Papers by Paolo Colombani
The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2005
Dear Sir:

Physiology & Behavior, 2004
The concepts of glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are among a new generation of so-calle... more The concepts of glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are among a new generation of so-called dynamic dietary guidelines. In contrast to classical static guidelines, these new guidelines do not primarily consider the absolute amount of energy or nutrient to be ingested within 24 h, but rather are focused on the postprandial response. It is claimed that low-GI and -GL diets favorably affect many noncommunicable diseases that are prevalent in developed countries, including type II diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer. During the past 20 years, considerable evidence has accumulated suggesting that low-GI or -GL diets indeed positively influence some but not all diseases. Because virtually no deleterious effects of low-GI and -GL diets have been documented thus far or are to be expected, the promotion of these diets should be considered in the management of noncommunicable diseases.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2006
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2011
Interest in food composition has a long history, but the compilation of food information into tab... more Interest in food composition has a long history, but the compilation of food information into tables did not start concomitantly with the advent of food composition analysis. Up to about the 1750s, “bodies” of the nature, including food, were considered to consist of three to five elements/principles, but thereafter, it gradually became more and more accepted that bodies were made
International Dairy Journal, 2010
... IT, and 18% SF, reflecting the analyzed mean fat contribution in three cattle genotypes (Alda... more ... IT, and 18% SF, reflecting the analyzed mean fat contribution in three cattle genotypes (Aldai, Najera, Dugan, Celaya, & Osoro, 2007 ... from fat disappearance data (using Switzerland as example), with dietary fat supply data from the Swiss Nutrition Report (Jacob, 2005) providing ...

International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 2009
Food-guide pyramids help translate nutrient goals into a visual representation of suggested food ... more Food-guide pyramids help translate nutrient goals into a visual representation of suggested food intake on a population level. No such guidance system has ever been specifically designed for athletes. Therefore, the authors developed a Food Pyramid for Swiss Athletes that illustrates the number of servings per food group needed in relation to the training volume of an athlete. As a first step, an average energy expenditure of 0.1 kcal . kg(-1) . min(-1) for exercise was defined, which then was translated into servings of different food groups per hour of exercise per day. Variable serving sizes were defined for athletes' different body-mass categories. The pyramid was validated by designing 168 daily meal plans according to the recommendations of the pyramid for male and female athletes of different body-mass categories and training volumes of up to 4 hr/d. The energy intake of the meal plans met the calculated reference energy requirement by 97% +/- 9%. The carbohydrate and pro...

Lipids in health and disease, 2005
Postprandial lipemia is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Single bouts of mo... more Postprandial lipemia is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Single bouts of moderate exercise may lower this risk, but the minimum duration of moderate intensity exercise that still lowers postprandial lipemia is not known. We, therefore, performed a dose-response study with a normal, daily life setting, to identify the minimum duration of moderate intensity walking that lowers postprandial lipemia in sedentary, healthy young men. Sixteen men performed three activity trials (30, 60, or 90 min of treadmill walking at 50% of their individual VO2max) and a control trial with no physical activity in a repeated measures crossover design. The subjects walked immediately before ingestion of the first of two mixed meals, which were served 3 h apart. The meals had a moderate fat content (0.5 g per kg body mass and 33% of total energy per meal) and a macronutrient composition corresponding to current recommendations. Each meal provided one third of the subject's estimat...
Therapeutische Umschau, 2000

British Journal of Nutrition, 2001
The effect of carbohydrate, protein and fat ingestion on simple as well as complex cognitive func... more The effect of carbohydrate, protein and fat ingestion on simple as well as complex cognitive functions and the relationship between the respective postprandial metabolic changes and changes in cognitive performance were studied in fifteen healthy male students. Subjects were tested in three sessions, separated by 1 week, for short-term changes in blood variables, indirect calorimetry, subjective performance and different objective performance tasks using a repeatedmeasures counterbalanced cross-over design. Measurements were made after an overnight fast before and hourly during 3 h after test meal ingestion. Test meals consisted of either pure carbohydrates, protein or fat and were served as isoenergetic (1670 kJ) spoonable creams with similar sensory properties. Most aspects of subjective performance did not differ between test meals. For all objective tasks, however, postprandial cognitive performance was best after fat ingestion concomitant with an almost constant glucose metabolism and constant metabolic activation state measured by glucagon:insulin (G:I). In contrast, carbohydrate as well as protein ingestion resulted in lower overall cognitive performance, both together with partly marked changes P , 0´001 in glucose metabolism and metabolic activation. They also differently affected specific cognitive functions P , 0´05 in relation to their specific effect on metabolism. Carbohydrate ingestion resulted in relatively better short-term memory and accuracy of tasks concomitant with low metabolic activation, whereas protein ingestion resulted in better attention and efficiency of tasks concomitant with higher metabolic activation. Our findings support the concept that good and stable cognitive performance is related to a balanced glucose metabolism and metabolic activation state.

Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 2002
ABSTRACT Data about the nutrition during ultraendurance competitions are scarce, with the excepti... more ABSTRACT Data about the nutrition during ultraendurance competitions are scarce, with the exceptions of few case reports. Because very long lasting sports events become more and more popular, we aimed to describe the nutritional intake during an extreme ultraendurance race carried out in Switzerland in 1998. The ultraendurance multisport race was 244 km long (48 km mountain biking, 122 km road cycling, 28 km roller blading, 3.5 km swimming, 42.5 km running; total altitude difference � 4000 m). The 12 male finishers participating in the study completed the race in a median (and range) time of 18.6 (17.0-19.8) hours. Their energy intake during the race was 22.6 (12.4-33.6) MJ and corresponded to 44 % of their estimated energy expenditure. Carbohydrate, protein, net fluid, and net sodium intake amounted to 60 (36-90) g h-1 , 0.8 (0.1-2.4) g kg-1 body mass, 560 (310-790) mL h -1, and 13 (7-19) mmol L-1 net fluid intake, respectively. In conclusion, the nutrition during the ultraendurance race was similar to the one recommended for shorter events like a marathon run and the focus was set upon a high carbohydrate intake.

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2000
Marathon runners have an increased risk of developing joint disease. During and after a 42-km run... more Marathon runners have an increased risk of developing joint disease. During and after a 42-km run, elevation of multiple cytokines occurs in the blood, reflecting inflammatory processes. We compared this cytokine response with serum levels of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA), two markers for joint metabolism and/or damage. Serum from eight endurance-trained runners was collected shortly before the start of a marathon run, after 31 km, 42 km, 2 h after the end, on the first and on the second morning after the run. For comparison, serum was obtained from 35 healthy controls and 80 patients with knee joint injury, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R, gp80), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor II (sTNFRII, p75), COMP and MIA were measured by ELISA. Compared with healthy controls, the runner's baseline serum levels of TNF-alpha, sIL-6R, COMP and MIA were significantly increased. COMP and MIA levels, higher than the upper normal limits of 5 microg/ml and 6 ng/ml respectively, were found in seven and five of eight runners. The elevated levels of COMP were similar to those found in joint injury or osteoarthritis, and the elevated levels of MIA were comparable to those reported in rheumatoid arthritis. During the run, the serum levels of IL-1RA, IL-6, TNF-alpha and COMP rose significantly, and gradually returned to baseline within 24 h. Only modest changes of CRP, sIL-6R, sTNFRII and MIA occurred during the run. Late elevations of CRP and MIA were observed after 24 and 48 h. The correlation analysis suggests associations between COMP, sIL-6R, TNF-alpha, IL-1RA on one hand and sTNFRII, and MIA and CRP on the other hand. Elevated baseline levels of COMP and MIA might reflect increased joint matrix turnover and/or damage due to prior extreme physical training. During the run, COMP was increasing possibly due to the severe physical strain on joint structures, associated with the early inflammation. After the run, MIA and CRP increased within 24 h, suggesting a correlation with later inflammatory processes. Thus, our data suggest that COMP and MIA are markers for distinct aspects of joint metabolism and/or damage in both disease and sport.

Nutrition Research, 2009
Cinnamon and vinegar or acetic acid were reported to reduce the postprandial blood glucose respon... more Cinnamon and vinegar or acetic acid were reported to reduce the postprandial blood glucose response. We hypothesized that the combination of these substances might result in an additive effect. Therefore, we determined the 2-hour postprandial blood glucose and satiety response to a milk rice meal supplemented with either cinnamon or acetic acid on their own or in combination. Subjects (n = 27) consumed the meal on 4 occasions as either pure (control trial), with 4 g cinnamon, 28 mmol acetic acid, or the combination of cinnamon + acetic acid. Blood glucose and satiety were assessed before eating and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes postprandially. At 15 minutes, the combination of cinnamon + acetic acid resulted in a significantly reduced blood glucose concentration compared with the control meal (P = .021). The incremental area under the blood glucose response curve over 120 minutes did, however, not differ between the trials (P = .539). The satiety score of the cinnamon + acetic acid trial was significantly higher than that in the control trial at 15 (P = .024) and 30 minutes (P = .024), but the incremental area under the curve of the satiety response did not differ (P = .116) between the trials. In conclusion, the significant effect of the combination of cinnamon and acetic acid on blood glucose and satiety immediately after meal intake indicated an additive effect of the 2 substances. Whether larger doses of cinnamon and acetic acid may result in a more substantial additive effect on blood glucose or satiety remains to be investigated.

