plant-based foods Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Shocking Ingredient in Plant-Based Foods

The AHA! Team — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 05:05:42 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – Big Agra, mainstream medicine, and the media have all declared war on traditional protein-rich foods. I remember staying at my grandparents’ farm when I was growing up. I’d wake up to the smell of steak and eggs and race down the stairs to be the first at the table. Your grandparents most likely ate this way, too. But today, it’s a different story. Big Agra, mainstream medicine, and the media have all declared war on traditional protein-rich foods. As a result, you’ve been forced onto a radical, unhealthy, inflammatory, disease-producing diet without your consent. Then in 2016, the war on traditional foods took a drastic new turn. The vegan lifestyle was once again all the rage. Demand for plant-based meat and egg products soared with foods like the Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger, and Quorn “chicken” nuggets. These fake foods began to appear on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus everywhere. Big Agra wanted you to believe these “meat alternatives” were healthier than what nature provides. But they’re not. Clever marketing campaigns wanted you to believe that these meat mockeries taste just like the real thing. But they don’t. And the public knows it. Demand for these fake foods has plummeted. So what are the manufacturers of these knockoff products doing now? They’re adding animal fat back into them to get them to taste more like the real thing! I’ve been warning my patients to avoid meat alternatives for almost a decade. By definition, plant-based “egg and meat products” are processed, unnatural fake foods. They’re made from more than 50 ingredients that are decidedly unrelated to the animals they mimic. Most plant-based products also contain soy and seitan, which gives them their “authentic” texture. Despite the media and marketing hype around soy being a source of good health, the GMO frankenfood is one of the worst plant foods you can possibly consume. Soy is loaded with estrogen mimickers that cause erectile dysfunction, “man boobs,” loss of bone and muscle mass, and at least half a dozen different types of cancer. Soy also impairs insulin secretion and might actually cause diabetes. And new studies reveal that it may even be connected to dementia and mental illness.1,2 Meanwhile, seitan – also known as “wheat meat” – is a starchy, grain-based concoction made from gluten and is highly processed. And as you know, I’ve been recommending that you avoid grain-based foods for more than 30 years. If you followed a grain-based diet like the USDA recommends you’d be diseased, overweight, and prematurely old in no time at all. Unhealthy Ingredients Hiding in These Fake Foods These products, despite clever marketing, are anything but good for you. Soy and seitan, while horrible for your health, are at least real foods. The other ingredients hiding in your veggie burger are anything but… To get these ultra-processed meat alternatives to look and taste like real meat means they have a whole lot of chemical additives. Here’s a small example of what’s hiding in your plant “burger:” Tertiary butylhydroquinone. This synthetic preservative is linked to cancer, vision loss, liver enlargement, and convulsions in lab animals. Research suggests that in humans it damages the immune system, leaving you vulnerable to disease.3 Propylene glycol. This water-absorbing synthetic substance is often used in the cosmetic industry. But it’s also an ingredient