- The researchers studied the health effects of a healthy Nordic diet (DNA) using metabolic analyses.
- They found that diet positively affects glucose metabolism, cholesterol, and cardiometabolic risk.
- They conclude that metabolic analysis is an effective way to assess dietary outcomes.
the HND consists of berries, fish, tubers and rapeseed oil. It is known to benefit various aspects of health, including weightlossblood pressure, inflammationand blood lipid profiles.
Studies also show that HND reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetesand death.
Nutrition research often faces challenges due to a lack of objective measures, as studies typically rely on subjective tools such as food consumption questionnaires. using biomarkers instead, it may allow researchers to measure the effects of diet on health more precisely.
In the present study, researchers from Scandinavia evaluated the metabolic effects of HND on glucose metabolism, blood lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers using data from a randomized control trial of 2013.
Examining the metabolites in the blood and urine of the participants, they found a relationship between greater adherence to the diet and greater benefit in low-grade inflammation and lipid profiles, as well as indicators of glucose metabolism.
“The original analysis compared participants in the intervention arm [with] those on the control arm,” he said. Christina C. Dahm, Ph.D.associate professor at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University in Denmark, in an interview with Today’s medical news. Dr. Dahm was not involved in the study.
“This new assay uses metabolites in blood plasma and urine to group people with high levels of metabolites from either the intervention diet or the control diet,” he added.
The study appears in Clinical Nutrition.
The 2013 study enrolled 200 participants with over weight and metabolic syndrome. The average age of the participants was 55 years.
After an initial 4-week period, during which the participants ate their typical diets, the researchers randomly assigned them to follow HND or a control diet, defined as the average nutrient intake in the Nordic countries.
The researchers then instructed the participants in the HND group to increase their intake of whole grain products, such as rye and barley, along with berries, fruits, and vegetables.
Those in the control group were instructed to eat low-fiber wheat products, including refined white bread and pasta, and not to moderate their intake of fruits and vegetables.
Both diets contained similar amounts of calories to keep the participants’ weight stable throughout the study. The researchers followed the participants for 18 or 24 weeks, asking for blood and urine samples at the beginning and end of the intervention, as well as at week 12.
For the current metabolic profiling study, the researchers analyzed data from 98 participants in the HND group and 71 in the control group.
They found that those who adhered to HND had different fat-soluble metabolites in their blood than others. Researchers link these metabolites to better glucose regulation, an improved cholesterol profile, and reduced cardiometabolic risk.
These findings build on initial results from 2013, which indicate that although HND has a positive effect on lipid profiles and inflammation, it does not affect blood glucose metabolism.
“Participants with higher levels of metabolites from the Nordic diet had lower triglyceride levels than those with lower levels of metabolites, although none of the participants lost weight during the study,” Dr. Dahm said.
“Assuming that higher intake of the Nordic diet leads to higher levels of metabolites in the blood, this means that a better quality diet may improve some health parameters, even in the absence of weight loss.”
– Dr. Cristina C. Dahm
However, Dr. Dahm noted that she is not sure how clinically significant the results may be.
To explain their findings, the researchers say the fish, flax seed, sunflowerand rapeseed, all staples in HND, contain fats.
“We can only speculate as to why a change in fat composition is so beneficial to our health,” he says. Lars Ove Dragsted, one of the authors of the study. “However, we can confirm that the absence of highly processed foods and less saturated fat from animal sources has a very positive effect on us.”
“The composition of fats in the Nordic diet, which is higher in omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fats, [probably explains many of] the effects on health that we found in the Nordic diet, even when the weight of the participants is kept constant”, he adds.
Christopher Gardner, Ph.D.said Professor Rehnborg Farquhar of Stanford University, who was not involved in the study. MNT that the findings are not surprising. “The intervention focused on healthy foods and specifically listed berries, vegetables, fish, whole grains, [low fat] dairy products and rapeseed oil”.
“I can think of multiple mechanisms for cardiometabolic benefits, independent of weight loss: less saturated fat, more unsaturated fat, more fiber, and less sodium. All of this would have a beneficial impact on lipids, glucose, blood pressure, and inflammation,” he added.
The authors of the present study conclude that evaluating metabolites is an effective way to assess the health benefits of different diets.
They say, however, that their findings have some limitations. For example, your analysis may have missed some metabolites that other profiling techniques may have found. They also say that their sample size was relatively small.
Dr. Gardner added that these results may be due to a generally healthier diet rather than something particular to HND: “[The results could have arisen from the] nordic, mediterranean, vegetarian, PINCH, [or] whole food plant-based diet, or half a dozen others. Many of the components of [HND] are similar to these [other diets].”
