Intestinal flora as the "commander" of nutritional metabolism

In recent years, research on the intestinal flora has soared
.

Its metabolic capacity even exceeds that of human cells, and the biologically active metabolites produced directly or indirectly affect the physiological functions of the host, and are therefore closely related to obesity

Researchers Lin Xu and Chen Yan from the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated for the first time through a clinical nutrition intervention study and found that peanuts instead of refined grains can increase the reversal rate of metabolic syndrome, and found that intestinal flora is guiding precision nutrition intervention to improve metabolism.
Plays an important role in the syndrome
.

Related research has been published in "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" and "Molecular Nutrition and Food Research"

Peanut Reversal Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic disorder caused by a combination of cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk factors such as abdominal obesity, elevated fasting blood glucose, lipid disorders, or elevated blood pressure.
It significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
.

"Timely intervention and reversal of the metabolic syndrome can move the'window" of prevention of these diseases forward
.

Lin Xu, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Chinese Journal of Science that "Substituting peanuts for refined grains can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people at risk of metabolic syndrome.

In a 12-week randomized controlled clinical intervention study, the team recruited 224 volunteers with or at high risk of metabolic syndrome and randomly assigned them to the peanut intervention group or control group
.

During the intervention period, volunteers in the peanut intervention group ate a small packet (28 g/pack) of lightly salted roasted peanuts within one hour before lunch and dinner, while volunteers in the control group ate a portion of refined roasted peanuts with energy equivalent to roasted peanuts.

"Analyzing the data before and after the intervention of each group of volunteers, we found that the rate of metabolic syndrome reversal (that is, the metabolic syndrome in the peanut intervention group) was significantly higher than that of the control group.

" Volunteers of the people in the peanut intervention group," Lin Xu said, "There are also some volunteers in the peanut intervention group who were originally at high risk of metabolic syndrome, and the proportion of reduced risk factors was also higher than that of the control group
.

"

In addition, the researchers found that although peanuts have a higher fat content, the 12-week peanut intake did not increase the volunteers' weight, and even reduced their body weight to a certain extent
.

Based on this, the researchers judged that replacing part of the refined grain intake with an appropriate amount of peanuts can reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in high-risk populations without gaining weight

Pay attention to the "super symbiote"

The latest research suggests that even identical twins may respond differently to the same food, indicating that this difference cannot be explained by genes alone
.

"Now we realize that the important reason is that the microbiota in the intestines of different individuals is different
.

" Wang Shuo, the first author of the paper, told the China Science Daily.
"Therefore, when people choose food or conduct nutritional interventions, they should consider themselves Regarded as a "super symbiote" of humans and microorganisms, it optimizes health or prevents, manages, and treats diseases through personalized nutritional support.

Through the collection and analysis of the intestinal flora, the researchers correlated the flora information with the clinical indicators, and finally found that the changes in the clinical test indicators and physical measurement indicators after the peanut intervention showed a high degree of individual variability
.

Through the analysis of the composition of the intestinal flora of the population, the study found that the structure of the flora has a high degree of individual specificity, whether it is a comparison between groups or before and after comparisons within a group, and the consistency of changes in its composition is less

A large number of studies have shown that the intestinal flora is closely related to the occurrence and development of various diseases, such as metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, mental diseases, nervous system diseases, respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, autoimmune diseases and tumors, etc.

.

In the nutritional intervention or treatment of many diseases, the intestinal flora also plays a vital role
.

"In addition, the intestinal flora also has a certain effect on drug metabolism and toxicity
.
" Wang Shuo said
.

Looking forward to precise nutrition intervention

"In recent years, based on the machine learning algorithm to analyze the flora information, classify and predict the flora data of each sample, and screen out some valuable marker groups, in predicting the individual's response to dietary intervention and predicting the individual It has become a very powerful bioinformatics method for the treatment of certain diseases
.
" Wang Shuo said, "This will also have important guiding significance for the implementation of personalized nutrition and precision medical strategies based on intestinal flora in the future.

.
"

"This research highlights the key role of intestinal flora in guiding precision nutrition
.
" Chen Yan, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Chinese Journal of Science.
Big data information is used to predict and design personalized diet and precision medical programs, thereby effectively adjusting the body's metabolism and intervening in the treatment of diseases
.
"

According to Wang Shuo, in addition to peanut intervention, many functional foods or dietary patterns may use information such as flora to establish a predictive model for the response to metabolic syndrome
.
In addition, other diseases related to the flora may also establish corresponding prediction models
.

"We hope that there will be more large samples, long-term, high-quality studies to fully explore the interaction between diet, microbes and human metabolism
.
" Wang Shuo said that personalized nutritional therapy based on intestinal flora information will It is an indispensable part of the prevention and treatment of diseases in the future, and hopes to provide new ideas and theoretical basis for precise nutritional intervention of obesity
.

Links to related papers:

https://doi.
org/10.
1093/ajcn/nqaa307

https://doi.
org/10.
1002/mnfr.
202001051