In a recent The Boston Globe article, Susan Sumner, PhD, a professor of nutrition at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, discussed the importance of metabolites in understanding lifelong health. The article, titled “What do celery, dark chocolate, and parsley have in common? Maybe clues to a longer life.” by Kay Lazar, highlights that while Americans are living longer, many are spending more years burdened by chronic disease. It explores how researchers are working to combat this troubling trend.
Researchers are looking for ways to expand the number of our healthy years and by focusing on metabolites.
Metabolites are small molecules in your body that are created when it processes things like food, medicine, or even the chemicals in the environment around you. For example, when you eat an apple, your body breaks it down into energy and nutrients, and the molecules produced in that process are metabolites.
Research teams are deciphering patterns of metabolites that may be linked to longer healthier lives. The article references Paola Sebastiani, PhD, a Boston scientist from Tufts Medical Center, and her work in metabolites found in celery, parsley and dark chocolate. Sebastiani’s research suggests metabolites from these foods could be linked to longevity.
Similarly, Sumner is looking for “the signature of health we can use to tell early on if an individual deviates from health and starts going a toward disease state.” In a recent study, Sumner and colleagues analyzed thousands of metabolites in two groups of adults: one consisting of physically active, healthy individuals with balanced diets, and another of sedentary individuals with poor diets. They identified a distinct “signature” of metabolites in the healthier group (compared with the control group), which included elevated vitamin D levels, higher beneficial fatty acids, and lower bile acids—substances linked to diets high in saturated fats.
Sumner is also involved in the ambitious $170 million Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) study, powered by the All of Us program. NPH aims to determine the optimal diet for individuals by analyzing a wide range of metabolites. This project exemplifies the growing focus on metabolites as powerful indicators of health and disease, highlighting the potential for tailored nutritional interventions based on metabolic signatures.
The article delves into the promise and complexity of studying metabolites, noting that researchers estimate the human body contains over 150,000 metabolites, but only a small fraction has been thoroughly analyzed. Unlike genes, which remain relatively stable, metabolites fluctuate based on factors such as race, ethnicity, age, sex, diet, timing of meals, daily activities, and environmental exposures. This dynamic nature necessitates studying large populations over extended periods to identify patterns distinguishing healthy from unhealthy metabolite profiles.
Lazar concludes by noting that advances in technology are enabling researchers to identify and better understand an increasing number of metabolites. However, further studies are needed to determine how specific foods and diets impact individuals differently, depending on their genetic makeup and environmental factors. Despite these challenges, the concept of using metabolites to guide personalized nutrition and develop targeted interventions is gaining momentum.
Read the article here. [Article may require a subscription to the Boston Globe]
Join the Nutrition for Precision Health Study here.
Sumner’s research is funded through grants from the NIH Common Fund Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) study (U24CA268153), and the NIEHS Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) program (U2CES030857).
