Strides in personalization: “Urine fingerprint” reveals best tailored diet

23 Jun 2020 --- Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person’s diet, and produces an individual’s unique urine “fingerprint.” The researchers say this urine “fingerprint” can be used to develop an individual’s personal score, called the Dietary Metabotype Score (DMS). This may lead to improved nutrition personalization and a better understanding of how diets affect health.

“Diet is a key contributor to human health and disease, though it is notoriously difficult to measure accurately because it relies on an individual’s ability to recall what and how much they ate. For instance, asking people to track their diets through apps or diaries can often lead to inaccurate reports about what they really eat. This research reveals this technology can help provide in-depth information on the quality of a person’s diet, and whether it is the right type of diet for their individual biological make-up,” says Dr. Joram Posma, study author from Imperial College London’s Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction.

Personalization is booming and major players are making moves in this space. Nutrigenomix has grown its gene testing panel of validated markers from 45 to 70 genes, which expands the dietary assessment tool to complement its DNA-based recommendations, according to an individual’s genetic profile. In addition, an international team of researchers has developed whole-body computational models to further propel research into personalized medicine, including the role of diet on the microbiome. Lastly, precision nutrition is expected to be the guiding force in a new strategic plan from The National Institutes of Health, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Different foods for different bodies
Scientists at Imperial College in collaboration with colleagues at Northwestern University, University of Illinois and Murdoch University, analyzed levels of 46 different so-called metabolites in the urine of 1,848 people in the US. Metabolites are considered to be an objective indicator of diet quality and are produced as different foods are digested by the body, says the research team, who published their findings in the journal Nature Food. Furthermore, the study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and Health Data Research UK.

The researchers say this urine “fingerprint” can be used to develop an individual’s personal score, called the Dietary Metabotype Score (DMS). The findings revealed an association between 46 metabolites in urine, and types of foods or nutrients in the diet. For instance, certain metabolites correlated with alcohol intake, while others were linked to intake of citrus fruit, fructose (fruit sugar), glucose and vitamin C. The team also found metabolites in urine associated with dietary intake of red meats, other meats such as chicken, and nutrients such as calcium. Certain metabolites were also linked with health conditions. For instance compounds found in urine such as formate and sodium (an indicator of salt intake) are linked to obesity and high blood pressure.

“Through careful measurement of people's diets and collection of their urine excreted over two 24-hour periods, we were able to establish links between dietary inputs and urinary output of metabolites that may help improve understanding of how our diets affect health. Healthful diets have a different pattern of metabolites in the urine than those associated with worse health outcomes,” says Professor Paul Elliott, study co-author and Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine at Imperial College.

More research
In a second UK study – also published in Nature Food by the same Imperial College research team, and in collaboration with Newcastle University, Aberystwyth University and Murdoch University – the team used the same technology to develop a five-minute test to reveal that the mix of metabolites in urine varies from person to person.

The researchers say that the technology, which produces an individual’s urine “fingerprint,” could enable people to receive healthy eating advice tailored to their individual biological make-up. This is known as “precision nutrition,” and could provide health professionals with more specific information on the quality of a person's diet.

“Our technology can provide crucial insights into how foods are processed by individuals in different ways – and can help health professionals such as dieticians provide dietary advice tailored to individual patients,” explains Dr. Isabel Garcia-Perez, author of the research and also from Imperial’s Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction.

Dr. Garcia-Perez adds that the team now plans to use the analysis technology on people at risk of cardiovascular disease. In their experiments, the team asked 19 people to follow four different diets, ranging from very healthy to unhealthy. The team found that people who strictly followed the same diet had varied DMS scores.

The team’s work also revealed that the higher a person’s DMS score, the healthier their diet. A higher DMS score was also found to be associated with lower blood sugar, and a higher amount of energy excreted from the body in urine.

The team found the difference between high energy urine and low energy urine was equivalent to someone with a high DMS score losing an extra four calories a day, or 1,500 calories a year. The team calculated that this could translate to a difference of 215 g of body fat per year.

Further research warranted
The next step is to investigate how a person’s urine metabolite fingerprint may link to a person's risk of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. 

“These findings bring a new and more in-depth understanding to how our bodies process and use food at the molecular level. The research brings into question whether we should rewrite food tables to incorporate these new metabolites that have biological effects in the body,” flags Professor Gary Frost, co-author of the research and Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics at Imperial College.

“We show here how different people metabolise the same foods in highly individual ways. This has implications for understanding the development of nutrition-related diseases and for more personalised dietary advice to improve public health,” concludes Professor John Mathers, study co-author and Director of the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle University.

Edited by Kristiana Lalou