in e-cigarettes and antifreeze. Magnesium carbonate. Used as a food additive to prevent caking and retain color, magnesium carbonate is also used in flooring, fireproofing, and fire-extinguishing compounds. Too much causes a laxative effect. Makers of meat alternatives point to studies that declare these compounds are safe. But here’s what they fail to mention… Independent research has discovered the “studies” have been funded or commissioned by the very same companies that manufacture these fake foods. Of course, you’ll never hear from the FDA or the mainstream media that meat alternatives are an unhealthy choice. They’re still pushing the big lie that cholesterol is bad for your heart and your health. As a regular reader, you know I consider the war on cholesterol one of the greatest health food cons of all time. Despite misinformation repeated endlessly by mainstream doctors, the media, and Big Agra, trying to remove animal fats and cholesterol from your diet is a bad idea. A meat-based diet is what made us the humans we are today. It’s grains, carbohydrates, and processed foods that cause excessive weight gain, inflammation, and chronic disease – not dietary fat. Bring Back Real Beef I consider grass-fed meat to be perhaps the healthiest food you can eat. Compared to grain-fed animals, products from grass-fed animals have 10 times more omega-3 fats, more vitamins B, E, D, and K2, more CoQ10 and zinc, and more antioxidants like glutathione and superoxide dismutase (SOD).4 But don’t be fooled by Big Food fakes. To make sure you’re getting the real deal, here’s what to look for: 1. Search For These Keywords When Shopping. Next time you’re shopping, keep an eye out for key terms that show your food isn’t coming from Big Agra farm. “Grass-fed and grass-finished” ensures animals ate a natural diet their whole lives and were never “fattened up” with grain. “Organic” signifies avoidance of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. “Biodynamic” farming goes even further, treating farms as closed, self-nourishing systems. 2. Order Your Food Online. For a list of farms that only raise grass-fed and finished meat, check out these two websites: American Grassfed, Eat Wild, and A Greener World. To order online, I suggest these sites: ✓ US Wellness Meats. I know the owner John Woods and I trust his products. ✓ Polyface Farms. The food from my friend Joel Salatin’s farm isn’t just healthier, it tastes a heck of a lot better. ✓ Okeechobee Farms. This farm is not too far from my clinic. They make and deliver the homemade bone broth I offer all my patients. 3. Look for third-party certification. Groups like AGA, A Greener World, or the Global Animal Partnership offer certification labels you can check to verify it is real grass-fed beef. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: Lavigne C, et al. “Cod and soy proteins compared with casein improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in rats.” Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2000;278(3):E491-E500. Svensson T, et al. “Midlife Intakes of the Isoflavone Genistein and Soy and the Risk of Late-life Cognitive Impairment: The JPHC Saku Mental Health Study.” J Epidemiol. 2023;33(7):342-349. Naidenko OV, et al. “Investigating Molecular Mechanisms of Immunotoxicity and the Utility of ToxCast for Immunotoxicity Screening of Chemicals Added to Food.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7):3332. Published 2021 Mar 24. Nogoy KMC, et al. “Fatty Acid Composition of Grain- and Grass-Fed Beef and Their Nutritional Value and Health Implication.” Food Sci Anim Resour. 2022;42(1):18-33. To read the original article click here.

