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1. Disparities exist between the dietary intake of Indigenous Australian women during pregnancy and the Australian dietary guidelines: the Gomeroi gaaynggal study

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12550  

   Lee, Y. Q. ; Collins, C. E. ; Schumacher, T. L. ; Weatherall, L. J. ; Keogh, L. ; Sutherland, K. ; Gordon, A. ; Rae, K. M. ; Pringle, K. G. ( March 2018 , Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics)

   Little is known about the adequacy of nutrient intakes and the overall diet quality of Indigenous Australian pregnant women. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to assess nutrient sufficiency and diet quality, as measured using the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS), in pregnant women from theGomeroi gaaynggalcohort (n= 58).

   Maternal dietary intake during pregnancy was assessed using the Australian Eating Survey Food Frequency Questionnaire, which was self‐administered in the third trimester. Diet quality was determined using theARFS. Food group servings and nutrient intakes were compared to the Australian Guide to Health Eating (AGHE) and Australian Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs). The current analysis examined the adequacy of usual intakes from food sources only, excluding supplements.

   None of the women met allAGHEdaily food group serving recommendations. The highest alignment rates were for dairy (33%), meat/alternatives (31%) and vegetables (29.3%). Almost 93% of participants exceeded the recommended intake of energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods and percentage energy from saturated fat was high (15%). Of the five key nutrients for optimal reproductive health (folate, iron, calcium, zinc and fibre), the nutrients with the highest percentage of pregnant women achieving theNRVs were zinc (77.6%) and folate (68.9%), whereas iron was the lowest. Only one person achieved allNRVs (folate, iron, calcium, zinc and fibre) important in pregnancy. The medianARFSwas 28 points (maximum of 73).

   Although the small cohort limits the generalisability of the findings of the present study, the data obtained indicate that the diets of these Indigenous pregnant women are inadequate. Therefore, strategies aiming to optimise nutrient intakes of Indigenous pregnant women are needed urgently.

    

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2. Naked Clams to open a new sector in sustainable nutritious food production

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-023-00004-y  

   Willer, David F. ; Aldridge, David C. ; Mehrshahi, Payam ; Papadopoulos, Konstantinos P. ; Archer, Lorraine ; Smith, Alison G. ; Lancaster, Max ; Strachan, Alex ; Shipway, J. Reuben ( November 2023 , npj Sustainable Agriculture)

   The global population urgently requires alternative food sources that provide the micronutrient-rich profile of meat and fish but with lower environmental cost. We present a solution in the form of ‘Naked Clams’ (teredinids/shipworms) - a seldom researched group of bivalves, that feature tiny shells and live in and feed on wood, turning it into protein and essential nutrients. We report the first pilot system for Naked Clam aquaculture, the first nutritional profile and feeding efficacy assessment, and demonstrate value offered by microencapsulated feeds in fortifying Naked Clams. Naked Clams were rich in nutrients including vitamin B₁₂and monounsaturated fatty acids, and shared the high protein content of conventional bivalves such as blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Microencapsulated algal feeds enriched the Naked Clams with essential PUFAs including EPA and DHA, with potential for further tailoring. Additional work is required, but this study represents a gateway to a new form of sustainable food production.

    

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3. Essential omega‐3 fatty acids are depleted in sea ice and pelagic algae of the Central Arctic Ocean

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17090  

   Schmidt, Katrin ; Graeve, Martin ; Hoppe, Clara J. ; Torres‐Valdes, Sinhué ; Welteke, Nahid ; Whitmore, Laura M. ; Anhaus, Philipp ; Atkinson, Angus ; Belt, Simon T. ; Brenneis, Tina ; et al ( January 2024 , Global Change Biology)

