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Yahoo
3 days ago
- 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
3 days ago
- 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.
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.
Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Health
- Economic Times
How much junk food does an average American eat? A simple blood test has the answer
ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT More than 57% of calories in the average American diet come from ultra-processed foods . These include chips, candy, soda, and ready-to-eat meals. Now, scientists have developed a blood test that can measure how much of this food a person really years, researchers relied on food diaries and surveys to understand diets. But those methods are not always accurate. People forget, misreport, or don't notice how much processed food they new test changes that. Scientists can now find molecular markers in the blood that show how much ultra-processed food someone consumes. These markers include chemicals linked to additives like preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and colorings, all common in packaged and fast research was published in PLOS Medicine and included hundreds of participants. Their blood samples were tested and compared with their reported diets. The results matched: the more processed food someone ate, the higher the levels of specific markers in their test then gives each person a diet 'score' based on the amount of ultra-processed food in their system. A higher score means a higher high scores were also linked with serious health issues. People who consumed more ultra-processed food were more likely to have obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and other signs of poor metabolic Marie-Pierre St-Onge, the study's lead author, said this test could be a 'game changer.' It provides an objective way to track diet quality, which could help doctors give better scientists are hopeful the test can help in more than just research. It could be used in clinics, health programs, and even in public health surveys to get a better idea of how diet impacts long-term the test is still new. Researchers say it needs more trials in different age groups and cultures before it becomes widely food is a growing global issue. But in the U.S., the numbers are especially high. Many people don't realize just how much of their daily intake comes from these test might help people better understand their diets and possibly lead them to make healthier choices. It could also help public health experts track diet trends and target the most at-risk the future, your next health check-up might not just measure your cholesterol. It could also show you how much junk food is in your blood.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
How much junk food does an average American eat? A simple blood test has the answer
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel More than 57% of calories in the average American diet come from ultra-processed foods . These include chips, candy, soda, and ready-to-eat meals. Now, scientists have developed a blood test that can measure how much of this food a person really years, researchers relied on food diaries and surveys to understand diets. But those methods are not always accurate. People forget, misreport, or don't notice how much processed food they new test changes that. Scientists can now find molecular markers in the blood that show how much ultra-processed food someone consumes. These markers include chemicals linked to additives like preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and colorings, all common in packaged and fast research was published in PLOS Medicine and included hundreds of participants. Their blood samples were tested and compared with their reported diets. The results matched: the more processed food someone ate, the higher the levels of specific markers in their test then gives each person a diet 'score' based on the amount of ultra-processed food in their system. A higher score means a higher high scores were also linked with serious health issues. People who consumed more ultra-processed food were more likely to have obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and other signs of poor metabolic Marie-Pierre St-Onge, the study's lead author, said this test could be a 'game changer.' It provides an objective way to track diet quality, which could help doctors give better scientists are hopeful the test can help in more than just research. It could be used in clinics, health programs, and even in public health surveys to get a better idea of how diet impacts long-term the test is still new. Researchers say it needs more trials in different age groups and cultures before it becomes widely food is a growing global issue. But in the U.S., the numbers are especially high. Many people don't realize just how much of their daily intake comes from these test might help people better understand their diets and possibly lead them to make healthier choices. It could also help public health experts track diet trends and target the most at-risk the future, your next health check-up might not just measure your cholesterol. It could also show you how much junk food is in your blood.