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Studying Finds: Most Plant-Based Restaurant Meals are Unhealthy

The AHA! Team — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 05:10:19 +0000

Priyanjana Pramanik, MSc. via News-Medical – Many “vegan” meals aren’t as healthy as you think—new research reveals that refined grains, fried foods, and saturated fats are widespread in plant-based restaurant dishes. Are your plant-based choices really good for you? A recent study In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers examined the menus of restaurants around the world to see whether plant-based offerings at both omnivore (OMNI) and vegan or vegetarian (VEG) eateries are ‘healthful’ in terms of avoiding saturated fats, refined grains, and deep-fried foods. They found that many restaurants (with OMNI establishments being more limited than VEG) did not offer patrons enough choices of plant-based main courses and that 14-27% of restaurants had no healthful plant-based offerings at all. The research team hopes that these findings, combined with the established links between poor diets, chronic illnesses, and increased mortality rates, will encourage restaurants to make nutrition details of their dishes more readily available. Background Only 2% of restaurants earned a perfect health score—meaning nearly all plant-based menus included at least one unhealthy component like refined grains, fried foods, or saturated fats. An increasing number of people in the U.S. and worldwide are choosing to increase their intake of plant-based foods, and projections suggest that the American vegan market will grow 12% annually until 2030. Dairy and meat alternatives are more accessible than ever, with more groceries and OMNI restaurants offering plant-based options; there are also more dedicated VEG eateries. Dairy and meat alternatives are more accessible than ever People who choose to limit or eliminate their intake of animal-based foods are often motivated by environmental causes, animal welfare, religious beliefs, or health concerns, though it appears that 63% of the increase in plant-based consumption is driven by OMNI consumers. An estimated less than 2% of a national survey’s respondents said that they had adopted an entirely vegan or vegetarian diet for their health. However, certain plant-based foods, including sweets, sweetened beverages, fried foods, and refined grains, can have negative health impacts, such as increasing the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, or hypertension. Researchers caution that some unhealthy plant-based foods may pose even greater health risks In fact, researchers caution that some unhealthy plant-based foods may pose even greater health risks than a standard American diet due to their high sodium content, refined grains, and excessive saturated fats. The Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommends reducing or avoiding these foods and animal-based products rich in saturated fat and cholesterol. Individuals looking to make healthier dietary decisions when eating out should be offered an adequate number of choices that are free of fried foods, saturated fats, and refined grains while also having access to nutritional information to help identify high-risk menu items. About the Study U.S. restaurants offered slightly more healthful options than international ones, but the difference was small, showing that unhealthy plant-based meals are a global issue. Over three years, the research team visited a convenience sample of 561 eateries offering vegan options in 196 cities across 37 countries and six continents. Most of these were located in the U.S. (373), followed by Australia and several European countries. The restaurants included in the study had Internet listings on commercially available proprietary resources and search engines. Their menus were also available online and explicitly listed their vegan offerings. Some, including American franchises with 20 or more locations, provided nutritional information about their dishes, following a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandate. Restaurants were classified as having a full menu if they offered at least 10 plant-based main courses. They were then scored based on the number of healthful dishes in this group, receiving one point per healthful entrée, up to a maximum of 10. Healthy dishes were those that did not contain deep-fried ingredients (such as battered or crispy items, which can be carcinogenic), saturated fats (including coconut milk, coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter), or refined grains (such as white rice, white flour, and refined pasta, which have a high glycemic index but little fiber). Findings The 561 restaurants included in the analysis consisted of 283 OMNI and 278 VEG eateries. Researchers noted that two restaurants mistakenly labeled dishes containing animal products as vegan; these were excluded. Refined grains were the biggest health concern, with 40% of OMNI and 38% of VEG meals containing ingredients like white rice, white flour buns, and refined pasta, which have been linked to increased mortality. American restaurants vs. Other countries On average, American restaurants offered 6.6 plant-based main courses while non-U.S.