processes.

Probiotics are defined as “living microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. Classically, searching for bacterial strains able to exert beneficial effects on human health has been focused on the natural inhabitants of our gastrointestinal tract, mainly being directed at members of the genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. In the last few years, a substantial body of scientific evidence suggests that other bacterial genera could rationally be screened for use as probiotics. We have focused the present article on this issue and, more precisely, on the commensal microbiota of human milk...

Dairy proteins are subject for research on their functional properties already for many years. However, recently, more attention was given to a functionality of dairy-derived peptides that can be described as interaction-modulating activity. Protein-protein interactions are crucial for the properties of the protein network that is formed during the manufacturing of protein-based food products. The properties of the protein network are important for the texture which is a main determinant for consumers for liking a food product

Cognitive decline in the elderly is a significant public health issue. Oxidative stress and inflammation are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of cognitive decline. Given their role as anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, dietary carotenoids may play a role in the prevention, delay, or progression of cognitive decline. Of all the carotenoids, -carotene has been the most study. While the reported evidence is not entirely consistent, there is suggestion that increase carotenoids status may be beneficial. Additionally, lutein and zeaxanthin may be of particular importance since, among the carotenoids, they are preferentially taken up into neural tissue