Latest news with #ErikkaLoftfield
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Blood and urine tests have been found to detect the amount of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) a person eats, according to new research. Using machine learning, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified hundreds of metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism) that correlated with processed food intake. The team developed a "biomarker score" that predicts ultraprocessed food intake based on metabolite measurements in blood and urine, according to Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. Premature Death Linked To Certain Type Of Food, Study Reveals The researchers drew baseline data from 718 older adults who provided urine and blood samples and reported their dietary habits over a 12-month period, as detailed in an NIH press release. Next, they conducted a small clinical trial of 20 adults. For two weeks, the group ate a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, and for another two weeks they ate a diet with no UPFs. Read On The Fox News App "In our study, we found that hundreds of serum and urine metabolites were correlated with percentage energy from ultraprocessed food intake," Loftfield told Fox News Digital. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. The Worst Foods To Buy In The Supermarket And The Better Choices Instead Large-scale studies investigating the health risks of ultraprocessed foods often rely on self-reported dietary questionnaires, which can be prone to errors, per the NIH. The new blood and urine test helps to reduce human error by using objective biomarkers, a growing area of interest among researchers. Loftfield added, "It was surprising to find that UPF-correlated metabolites are involved in numerous and diverse biological pathways, underscoring the complex impact of diet on the metabolome." Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, industrially manufactured products, typically high in calories and low in essential nutrients," according to the NIH. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Chronic diseases, obesity and various forms of cancer have been linked to diets that are heavy in UPFs. Despite promising results, the researchers emphasized that the new method will require further validation before broader use. Since the current trial focused mainly on older adults, more research is needed across various age groups and diets, the experts said. "Metabolite scores should be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of UPF intake," Loftfield acknowledged. This method could potentially be used in future research to link the consumption of processed foods with chronic diseases, according to the researchers. For more Health articles, visit "For individuals concerned about ultraprocessed food intake, one practical recommendation is to use 'nutrition facts' labels to avoid foods high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, as this can limit UPF intake and align with robust scientific research on diet and health," Loftfield article source: What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Fox News
31-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Blood and urine tests have been found to detect the amount of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) a person eats, according to new research. Using machine learning, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified hundreds of metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism) that correlated with processed food intake. The team developed a "biomarker score" that predicts ultraprocessed food intake based on metabolite measurements in blood and urine, according to Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. The researchers drew baseline data from 718 older adults who provided urine and blood samples and reported their dietary habits over a 12-month period, as detailed in an NIH press release. Next, they conducted a small clinical trial of 20 adults. For two weeks, the group ate a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, and for another two weeks they ate a diet with no UPFs. "In our study, we found that hundreds of serum and urine metabolites were correlated with percentage energy from ultraprocessed food intake," Loftfield told Fox News Digital. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Large-scale studies investigating the health risks of ultraprocessed foods often rely on self-reported dietary questionnaires, which can be prone to errors, per the NIH. The new blood and urine test helps to reduce human error by using objective biomarkers, a growing area of interest among researchers. Loftfield added, "It was surprising to find that UPF-correlated metabolites are involved in numerous and diverse biological pathways, underscoring the complex impact of diet on the metabolome." Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, industrially manufactured products, typically high in calories and low in essential nutrients," according to the NIH. Chronic diseases, obesity and various forms of cancer have been linked to diets that are heavy in UPFs. Despite promising results, the researchers emphasized that the new method will require further validation before broader use. Since the current trial focused mainly on older adults, more research is needed across various age groups and diets, the experts said. "Metabolite scores should be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of UPF intake," Loftfield acknowledged. This method could potentially be used in future research to link the consumption of processed foods with chronic diseases, according to the researchers. For more Health articles, visit "For individuals concerned about ultraprocessed food intake, one practical recommendation is to use 'nutrition facts' labels to avoid foods high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, as this can limit UPF intake and align with robust scientific research on diet and health," Loftfield suggested.
Medscape
27-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Biomarker Scores Pinpoint Diets High in UPFs
New poly-metabolite scores worked as objective measures of ultraprocessed food (UPF) intake and could curb reliance on self-report data in studies. METHODOLOGY: Using ultra–high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, researchers analyzed existing metabolite data from blood and urine specimens provided by 718 individuals aged 50-74 years who participated in various clinical trials. They then used machine learning to identify metabolic patterns associated with high UPF consumption to estimate UPF-metabolite correlations and build poly-metabolite scores of UPF uptake. They tested the scores in a post hoc analysis of a previously conducted small randomized, controlled crossover trial of 20 adults who ate a diet high in UPF (80% of energy consumed) and a diet without UPF for 2 weeks each in random order. TAKEAWAY: The poly-metabolite scores differentiated, within individual, between the diets that were 80% and 0% energy from UPF. The mean UPF intake was 50% energy, and this correlated with serum and 24-hour urine metabolites. The findings need to be replicated in other age groups and populations. Research on the prospective association between UPF-correlated metabolites, poly-metabolite scores, and disease risk is warranted. IN PRACTICE: 'Limitations of self-reported diet are well known,' lead investigator Erikka Loftfield, PhD, of the US National Cancer Institute said in an accompanying press release. 'Metabolomics provides an exciting opportunity to not only improve our methods for objectively measuring complex exposures like diet and intake of ultraprocessed foods, but also to understand the mechanisms by which diet might be impacting health.' SOURCE: The study led by Loftfield was published in PLOS Medicine . LIMITATIONS: Study participants were older US adults whose diets may vary from other populations. Poly-metabolite scores should be evaluated and iteratively improved in populations with diverse diets and a wide range of UPF intake. DISCLOSURES: The research leading to these results received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program at the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseased, as well as Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. Only one coauthor declared having competing interests, as noted in the paper. Credit Lead image: Rimidolove/Dreamstime Medscape Medical News © 2025 WebMD, LLC Cite this: Biomarker Scores Pinpoint Diets High in UPFs - Medscape - May 27, 2025.