-based ones offered 6.2, a statistically insignificant difference. However, American restaurants offered slightly more healthy dishes than those in other countries (3.4 compared to 2.9, though this was not statistically significant). Only 33 restaurants (28 OMNI and 5 VEG, or 10% and 2%, respectively) provided full nutrition facts online, including caloric, sodium, sugar, and saturated fat content. Only 33 restaurants provided full nutrition facts online OMNI restaurants had an average of 4.5 vegan main courses on their menus, compared to 8.4 for VEG restaurants. Approximately 59% of VEG eateries and only 16% of OMNI eateries had a full vegan menu. On average, the restaurants scored 3.2 out of 10, with VEG restaurants having significantly more healthy options (4.0/10) than OMNI restaurants (2.4/10). Only 2% of eateries included in the analysis received a score of 10, indicating that the main courses analyzed had no deep-fried ingredients, saturated fats, or refined grains. Conversely, 26% of OMNI and 14% of VEG restaurants received a score of 0. Score reductions happened most often due to the presence of refined grains (40% in OMNI and 38% in VEG cases). OMNI restaurants were more likely to be penalized for saturated fat content (12%), while VEG restaurants contained fried items more frequently (28%). Conclusions The researchers found that many options labeled as ‘vegan’ contain unhealthy ingredients, with dedicated VEG restaurants offering a greater proportion of healthy options than OMNI restaurants. However, refined grains, which are linked to increased mortality and chronic disease, were the most common reason for dishes being classified as unhealthy. Notably, U.S.-based restaurants were slightly more likely to offer healthy options. The study also highlights that nutritional transparency remains a challenge. Only a small fraction of restaurants provided detailed nutritional content, with disclosure being more common in OMNI restaurants—largely due to U.S. regulations requiring franchises with 20 or more locations to share this information. Restaurants respond to the preferences of their target consumers to be financially viable; often, the things that make food taste ‘good’ are what make it unhealthy. Additionally, several challenges keep individuals from forming healthy eating habits, including traditional and cultural norms, familiarity, aversion to change, affordability, accessibility, concerns about nutritional adequacy, emotional attachment, peer pressure, social norms, poor education, time constraints, and convenience. While the study provides valuable insights, it does have limitations. The sample was a convenience sample, primarily drawn from the U.S. and Westernized countries, meaning the findings may not be generalizable to all global regions. Additionally, assessments were based on online menu descriptions, which may not fully capture all nutritional details. Cardiovascular disease continues to be a leading driver of mortality in the U.S., and poor diet leads to other chronic diseases that increase healthcare costs and lives lost while reducing personal and economic productivity. Though this study’s findings are based on a convenience sample of restaurants and a select number of menu offerings, its results highlight clear policy implications. Restaurants should be encouraged to provide nutritional information More restaurants should be encouraged to provide nutritional information about the food they serve so that patrons can make informed decisions. Though eateries are businesses and not responsible for the health of their customers, they have the ability to reduce health risks by limiting the use of refined grains, excessive sodium, saturated fats, added sugar, and fried foods in their dishes. Given the well-established links between unhealthful diets, chronic disease, and mortality, the researchers suggest that regulatory bodies such as the FDA expand nutritional disclosure requirements beyond large franchises to include a broader range of restaurants. Journal reference: Healthful vs. Unhealthful Plant-Based Restaurant Meals. Williams, K.A., Horton, A.M., Baldridge, R.D., Ikram, M. Nutrients (2025). DOI: 10.3390/nu17050742, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/5/742 To read the original article click here.

