Blood and urine tests have been found to detect the amount of ultraproced food (UPF) that a person eats, according to new research.
Using machinery teaching, scientists at the National Institute of Health (NIH) identified hundreds of metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism) associated with processed food.
The team developed a “result of the biomarker” that envisions the intake of ultraproced food based on blood metabolite measurements and hunger, according to Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., MPH, of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.
Researchers withdrew initial data from 718 elderly who provided urine and blood samples and reported their dietary habits for a 12-month period, as detailed in a press release from NIH.
Next, they perform a small clinical test of 20 adults.
For two weeks, the group ate a high diet in ultraproced food, and for two more weeks ate a diet without UPF.
“In our study, we found that hundreds of serum and urine metabolites were related to percentage energy from getting ultraproced food,” Loftfield told Fox News Digital.
The findings were published in Plos Medicine magazine.
Large-scale studies investigating the health risks of ultraproced foods often rely on self-reported dietary questionnaires, which may be prone to errors, for nihs.
The new blood and urine test helps reduce human error using objective biomarkers, an increasing area of interest among researchers.
Loftfield added, “It was surprising to find that UPF -related metabolites are involved in numerous and different biological routes, underlining the complex impact of the diet on the metabolom.”
Ultraproced foods are defined as “products ready to eat or ready, industrially manufactured products, usually high in calories and low with essential nutrients”, according to NIH.
Chronic diseases, overweight and various forms of cancer have been related to diets that are severe in UPF.
Looking forward
Despite the promising results, the researchers noted that the new method would require further validity before wider use.
Since the current trial focused mainly on the elderly, researchers say more research is needed in different age groups and diet.
“Metabolite results should be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of upf intake,” Loftfield admitted.
This method can potentially be used in future research to link the consumption of foods processed with chronic diseases, according to researchers.
“For individuals worried about getting ultraproced food, a practical recommendation is to use nutritional facts to avoid high foods in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, as this can limit the upf and approximation with strong scientific research on diet and health,” Loftfield suggested.
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