Share:
New urine test to check the diet and the subsequent health effects
Certainly, many people generally pay attention to a healthy diet. But how can we actually tell if our meals are really healthy for our body? British researchers have now developed a urine test to help identify users' nutritional patterns.
The researchers at Imperial College London, Northwestern University and the University of Southern Denmark found that a simple urine test can tell you how healthy our meals really are. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology".
It would be helpful in many ways if people could analyze their diet and see their health effects through a simple urine test. Physicians have now developed such a simple and effective test. (Image: Alexander Raths / fotolia.com) Self-assessment of nutrition is usually very unreliable
The experts in their new study on nutrition and health tried to find out if there was not a better and more reliable way to assess the impact of our diet than notoriously unreliable self-reporting and self-assessment. While conducting the study, it was found that most people are prone to personally inaccurate coverage of consuming unhealthy foods, compared with the personal coverage of consuming healthy foods, the researchers explain.
Urine samples were examined for metabolic profiles
In the current small study, the 20 participants consumed four different types of diet. These were classified as very healthy and very unhealthy in terms of international guidelines. Then subjects' urine samples were tested for substances associated with certain types of nutritional patterns. These are also referred to as metabolic profiles.
Further research is needed
The researchers were able to find that urine tests are indeed able to identify the nutritional patterns of the participants. The observed levels of 19 substances (metabolites), for example, were significantly increased among the consumers of the healthiest food group, say the medical profession. However, because the study had a very small sample size, it was necessary to conduct additional research on this topic.
Keep a food diary
If you want to make your diet healthier, you can keep a so-called food diary. This is where you should write down exactly what you have eaten rather than relying on your unreliable memory, experts suggest.
Unhealthy diet increases the risk of illness
The randomized controlled crossover study examined whether food intake in individuals can be analyzed and measured with urine samples. Because an unhealthy diet can significantly increase the risk of non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Test provides method for assessing the nutritional behavior of the population
Current so-called nutritional tools are not always able to assess the impact of policy changes on dietary behavior in the population, explain the researchers. The current investigation should clarify whether metabolic profiles in the human brain can reflect the intake of food. This could provide an alternative method of assessing dietary behavior in the population.
Subjects were between 21 and 65 years old
Between August 2013 and May 2014, the current study included healthy volunteers aged 21 to 65 years with a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20 and 35 from a database of the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) / Wellcome Trust Imperial Clinical Research Facility (CRF) recruited. Initially, 300 people were invited to the study. Of these, however, only 26 people were classified as eligible and eventually 20 of these subjects were included in the study.
Experimental procedure:
Subjects were asked to attend four 72-hour hospital stays (separated by at least five days). During this time they received one of four different compositions of food, explain the authors. Food intake was carefully monitored, with food weighed immediately before and after administration to participants. In addition, the participants were only allowed to do a very light physical activity. This too was closely monitored and recorded.
Urine was collected in the trial three times a day
During the hospital stay, the subjects' urine was collected three times a day: There was a morning collection (9:00 am to 1:00 pm), an afternoon collection (1:00 pm to 6:00 pm), and a rehearsal during the evening and night (6:00 pm to 9:00 am). Then, a method of analyzing the chemical composition was used.
Analysis of urine could predict risks to diseases
The so-called urine metabolism profiles were clear enough to differentiate between the foods taken. Examination of excreted urine metabolite models could classify people as users of certain diets, the researchers explain. Thus, lower or higher risks for noncommunicable diseases could be associated on the basis of multivariate metabolite patterns, the experts emphasize. (As)