In the National Institutes of Health, a group of adult volunteers participated in a tightly controlled food study. Some of the industrially manufactured elements-phases packed in periods, processed meat and domestic drinks artificially-while others receive newly prepared foods. But instead of relying on the descriptions of the participants for their meals, the researchers focused on analyzing the biological samples that were then collected, with the aim of revealing what the body itself could reveal about the diet.
In their new studies, researchers at the National Health Institutes describe a new way to discover the amount of very treated food-or UPF-which a person consumes, simply by analyzing his blood and urine. This represents the first time that scientists have determined the fingerprints of biological fingers that reliably reflect the individual eating of industrially manufactured foods.
Superized, everywhere-and uninterrupted
From sugary grains and soft drinks to the factory bread and frozen pizza, foods that are now prepared are now dominated by meals all over the world. In the United States, they represent approximately 60 % of the amount of calories for the average person. These foods are designed for a shelf life, flavor, and profit-often at the expense of nutrition.
But scientists have struggled to measure the amount of these foods that people already consume. Most studies depend on food diaries or food summons – unreliable tools like memory itself.
“There is a more objective procedure and possibly more accurate procedure,” said Erica Loffeld, an epidemic scientist at the National Cancer Institute and the main author of the study. Associated Press.
To treat this gap, Loftfield and their colleagues have turned into interlocations – the molecules produced by our bodies digestion and processing food. These small chemical effects remain in our blood and urine, providing a molecular shot of what we were eating.
In a study of 718 adults between the ages of 50 and 74, researchers collected blood and urine samples from each participant twice over a year. Participants also provided detailed dining records. Then scientists used machine learning to analyze more than 1000 futures, looking for patterns that are in line with the consumption of very treated food.
What they found was amazing. People with high UPF consumption – sometimes up to 82 % of daily calories – had distinctive metabolic signatures. Their samples contained more signs associated with type 2 diabetes and even the effects of chemicals associated with food packaging. On the contrary, they had a fewer plase of fresh fruits and vegetables.
To test their method, the team was based on data from a tightly controlled study in the clinical center of NIH, published in Cell metabolism. Twenty volunteers lived on the site and only ate what the researchers presented to them-two weeks of a diet rich in high-treated foods, followed by two weeks of whole foods, or vice versa.
Researchers can inform, accurately, when each participant has switched meals – not what they reported to eat, but what their blood and urine revealed.
“We have found this signature, which was predicted by this diet, which is characterized by high treatment and not just a specific nutrient here and there,” said Luftfield.
From these results, the team created what they call a “Metabolite”. With only 28 blood marks or 33 urine mark, scientists can estimate the amount of energy that someone derives from UPFS.
The road forward
The study was not intended to prove that very treated foods caused health problems. It also does not specify the components – emulsions, preservatives and artificial sweeteners – may be the real perpetrators.
However, the ability to measure the UPF object objectively can help decipher these threads. With this tool, researchers can reconsider old studies where biological samples have been rescued but the diet has been poorly documented. They can follow the health results in the long run-including cancer-unprecedented.
If the authenticity of the replacement registration is validated in larger and more diverse groups, he can enter into a new era of nutrition science – which listens to what people say, and more than that to what their bodies reveal.
“We are somewhat trapped in the industrial food production system where we all eat highly treated food,” Robinson said. nature. “It is very difficult for most people to return to fresh food, because our nutritional systems are now prepared like this.”
However, thanks to a few drops of blood and urine, we may finally have a way to find out what this diet does – the molecule according to the molecule.
The results appeared in the magazine Plos Medicine.