Nutrition Journal, 2013
There is a consensus claiming an ergogenic effect of carbohydrates ingested in the proximity of o... more There is a consensus claiming an ergogenic effect of carbohydrates ingested in the proximity of or during a performance bout. However, in performance studies, the protocols that are used are often highly standardized (e.g. fasted subjects, constant exercise intensity with time-to-exhaustion tests), and do not necessarily reflect competitive real-life situations. Therefore, we aimed at systematically summarizing all studies with a setting mimicking the situation of a real-life competition (e.g., subjects exercising in the postprandial state and with time-trial-like performance tests such as fixed distance or fixed time tests). We performed a PubMed search by using a selection of search terms covering inclusion criteria for sport, athletes, carbohydrates, and fluids, and exclusion criteria for diseases and animals. This search yielded 16,658 articles and the abstract of 16,508 articles contained sufficient information to identify the study as non-eligible for this review. The screening of the full text of the remaining 150 articles yielded 17 articles that were included in this review. These articles described 22 carbohydrate interventions covering test durations from 26 to 241 min (mostly cycling). We observed no performance improvement with half of the carbohydrate interventions, while the other half of the interventions had significant improvement between 1% and 13% (improvement with one of five interventions lasting up to 68 min and with 10 of 17 interventions lasting between 70 and 241 min). Thus, when considering only studies with a setting mimicking real-life competition, there is a mixed general picture about the ergogenic effect of carbohydrates ingested in the proximity of or during a performance bout with an unlikely effect with bouts up to perhaps 70 min and a possible but not compelling ergogenic effect with performance durations longer than about 70 min.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1999

Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2008
This study investigated the influence of regular endurance training on the glycemic index (GI) of... more This study investigated the influence of regular endurance training on the glycemic index (GI) of a breakfast cereal in women as previous results from men indicate that endurance training may influence the GI. Subjects were 17 sedentary (SE) and 19 endurance trained (ET) healthy, young, adult women of normal body mass index. All subjects performed two tests with the reference food glucose and two tests with a breakfast cereal in a randomized order. Capillary and venous whole blood glucose as well as venous plasma insulin was measured. The GI did not differ between SE and ET, irrespective of its calculation from the capillary (mean +/- standard error: 61.4 +/- 4.3 and 69.5 +/- 4.7 for SE and ET respectively, p = 0.21) or the venous blood glucose (60.8 +/- 8.1 and 64.4 +/- 6.2, p = 0.72). The insulinemic index did not differ between the SE and ET subjects (p = 0.75). The results come along with many other data, indicating that the GI seems to be independent of subject-specific factors, but are in contrast to previous results obtained with men where we found a GI dependence on the training state.

European Journal of Nutrition - EUR J NUTR, 1997
The exercise-induced sweat nitrogen excretion was investigated during a 45-minute run at moderate... more The exercise-induced sweat nitrogen excretion was investigated during a 45-minute run at moderate intensity on a treadmill. Sweat was collected with a regional collection technique using gauze pads and compared with the whole-body wash-down (WBW) method. In the regional collection, sweat was sampled from the upper back (UB), lower back (LB), abdomen (AB), and thigh (TH). Additionally, the relation of sweat urea, ammonia, and amino acids was investigated with the regional collection method during a second 45-minute run. Independent of the sweat collection method, a significant and positive correlation was found between sweat rate and the excretion rate of the largest nitrogen fraction urea, suggesting that the sweating response to exercise might be one of the most important factors determining absolute sweat nitrogen losses. The urea nitrogen excretion was nearly 140 mg.h-1 in the second run, representing the largest nitrogen fraction. Ammonia nitrogen and amino acid-derived nitrogen rate were approximately 30 mg.h-1 and 10 mg.h-1, respectively. The comparison of the sampling methods during the first run revealed that the urea nitrogen rate was significantly higher, but the ammonia nitrogen rate significantly lower in the WBW. After summing urea and ammonia nitrogen, no significant difference between the methods was observed anymore, except for UB. It is concluded that the regional collection method using gauze pads is a valuable approach to measure exercise-induced sweat nitrogen losses during moderate running exercise.
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2011
Food composition data (FCD) are fundamental for nutrition science and also extensively used in th... more Food composition data (FCD) are fundamental for nutrition science and also extensively used in the public health domain. Advances in information technologies allowing rapid transmission of large data volumes likely will foster the development of new FCD uses and in the future FCD could be retrieved any time and location-independent (e.g. in supermarket and restaurants) through the use of mobile
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2009
Uploads
Papers by Paolo Colombani