India Today
26-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
How much junk food did you eat? A new test may soon tell
Counting how much ultra-processed food someone eats has always relied on diet questionnaires and personal researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest medical research body, may have found a more objective way: by reading it in your blood and a new study published in PLOS Medicine, scientists have developed what they call a poly-metabolite score, a biomarker-based tool that can estimate how much of a person's energy comes from ultra-processed These include packaged snacks, soft drinks, ready-to-eat meals, and other industrially manufactured calorie-dense products and nutrient-poor could be a breakthrough for nutrition research, which has long struggled with the inaccuracies of self-reported diet data.'The limitations of self-reported diet are well known. With metabolomics, we can get closer to an objective measure of food intake and also understand how diet may be impacting health," said Dr Erikka Loftfield, lead investigator and researcher at the National Cancer ABOUT THIS SCOREThe NIH team looked at blood and urine samples for 12 months from two different groups: one observational study of 718 older US adults, and one clinical trial where 20 participants were fed two different diets, one high (80%) and one completely free (0%) of ultra-processed foods, each for two researchers found hundreds of tiny substances in the blood and urine, called metabolites, that were linked to how much ultra-processed food a person machine learning, they created a special score called a poly-metabolite score that could tell how processed a person's diet scores clearly showed the difference between when someone was eating mostly processed food and when they weren't, the study authors THIS MATTERSThe health risks of diets high in ultra-processed foods such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers are well quantifying how much people actually eat is tricky, especially when relying on memory-based food logs or questionnaires. People could forget, under-report, or misjudge portion biomarker-based tool could make large-scale population studies more reliable and help uncover stronger links between diet and OF THE SCOREWhile the findings are promising, researchers caution that the current results are based mostly on older American scores still need to be validated in more diverse populations with different eating habits and levels of ultra-processed food this, the study didn't check whether these scores are linked to diseases like cancer or diabetes. That's something the scientists want to study next, to see if people with higher scores (meaning they eat more ultra-processed food) are more likely to get these now, though, the study marks a step toward more precise nutrition science and maybe one day, doctors won't need to ask what you body might already have the answer.
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Having junk foods? Study says your blood and urine can reveal your junk intake
Ultra-processed foods leave chemical traces in the body and scientists are tracking them. A recent study led by Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute reveals that blood and urine samples can offer key insights into a person's diet, especially when it includes a high intake of packaged and convenience foods. Also read | Is this everyday snack setting you up for a lifetime of liver damage? Doctor shares 5 prevention tips The research aimed to better understand the long-term health effects of ultra-processed food consumption. Findings show that biological markers in blood and urine can reliably indicate how much of these foods a person eats, offering a potential new tool for monitoring dietary habits and associated health risks. The study observed that an average American's diet consists of more than 50% ultra-processed foods. The food consumed by them are hardly made of components that can be found in a regular household kitchen. The foods consist of high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and various additives for flavor and texture. This can further lead to chronic conditions such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Also read | Is your child obsessed with junk food? Nutritionist shares 5 easy and healthy swaps to break the habit The study was conducted on 718 adults aged 50-74. The participants were asked to provide multiple 24-hour dietary recalls over 12 months, along with blood and urine samples collected six months apart. Over 1,000 different metabolites in each sample were measured. The scientists observed that nearly 200 blood metabolites and almost 300 urine metabolites demonstrated high ultra-processed food intake. This consisted of components such as lipid metabolism, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and xenobiotics (foreign substances like food additives). However, when a person shifted their diet from high ultra-processed foods to no ultra-processed foods, the results shifted drastically. This denotes that the metabolite patterns change swiftly as soon as the intake of ultra-processed food is reduced or eliminated from the diet. Also read | Snacking on junk food can corrode your memory and increase stroke risk? Study offers answers The study authors added in the study, 'In summary, we show that dietary patterns with higher UPF intake are associated with distinctive metabolomic profiles in both serum and urine.' Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
