A good way to advise the elderly in the field of food is by measuring dietary biomarkers in plasma and urine. It is precisely this technique that has been used by a team of researchers from CIBERFES and the University of Barcelona (UB) in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the United States, to carry out a study that has shown that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet could reduce the risk of mortality in people over 65 years of age.
The research has analyzed 642 people over 65 years of age from the Tuscany region of Italy who had food biomarkers measured over a period of 20 years. These data focused on the food groups included in the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes or cereals, and were related to the mortality risk of the participants.
The chosen reference levels were total polyphenols and resveratrol metabolites –which come from grapes– in urine samples, and plasma carotenoids, selenium, vitamin B12, fatty acids and their proportion of monounsaturated and saturated were measured. . Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and food frequency was measured by a validated questionnaire, and mortality was assessed using a predictive model.
Using dietary biomarkers for nutritional advice
During the two decades that the investigation lasted, which has been published in BMC Medicine, 425 deaths were reported, 139 of them due to cardiovascular diseases and 89 derived from cancer. Once these data were put in relation to the Mediterranean diet score, it was found that those who had followed this type of diet were less likely to die.
Dietary biomarkers could improve nutritional assessment and help guide personalized dietary advice in the elderly
“We conclude that adherence to the Mediterranean diet as assessed by a panel of dietary biomarkers is inversely associated with long-term mortality in the elderly, supporting its use in long-term follow-up evaluations to monitor health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet. ”, affirms Tomás Meroño, co-signer of the study.
These results indicate that the use of dietary biomarkers could improve nutritional assessment and help guide personalized advice on feeding in advanced ages, a fact that could improve the health of older people and reduce their mortality.
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