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Is All Vegan Food Healthy?

The AHA! Team — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:03:40 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – How do healthier plant-based diets compare to unhealthy plant foods and animal foods when it comes to diabetes risk? In my video on flexitarians, I discuss how the benefits of eating a plant-based diet are not all-or-nothing. “Simple advice to increase the consumption of plant-derived foods with compensatory [parallel] reductions in the consumption of foods from animal sources confers a survival advantage”— a live-longer advantage. The researchers call it a “pro-vegetarian” eating pattern, one that’s moving in the direction of vegetarianism, “a more gradual and gentle approach.” The benefits of eating a plant-based diet are not all-or-nothing. If you’re dealing with a serious disease, though, like diabetes, completely “avoiding some problem foods is easier than attempting to moderate their intake. Clinicians would never tell an alcoholic to try to simply cut down on alcohol. Avoiding alcohol entirely is more effective and, in fact, easier for a problem drinker… Paradoxically, asking patients to make a large change may be more effective than making a slow transition. Diet studies show that recommending more significant changes increases the chances that patients can accomplish [them]. It may help to replace the common advice, ‘all things in moderation’ with ‘big changes beget big results.’ Success breeds success. After a few days or weeks of major dietary changes, patients are likely to see improvements in weight and blood glucose [sugar] levels—improvements that reinforce the dietary changes that elicited them. Furthermore, they may enjoy other health benefits of a plant-based diet” that may give them further motivation. As you can see below and at 1:43 in my video Friday Favorites: Is Vegan Food Always Healthy?, those who choose to eat plant-based for their health say it’s mostly for “general wellness or general disease prevention” or to improve their energy levels or immune function, for example. They felt it gives them a sense of control over their health, helps them feel better emotionally, improves their overall health, makes them feel better, and more, as shown below and at 1:48. Most felt it was very important for maintaining their health and well-being. For the minority who used it for a specific health problem, mostly high cholesterol or weight loss, followed by high blood pressure and diabetes, most reported they felt it helped a great deal, as you can see below and at 2:14. Some choose plant-based diets for other reasons, such as animal welfare or global warming, and it looks like “ethical vegans” are more likely to eat sugary and fatty foods, like vegan donuts, compared to those eating plant-based because of religious or health concerns, as you can see below and at 2:26 in my video. The veganest vegan could make an egg- and dairy-free cake, covered with frosting, marshmallow fluff, and chocolate syrup, topped with Oreos, and served with a side of Doritos. Or, they may want fruit for dessert, but in the form of Pop-Tarts and Krispy Kreme pies. Vegan, yes. Healthy, no. “Plant-based diets have been recommended to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, not all plant foods are necessarily beneficial.” In the pro-vegetarian scoring system I mentioned above, you get points for eating potato chips and French fries because they are technically plant-based, as you can see below and at 3:07 in my video, but Harvard researchers wanted to examine the association of not only an overall plant-based diet, but healthy and unhealthy versions. So, they created the same kind of pro-vegetarian scoring system, but it was weighted towards any sort of plant-based foods and against animal foods; then, they created a healthful plant-based diet index, where at least some whole plant foods took precedence and Coca-Cola and other sweetened beverages were no longer considered plants. Lastly, they created an unhealthful plant-based diet index by assigning positive scores to processed plant-based junk and negative scores for healthier plant foods and animal foods. Their findings? As you can see below and at 3:51 in my video, a more plant-based diet, in general, was good for reducing diabetes risk, but eating especially healthy plant-based foods did better, nearly cutting risk in half, while those eating more unhealthy plant foods did worse, as shown in the graph below and at 4:03. Now, is that because they were also eating more animal foods? People often eat burgers with their fries, so the researchers separated the effects of healthy plant foods, less healthy plant foods, and animal foods on diabetes risk. And, they found that healthy plant foods were protectively associated, animal foods were detrimentally associated, and less healthy plant foods were more neutral when it came to diabetes risk. Below and at 4:32 in my video, you can see the graph that shows higher diabetes risk with more and more animal foods, no protection whatsoever with junky plant foods, and lower and lower diabetes risk associated with more and more healthy whole plant foods in the diet. So, they concluded that, yes, “plant-based diets…are associated with substantially lower risk of developing T2D.” However, it may not be enough to just lower the intake of animal foods; consumption of less healthy plant foods may need to decrease, too. As a physician, labels like vegetarian and vegan just tell me what you don’t eat, but there are a lot of unhealthy vegetarian fare like French fries, potato chips, and soda pop. That’s why I prefer the term whole food and plant-based nutrition. That tells me what you do eat—a diet centered around the healthiest foods out there. The video I mentioned is Do Flexitarians Live Longer?. You may also be interested in some of my past popular videos and blogs on plant-based diets. Check related posts below. Key Takeaways Adopting a “pro-vegetarian” eating pattern is associated with a survival advantage and may contribute to a longer, healthier life. That means gradually increasing the consumption of plant-derived foods while reducing animal-based foods. In cases of serious diseases like diabetes, completely avoiding problematic foods may be more effective than attempting moderation. Making significant dietary changes can lead to rapid improvements in weight, blood glucose levels, and overall health, and reinforce positive habits. Individuals choosing a plant-based diet for health reasons often do so for general wellness, disease prevention, improved energy levels, and immune function. The sense of control over health, emotional well-being, and overall health improvements are common motivations. People may choose plant-based diets for various reasons, including health concerns, animal welfare, or environmental reasons. A study suggests that “ethical vegans” might be more inclined to consume sugary and fatty foods compared to those motivated by religious or health concerns. While plant-based diets are recommended to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, not all plant foods offer the same benefits. A diet emphasizing healthy plant-based foods significantly reduces diabetes risk, while an intake of unhealthy plant-based foods may be associated with higher risk. Researchers suggest that reducing animal foods and choosing healthy plant-based options are crucial for diabetes prevention. To read the original article click here.