   Microalgae are the main source of the omega‐3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), essential for the healthy development of most marine and terrestrial fauna including humans. Inverse correlations of algal EPA and DHA proportions (% of total fatty acids) with temperature have led to suggestions of a warming‐induced decline in the global production of these biomolecules and an enhanced importance of high latitude organisms for their provision. The cold Arctic Ocean is a potential hotspot of EPA and DHA production, but consequences of global warming are unknown. Here, we combine a full‐seasonal EPA and DHA dataset from the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO), with results from 13 previous field studies and 32 cultured algal strains to examine five potential climate change effects; ice algae loss, community shifts, increase in light, nutrients, and temperature. The algal EPA and DHA proportions were lower in the ice‐covered CAO than in warmer peripheral shelf seas, which indicates that the paradigm of an inverse correlation of EPA and DHA proportions with temperature may not hold in the Arctic. We found no systematic differences in the summed EPA and DHA proportions of sea ice versus pelagic algae, and in diatoms versus non‐diatoms. Overall, the algal EPA and DHA proportions varied up to four‐fold seasonally and 10‐fold regionally, pointing to strong light and nutrient limitations in the CAO. Where these limitations ease in a warming Arctic, EPA and DHA proportions are likely to increase alongside increasing primary production, with nutritional benefits for a non‐ice‐associated food web.

    

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4. A Decision Framework for Selecting Critically Important Nutrients from Aquatic Foods

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-023-00397-5  

   Zamborain-Mason, Jessica ; Viana, Daniel ; Nicholas, Khristopher ; Jackson, Erin D. ; Koehn, J. Zachary ; Passarelli, Simone ; Yoo, Seo-Hyun ; Zhang, Angela W. ; Davin, Hannah C. ; Duggan, Christopher P. ; et al ( May 2023 , Current Environmental Health Reports)

   Aquatic foods are increasingly being recognized as a diverse, bioavailable source of nutrients, highlighting the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for human nutrition. However, studies focusing on the nutrient supply of aquatic foods often differ in the nutrients they examine, potentially biasing their contribution to nutrition security and leading to ineffective policies or management decisions.

   We create a decision framework to effectively select nutrients in aquatic food research based on three key domains: human physiological importance, nutritional needs of the target population (demand), and nutrient availability in aquatic foods compared to other accessible dietary sources (supply). We highlight 41 nutrients that are physiologically important, exemplify the importance of aquatic foods relative to other food groups in the food system in terms of concentration per 100 g and apparent consumption, and provide future research pathways that we consider of high importance for aquatic food nutrition.

   Overall, our study provides a framework to select focal nutrients in aquatic food research and ensures a methodical approach to quantifying the importance of aquatic foods for nutrition security and public health.

    

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5. Dietary generalists and nutritional specialists: Feeding strategies of adult female blue monkeys ( Cercopithecus mitis ) in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23016  

   Takahashi, Maressa Q. ; Rothman, Jessica M. ; Raubenheimer, David ; Cords, Marina ( July 2019 , American Journal of Primatology)

   Generalist primates eat many food types and shift their diet with changes in food availability. Variation in foods eaten may not, however, match variation in nutrient intake. We examined dietary variation in a generalist‐feeder, the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis), to see how dietary food intake related to variation in available food and nutrient intake. We used 371 all‐day focal follows from 24 adult females (three groups) in a wild rainforest population to quantify daily diet over 9 months. We measured food availability using vegetation surveys and phenology monitoring. We analyzed >700 food and fecal samples for macronutrient content. Subjects included 445 food items (species‐specific plant parts and insect morphotypes) in their diet. Variation in fruit consumption (percentage of diet and total kcal) tracked variation in availability, suggesting fruit was a preferred food type. Fruits also constituted the majority of the diet (by calories) and some fruit species were eaten more than expected based on relative availability. In contrast, few species of young leaves were eaten more than expected. Also, subjects ate fewer young leaves (based on calories consumed) when fruit or young leaves were more available, suggesting that young leaves served as fallback foods. Despite the broad range of foods in the diet, group differences in fiber digestibility, and variation that reflected food availability, subjects and groups converged on similar nutrient intakes (grand mean ± SD: 637.1 ± 104.7 kcal overall energy intake, 293.3 ± 46.9 kcal nonstructural carbohydrate, 147.8 ± 72.4 kcal lipid, 107.8 ± 12.9 kcal available protein, and 88.1 ± 17.5 kcal structural carbohydrate;N = 24 subjects). Thus, blue monkeys appear to be food composition generalists and nutrient intake specialists, using flexible feeding strategies to regulate nutrient intake. Findings highlight the importance of simultaneously examining dietary composition at both levels of foods and nutrients to understand primate feeding ecology.

    

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