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Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-13T12:51:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Nicole Debia .pdf: 937336 bytes, checksum: bad36ec63406f017da7cd5fac9bf7eb3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-13T12:51:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nicole Debia .pdf: 937336 bytes, checksum: bad36ec63406f017da7cd5fac9bf7eb3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-21 / Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo - PUCSP / Aging is a process that incorporates changes not only biological, but also sociocultural, psychic and historical, characterized by its heterogeneity. With the advance of several sectors of Brazilian society, including primary and secondary health care systems, we experience the progression of longevity and the amount of elderly reaching the eighth decade of life and beyond. However, as the amount of years lived increases, so does the probability of vulnerability and disability. Behaviors involving appropriate eating habits, physical exercise practice and smoking abstention may contribute to prevent diseases and promote longevity. However, assimilation of proper feeding in routine depends on several sociocultural and economic factors. The central aim of this study was to investigate perceptions and representations of long-living older adults about their food habits, considering the relationship between food, longevity and their sociocultural meaning, more specifically: To systematize conceptual-theoretical basis of analysis to compose the references about aging, old age, culture and feeding; To outline the profile of the elderly respondents; and To characterize eating habits and their representations about food and longevity. This is an exploratory study with qualitative approach through content analysis and interviews with thirteen long-living older adults in São Paulo city. The sample profile consisted in high prevalence of women, widows, foreign and domestic (countryside inhabitants) immigrants, in cohabitation with other relatives, presence of chronic disease, Catholics, absence of smoking and financial vulnerability, in addition to low illiteracy level. All respondents reported changes in eating habits during their life course, mainly the ingestion of a greater sort of food. Among the main factors which influenced this practice, were included: information about the relationship between feeding and longevity received by media sources; food restriction from religious or cultural conceptions and the trivial food consumed over the years. It´s considered that beyond relationship between food consumption and life expectancy, conceptions related to other aspects were significant, among them, lifestyle and religiosity, illustrating aging complexity, as well as the need of multiprofessional engagement when thinking in health promotion. The importance of family proved to be significant and immigrant status was a preponderant factor in feeding patterns changes. Taboo-breaking shows itself essential, in view of new trials in feeding and nutrition sector. Finally, this research contributes to the development of new studies on the interface between nutrition and aging, as well as emerges as new a proposal in public policies in food sector and nutrition education programs focusing the elderly population / O envelhecimento é um processo que incorpora mudanças não somente biológicas, mas também socioculturais, psíquicas e históricas, caracterizando-se por sua heterogeneidade. Com o avanço de diversos setores da sociedade brasileira, incluindo saúde primária e secundária, nos deparamos com a progressão da longevidade e do número de idosos que atingem a oitava década de vida ou mais. Porém, juntamente com o aumento dos anos vividos, aumenta a probabilidade de vulnerabilidade e dependência. Atitudes que envolvam hábitos alimentares adequados, prática de exercícios físicos e abstenção do tabagismo podem contribuir para a prevenção de doenças e favorecer a longevidade. Entretanto, incorporar alimentação adequada na rotina depende de diversos fatores de ordem econômica e sociocultural. O objetivo central desta pesquisa foi investigar percepções e representações de idosos longevos sobre seus hábitos alimentares, considerando a relação entre alimentação, longevidade e seu significado sociocultural, mais especificamente: sistematizar a base teórico-conceitual das análises para composição de referências sobre envelhecimento, velhice, cultura e alimentação; delinear o perfil dos idosos entrevistados; caracterizar hábitos alimentares e suas representações sobre alimentação e longevidade. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório de abordagem qualitativa por meio da análise de conteúdo e entrevista com treze idosos longevos residentes no município de São Paulo. O perfil da amostra consistiu em maior prevalência de mulheres, viúvas, imigrantes estrangeiros e internos (zona rural), em coabitação com outros parentes, presença de doença crônica, católicos, ausência de tabagismo e de vulnerabilidade financeira, além de baixo nível de analfabetismo. Todos os entrevistados referiram mudança de hábitos alimentares ao longo da vida, principalmente em relação à ingestão de maior variedade de alimentos. Dentre os principais fatores que influenciaram nessa prática, foram incluídos: informações sobre a relação entre alimentação e longevidade recebidas principalmente pela mídia; restrição alimentar a partir de concepções religiosas ou culturais e o trivial consumido ao longo dos anos. Considera-se que, mais do que a relação do consumo alimentar com o longeviver, concepções relacionadas a outros aspectos vividos se fizeram expressivas, entre elas, o estilo de vida e religiosidade, demonstrando a complexidade do envelhecer, bem como a necessidade de engajamento multiprofissional ao se pensar na promoção da saúde. A importância da família mostrou-se significativa e a condição de imigrante foi fator preponderante na mudança de padrões alimentares. A quebra de tabus mostra-se essencial, tendo em vista novas experimentações no campo da alimentação. Coloca-se como possível contribuição da presente pesquisa o desenvolvimento de novos estudos com interface entre nutrição e envelhecimento, além da proposição de políticas públicas na área da alimentação e programas de educação nutricional voltados para o segmento idoso

Oxidative stress is the major driving force behind the aging process and many age-related diseases. However, direct experimental evidence of whether antioxidants, such as ascorbate (AA) and lipoic acid (LA) can slow the progression of aging process and/or reduce risks of developing degenerative disease is largely absent. This suggests a better understanding of the precise mechanism of how dietary micronutrient affect parameters of involved in cellular redox balance and aging are warranted. In this dissertation, young and old rats were used as our model to understand potential pro-oxidant events that contribute to increases in oxidative stress in various tissues and how antioxidants such as ascorbate and lipoic acid influence these events. Our major findings are that the age-related impairment of mitochondria and increased deposition of iron contribute significantly to heighten levels of oxidative stress, as evidenced by the resultant increases in the rates of oxidant appearance and in the levels of oxidative damage to DNA, lipids and proteins. We find that AA and LA strongly protected against transition metal-ion dependent increases in oxidative stress. AA effectively inhibited transition metal-mediated lipide peroxidation in human plasma. LA in its reduced form effectively binds iron and copper in a redox inactive manner and reversed chronically elevated levels of iron in the brain without removing enzyme bound transition metal ions. LA also significantly attenuated the age-related increase in oxidative stress associated with mitochondrial decay in the heart, as evidenced by the improvements in AA levels and glutathione redox status. The declines in tissue GSH levels in aged rats were strongly associated with the diminished γ-GCL activity (in parallel with decreased expression of the catalytic and modulatory subunits), and lowered Nrf2 expression and binding to ARE sequence in rat liver. Remarkably, all these events were effectively reversed by the administration of LA, modulating the parameters to return to the observed in young animals. The implications of this work open new avenues not only for further understanding of the aging process but also for possible strategies in its modulation by the micronutrients. / Graduation date: 2004