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National funding to help foster healthier food environments and fight RHDResearch teams led by The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded $3.75 million to support two innovative projects – one focused on pioneering a national ‘Food Atlas’ to map access to healthy and unhealthy food across the country, and the other on developing new ways to prevent Strep throat and rheuma
Research
Macronutrients in Human Milk and Early Childhood Growth—Is Protein the Main Driver?Infant growth trajectories reflect current health status and may predict future obesity and metabolic diseases. Human milk is tailored to support optimal infant growth. However, nutrient intake rather than milk composition more accurately predicts growth outcomes. Although the role of protein leverage in infant growth is unclear, protein intake is important for early infancy growth.
Research
Recent developments and emerging trends in dietary vitamin D sources and biological conversionThis review elaborates on biochemical characteristics, in vivo metabolism, biological conversion through UV irradiation, as well as dietary fortification of vitamin D. Recent innovations in vitamin D utilization, including nanoencapsulation, direct or indirect addition, emulsion, ultrasound, microwave processing, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, as well as UV photoconversion, were summarized.
Research
Altered dietary behaviour during pregnancy impacts systemic metabolic phenotypesEvidence suggests consumption of a Mediterranean diet (MD) can positively impact both maternal and offspring health, potentially mediated by a beneficial effect on inflammatory pathways. We aimed to apply metabolic profiling of serum and urine samples to assess differences between women who were stratified into high and low alignment to a MD throughout pregnancy and investigate the relationship of the diet to inflammatory markers.
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A great way to bring up health behaviour topics at playgroup: a qualitative evaluation of the Healthy Conversations @ Playgroup programThe early years is a critical stage to establish optimal nutrition and movement behaviours. Community playgroups are a relaxed environment for parents with a focus on social connection and supporting parents in their role as 'First Teachers'. Playgroups are therefore an opportunistic setting to promote health behaviours in the early years.
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Allergen shedding in human milk: Could it be key for immune system education and allergy prevention?In addition to being a source of nutrients for the developing newborn, human milk contains thousands of bioactive compounds, which influence infant health in the short-term as exemplified by its major benefits on infectious disease prevention. Many of the human milk compounds also have the required characteristics to instruct immune development and guide long-term health.
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Metagenomic Characterisation of the Gut Microbiome and Effect of Complementary Feeding on Bifidobacterium spp. in Australian InfantsComplementary feeding induces dramatic ecological shifts in the infant gut microbiota toward more diverse compositions and functional metabolic capacities, with potential implications for immune and metabolic health. The aim of this study was to examine whether the age at which solid foods are introduced differentially affects the microbiota in predominantly breastfed infants compared with predominantly formula-fed infants.
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Energy drink intake is associated with insomnia and decreased daytime functioning in young adult femalesTo investigate the association between energy drink (ED) use and sleep-related disturbances in a population-based sample of young adults from the Raine Study.
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The relationship between meal carbohydrate quantity and the insulin to carbohydrate ratio required to maintain glycaemia is non-linear in young people with type 1 diabetes: A randomized crossover trialTo determine if the relationship between meal carbohydrate quantity and the insulin to carbohydrate ratio (ICR) required to maintain glycaemia is linear in people with type 1 diabetes.
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Effectiveness of Foodbank Western Australia’s food sensations® for adults food literacy program in regional AustraliaFood Sensations for Adults, funded by the Western Australian Department of Health, is a four-week nutrition education program focused on food literacy, with demonstrated success amongst Western Australians. In the last two years, 25% of programs have been in regional and remote areas and therefore the aim of this research is to explore the impact of the program in regional areas.