Dietary assessment and food grouping
Dietary intakes were assessed with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) validated for use in those patients. This FFQ was designed by a panel of nutritionists and included culture-specific dishes and recipes. It was tested on a convenient sample to check for clarity and cultural sensitivity. Daily gram intakes of food items, energy, and macronutrients intake of participants were computed using the food composition data base of the Nutritionist IV software (Nutritionist, 1993). In brief, participants were asked how often on average over the previous year they had consumed a specific amount of each food item with different quantities per the day or week or month or year or none at all during the last year based on food habits. To make sure each participant estimated correctly the portion eaten, examples of portion size were provided. From these data, we calculated the average daily intake of …show more content…
The total consumption for each group was determined by summing the daily gram intake of each item within the …show more content…
Serum was centrifuged on site and shipped on dry ice to the American University of Beirut Laboratory. Levels of TAG, HDL-C, and glucose were measured by an enzymatic spectrophotometeric technique using Vitros 350 analyzer (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Johnson & Jhonson, 50–100 Holmers Farm Way, High Wycombe, Buckighamshire, HP12 4DP, United Kingdom). The inter-assay variation of measurements did not exceed 4%. Quality control was performed within each run using standard performance verifier solutions provided by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics. All samples were analyzed in duplicates, and the average value was used in statistical
Dietary intakes were assessed with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) validated for use in those patients. This FFQ was designed by a panel of nutritionists and included culture-specific dishes and recipes. It was tested on a convenient sample to check for clarity and cultural sensitivity. Daily gram intakes of food items, energy, and macronutrients intake of participants were computed using the food composition data base of the Nutritionist IV software (Nutritionist, 1993). In brief, participants were asked how often on average over the previous year they had consumed a specific amount of each food item with different quantities per the day or week or month or year or none at all during the last year based on food habits. To make sure each participant estimated correctly the portion eaten, examples of portion size were provided. From these data, we calculated the average daily intake of …show more content…
The total consumption for each group was determined by summing the daily gram intake of each item within the …show more content…
Serum was centrifuged on site and shipped on dry ice to the American University of Beirut Laboratory. Levels of TAG, HDL-C, and glucose were measured by an enzymatic spectrophotometeric technique using Vitros 350 analyzer (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Johnson & Jhonson, 50–100 Holmers Farm Way, High Wycombe, Buckighamshire, HP12 4DP, United Kingdom). The inter-assay variation of measurements did not exceed 4%. Quality control was performed within each run using standard performance verifier solutions provided by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics. All samples were analyzed in duplicates, and the average value was used in statistical