Vegan and Animal Meal Composition and Timing Influence Glucose and Lipid Related Postprandial Metabolic Profiles.

SCOPE: Flexitarian dieting is increasingly associated with health benefits. The study of postprandial metabolic response to vegan and animal diets is essential to decipher how specific diet components may mediate metabolic changes. METHODS AND RESULTS: A randomized, crossover, controlled vegan versus animal diet challenge is conducted on 21 healthy participants. Postprandial metabolic measurements are conducted at seven timepoints. Area under the curve analysis of the vegan diet response demonstrates higher glucose (EE 0.35), insulin (EE 0.38), triglycerides (EE 0.72), and nine amino acids at breakfast (EE 4.72-209.32); and six lower health-promoting fatty acids at lunch (EE -0.1035 to -0.13) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Glycemic and lipid parameters vary irrespective of diet type, demonstrating that vegan and animal meals contain health-promoting and suboptimal nutrient combinations. The vegan breakfast produces the same pattern of elevated branched chain amino acids, insulin, and glucose as the animal diet from the fasting results, reflecting the low protein load in the animal and the higher branched-chain amino acid load of the vegan breakfast. Liberalization of the vegan menu to vegetarian and the animal menu to a Nordic-based diet can result in optimal metabolic signatures for both flexitarian diet strategies in future research.

Metabotypes Related to Meat and Vegetable Intake Reflect Microbial, Lipid and Amino Acid Metabolism in Healthy People.

SCOPE: The objective of this study is to develop a new methodology to identify the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolites indicative of food intake and metabolism. METHODS AND RESULTS: Plasma and urine samples from healthy Swiss subjects (n = 89) collected over two time points are analyzed for a panel of host-microbial metabolites using GC- and LC-MS. Dietary intake is evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Dietary pattern clusters and relationships with metabolites are determined using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NNMF) and Sparse Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis (SGCCA). Use of NNMF allows detection of latent diet clusters in this population, which describes a high intake of meat or vegetables. SGCCA associates these clusters to i) diet-host microbial and lipid associated bile acid metabolism, and ii) essential amino acid metabolism. CONCLUSION: This novel application of NNMF and SGCCA allows detection of distinct metabotypes for meat and vegetable dietary patterns in a heterogeneous population. As many of the metabolites associated with meat or vegetable intake are the result of host-microbiota interactions, the findings support a role for microbiota mediating the metabolic imprinting of different dietary choices.

Clinical and Vitamin Response to a Short-Term Multi-Micronutrient Intervention in Brazilian Children and Teens: From Population Data to Interindividual Responses.

SCOPE: Micronutrients are in small amounts in foods, act in concert, and require variable amounts of time to see changes in health and risk for disease. These first principles are incorporated into an intervention study designed to develop new experimental strategies for setting target recommendations for food bioactives for populations and individuals. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 6-week multivitamin/mineral intervention is conducted in 9-13 year olds. Participants (136) are (i) their own control (n-of-1); (ii) monitored for compliance; (iii) measured for 36 circulating vitamin forms, 30 clinical, anthropometric, and food intake parameters at baseline, post intervention, and following a 6-week washout; and (iv) had their ancestry accounted for as modifier of vitamin baseline or response. The same intervention is repeated the following year (135 participants). Most vitamins respond positively and many clinical parameters change in directions consistent with improved metabolic health to the intervention. Baseline levels of any metabolite predict its own response to the intervention. Elastic net penalized regression models are identified, and significantly predict response to intervention on the basis of multiple vitamin/clinical baseline measures. CONCLUSIONS: The study design, computational methods, and results are a step toward developing recommendations for optimizing vitamin levels and health parameters for individuals.

A 48-Hour Vegan Diet Challenge in Healthy Women and Men Induces a BRANCH-Chain Amino Acid Related, Health Associated, Metabolic Signature.

SCOPE: Research is limited on diet challenges to improve health. A short-term, vegan protein diet regimen nutritionally balanced in macronutrient composition compared to an omnivorous diet is hypothesized to improve metabolic measurements of blood sugar regulation, blood lipids, and amino acid metabolism. METHODS AND RESULTS: This randomized, cross-over, controlled vegan versus animal diet challenge is conducted on 21 (11 female,10 male) healthy participants. Fasting plasma is measured during a 3 d diet intervention for clinical biochemistry and metabonomics. Intervention diet plans meet individual caloric needs. Meals are provided and supervised. Diet compliance is monitored. CONCLUSIONS: The vegan diet lowers triglycerides, insulin and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR), bile acids, elevated magnesium levels, and changed branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) metabolism (p < 0.05), potentiating insulin and blood sugar control after 48 h. Cholesterol control improves significantly in the vegan versus omnivorous diets. Plasma amino acid and magnesium concentrations positively correlate with dietary amino acids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber inversely correlate with insulin, HOMA-IR, and triglycerides. Nutritional biochemistries, BCAAs, insulin, and HOMA-IR are impacted by sexual dimorphism. A health-promoting, BCAA-associated metabolic signature is produced from a short-term, healthy, controlled, vegan diet challenge when compared with a healthy, controlled, omnivorous diet.