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Small Changes in Diet Can Yield Substantial Gains for the Environment and Human Health

AHA Publisher — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 07:00:43 +0000

University of Michigan via News Medical – Eating a hot dog could cost you 36 minutes of healthy life, while choosing to eat a serving of nuts instead could help you gain 26 minutes of extra healthy life, according to a University of Michigan study. The study, published in the journal Nature Food, evaluated more than 5,800 foods, ranking them by their nutritional disease burden to humans and their impact on the environment. It found that substituting 10% of daily caloric intake from beef and processed meats for a mix of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and select seafood could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by one-third and allow people to gain 48 minutes of healthy minutes per day. “Generally, dietary recommendations lack specific and actionable direction to motivate people to change their behavior, and rarely do dietary recommendations address environmental impacts,” said Katerina Stylianou, who did the research as a doctoral candidate and postdoctoral fellow in the the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at U-M’s School of Public Health. She currently works as the Director of Public Health Information and Data Strategy at the Detroit Health Department. This work is based on a new epidemiology-based nutritional index, the Health Nutritional Index, which the investigators developed in collaboration with nutritionist Victor Fulgoni III from Nutrition Impact LLC. HENI calculates the net beneficial or detrimental health burden in minutes of healthy life associated with a serving of food consumed. Calculating Impact on Human Health The index is an adaptation of the Global Burden of Disease in which disease mortality and morbidity are associated with a single food choice of an individual. For HENI, researchers used 15 dietary risk factors and disease burden estimates from the GBD and combined them with the nutrition profiles of foods consumed in the United States, based on the What We Eat in America database of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Foods with positive scores add healthy minutes of life, while foods with negative scores are associated with health outcomes that can be detrimental for human health. Adding Environmental Impact to the Mix To evaluate the environmental impact of foods, the researchers utilized IMPACT World+, a method to assess the life cycle impact of foods (production, processing, manufacturing, preparation/cooking, consumption, waste), and added improved assessments for water use and human health damages from fine particulate matter formation. They developed scores for 18 environmental indicators taking into account detailed food recipes as well as anticipated food waste. Finally, researchers classified foods into three color zones: green, yellow and red, based on their combined nutritional and environmental performances, much like a traffic light. The green zone represents foods that are recommended to increase in one’s diet and contains foods that are both nutritionally beneficial and have low environmental impacts. Foods in this zone are predominantly nuts, fruits, field-grown vegetables, legumes, whole grains and some seafood. The red zone includes foods that have either considerable nutritional or environmental impacts and should be reduced or avoided in one’s diet. Nutritional impacts were primarily driven by processed meats, and climate and most other environmental impacts driven by beef and pork, lamb and processed meats. The researchers acknowledge that the range of all indicators varies substantially and also point out that nutritionally beneficial foods might not always generate the lowest environmental impacts and vice versa. “Previous studies have often reduced their findings to a plant vs. animal-based foods discussion,” Stylianou said. “Although we find that plant-based foods generally perform better, there are considerable variations within both plant-based and animal-based foods.” Based on their findings, the researchers suggest: Decreasing foods with the most negative health and environmental impacts including high processed meat, beef, shrimp, followed by pork, lamb and greenhouse-grown vegetables. Increasing the most nutritionally beneficial foods, including field-grown fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and low-environmental impact seafood. The urgency of dietary changes to improve human health and the environment is clear. Our findings demonstrate that small targeted substitutions offer a feasible and powerful strategy to achieve significant health and environmental benefits without requiring dramatic dietary shifts.” Olivier Jolliet, U-M professor of environmental health science and senior author of the paper The project was carried out within the frame of an unrestricted grant from the National Dairy Council and of the University of Michigan Dow Sustainability Fellowship. The researchers are also working with partners in Switzerland, Brazil and Singapore to develop similar evaluation systems there. Eventually, they would like to expand it to countries all around the world. To read the original article click here.

