This Opinion of the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA) deals with the setting of Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) for fats. A lower bound of the reference intake range for total fat of 20 energy % (E%) and an upper bound of 35 E% are proposed. Fat intake in infants can gradually be reduced from 40 E% in the 6 12 month period to 35–40 E% in the 2nd and 3rd year of life. For specific fatty acids the following is proposed: saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans fatty acid intake should be as low as possible; not to set any DRV for cis-monounsaturated fatty acids; not to formulate a DRV for the intake of total cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); not to set specific values for the n-3/n-6 ratio; to set an Adequate Intake (AI) of 4 E% for linolenic acid; not to set any DRV for arachidonic acid; not to set an UL for total or any of the n 6 PUFA; to set an AI for alpha-linilenic acid (ALA) of 0.5 E% not to set an UL for ALA; to set an AI of 250 mg for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for adults; to set an AI of 100 mg DHA for infants (>6 months) and young children <24 months; to increase by 100 200 mg preformed DHA in addition to the AI for adults as an adequate supply of n-3 long chain PUFA during pregnancy and lactation; not to set any DRV for conjugated linoleic acid. For cholesterol it was decided not to propose a reference value beside the limitation on the intake of SFA.

https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/6355881/prod11324452634179.Scientific.pdf

Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats, including saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, and cholesterol

Identification of a Lipokine, a Lipid Hormone Linking Adipose Tissue to Systemic Metabolism

Essential fatty acids in growth and development

Objectives. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6) are important for development of the central nervous system in mammals. There is a growth spurt in the human brain during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first postnatal months, with a large increase in the cerebral content of AA and DHA. The fetus and the newborn infant depend on maternal supply of DHA and AA. Our hypothesis was that maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy and lactation is marginal and that high intake of this fatty acid would benefit the child. We examined the effect of supplementing pregnant and lactating women with very-long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; cod liver oil) on mental development of the children, compared with maternal supplementation with long-chain n-6 PUFAs (corn oil). Methods. The study was randomized and double-blinded. Pregnant women were recruited in week 18 of pregnancy to take 10 mL of cod liver oil or corn oil until 3 months after delivery. The cod liver oil contained 1183 mg/10 mL DHA, 803 mg/10 mL eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3), and a total of 2494 mg/10 mL ∑ n-3 PUFAs. The corn oil contained 4747 mg/10 mL linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) and 92 mg/10 mL α-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3). The amount of fat-soluble vitamins was identical in the 2 oils (117 μg/mL vitamin A, 1 μg/mL vitamin D, and 1.4 mg/mL dl-α-tocopherol). A total of 590 pregnant women were recruited to the study, and 341 mothers took part in the study until giving birth. All infants of these women were scheduled for assessment of cognitive function at 6 and 9 months of age, and 262 complied with the request. As part of the protocol, 135 subjects from this population were invited for intelligence testing with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) at 4 years of age. Of the 135 invited children, 90 came for assessment. Six children did not complete the examination. The K-ABC is a measure of intelligence and achievement designed for children aged 2.5 years through 12.5 years. This multisubtest battery comprises 4 scales: Sequential Processing, Simultaneous Processing, Achievement (not used in the present study), and Nonverbal Abilities. The Sequential Processing and Simultaneous Processing scales are hypothesized to reflect the child’s style of problem solving and information processing. Scores from these 2 scales are combined to form a Mental Processing Composite, which serves as the measure of intelligence in the K-ABC. Results. We received dietary information from 76 infants (41 in the cod liver oil group and 35 in the corn oil group), documenting that all of them were breastfed at 3 months of age. Children who were born to mothers who had taken cod liver oil ( n = 48) during pregnancy and lactation scored higher on the Mental Processing Composite of the K-ABC at 4 years of age as compared with children whose mothers had taken corn oil ( n = 36; 106.4 [7.4] vs 102.3 [11.3]). The Mental Processing Composite score correlated significantly with head circumference at birth ( r = 0.23), but no relation was found with birth weight or gestational length. The children’s mental processing scores at 4 years of age correlated significantly with maternal intake of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid during pregnancy. In a multiple regression model, maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy was the only variable of statistical significance for the children’s mental processing scores at 4 years of age. Conclusion. Maternal intake of very-long-chain n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy and lactation may be favorable for later mental development of children.

Maternal supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation augments children's IQ at 4 years of age.

Interferon-α (IFNα) and IFNβ, collectively known as type I IFNs, are the major effector cytokines of the host immune response against viral infections. However, the production of type I IFNs is also induced in response to bacterial ligands of innate immune receptors and/or bacterial infections, indicating a broader physiological role for these cytokines in host defence and homeostasis than was originally assumed. The main focus of this Review is the underappreciated immunomodulatory functions of type I IFNs in health and disease. We discuss their function in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses, the response to bacterial ligands, inflammasome activation, intestinal homeostasis and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

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Immunomodulatory functions of type I interferons

Intrauterine fatty acid accretion rates in human brain: implications for fatty acid requirements

Extrauterine fatty acid accretion in infant brain: implications for fatty acid requirements

Fatty acid utilization in perinatal de novo synthesis of tissues

Current concepts of the biomembrane will be extrapolated to membranes of homeotherms to illustrate the influence of the nature of dietary lipid in nutritionally complete diets on membrane polar head group content and fatty acid composition Utilizing animal models, the controlling influence of dietary long chain fatty acids on major lipid constituents of the mitochondrial membrane in cardiac tissue, the plasma membrane of liver, and the synaptosomal membrane in brain can be demonstrated Diet-induced alterations in membrane composition arc associated with demonstrable changes in the function of specific membrane proteins To illustrate this relationship, the effect of diet on mitochondrial ATPase activity and on a hormone receptor-stimulated function in the plasma membrane of the liver will be discussed These observations suggest that the diet fat modulates enzyme functions in vivo by changing the surrounding lipid environment in the membrane

Michael T. Clandinin

Papers

Intrauterine fatty acid accretion rates in human brain: implications for fatty acid requirements

Extrauterine fatty acid accretion in infant brain: implications for fatty acid requirements

Fatty acid utilization in perinatal de novo synthesis of tissues

Role of diet fat in subcellular structure and function.

Vitamin A and E content of human milk at early stages of lactation