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Study Uncovers Strong Links Between a Person’s Diet, Gut Microbes and Health

AHA Publisher — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 08:00:22 +0000

University of Trento via News-Medical Net – Diets rich in certain plant-based foods are linked with the presence of gut microbes that are associated with a lower risk of developing conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to recent results from a large-scale international study that included researchers from King’s College London, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the University of Trento, Italy, and health science start-up company ZOE. Key Takeaways The largest and most detailed study of its kind uncovered strong links between a person’s diet, the microbes in their gut (microbiome) and their health. International study uses metagenomics and blood chemical profiling to uncover a panel of 15 gut microbes associated with lower risks (and 15 with higher risks) for common illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Some of the identified microbes are so novel that they have not yet been named. These findings could be used to provide personalized dietary advice for better health, based on gut microbiome testing. The PREDICT 1 study analyzed detailed data on the composition of participants’ gut microbiomes, their dietary habits, and cardiometabolic blood biomarkers. The researchers found evidence that the microbiome is linked with specific foods and diets, and that, in turn, certain microbes in the gut are linked to biomarkers of metabolic disease. Surprisingly, the microbiome has a greater association to these markers than other factors, such as genetics. Their report, authored by Dr. Francesco Asnicar (University of Trento) and Dr. Sarah Berry (King’s College London) and coordinated by Tim Spector (King’s College London) and Nicola Segata (University of Trento), appears in Nature Medicine. As a nutritional scientist, finding novel microbes that are linked to specific foods, as well as metabolic health, is exciting. Given the highly personalised composition of each individuals’ microbiome, our research suggests that we may be able to modify our gut microbiome to optimize our health by choosing the best foods for our unique biology.” (Dr. Sarah Berry, Reader in Nutrition Sciences, King’s College London) For example, the findings reveal that having a microbiome rich in Prevotella copri and Blastocystis species was associated with maintaining a favorable blood sugar level after a meal. Other species were linked to lower post-meal levels of blood fats and markers of inflammation. Professor Tim Spector, Epidemiologist from King’s College London, who started the PREDICT study program and is scientific founder of ZOE explains, “When you eat, you’re not just nourishing your body, you’re feeding the trillions of microbes that live inside your gut.” Researchers also discovered that the makeup of subjects’ gut microbiome was strongly associated with specific nutrients, foods, food groups and overall diet composition. The researchers found robust microbiome-based biomarkers of obesity, as well as markers for cardiovascular disease and impaired glucose tolerance, which are key risk factors for COVID. These findings can be used to help create personalized eating plans designed specifically to improve one’s health. “I am very excited that we have been able to translate this cutting edge science into an at-home test in the time it has taken for the research to be peer reviewed and published,” says Spector. “Through ZOE, we can now offer the public an opportunity to discover which of these microbes they have living in their gut. After taking ZOE’s at-home test, participants will receive personalized recommendations for what to eat, based on comparing their results with the thousands of participants in the PREDICT studies. By using machine learning, we can then share with you our calculations of how your body will respond to any food, in real-time through an app.” The researchers found in subjects who ate a diet rich in healthy, plant-based foods were more likely to have high levels of ‘good’ gut microbes. Conversely, diets containing more highly processed plant-based foods were more likely to be associated with the ‘bad’ gut microbes. “We were surprised to see such large, clear groups of what we informally call ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes emerging from our analysis,” affirmed Nicola Segata, PhD, professor and principal investigator of the Computational Metagenomics Lab at the University of Trento, Italy and leader of the microbiome analysis in the study. “It is also exciting to see that microbiologists know so little about many of these microbes that they are not even named yet. This is now a big area of focus for us, as we believe they may open new insights in the future into how we could use the gut microbiome as a modifiable target to improve human metabolism and health.” PREDICT 1 was an international collaboration to study links between diet, the microbiome, and biomarkers of cardiometabolic health. The researchers gathered microbiome sequence data, detailed long-term dietary information, and results of hundreds of cardiometabolic blood markers from just over 1,100 participants in the U.K. and the U.S. PREDICT 2 completed its primary investigations in 2020 with a further 1,000 U.S participants, and PREDICT 3 launched a few months ago. To read the original article click here.

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