The Biology of Veganism: Plasma Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Distinct Profiles of Vegans and Non-Vegetarians in the Adventist Health Study-2 Cohort

Feb 17

Study “results suggest that multiple potentially bioactive metabolites are increased by consumption of plant-based foods, and may lower the risk of metabolic diseases through anti-inflammatory mechanisms.” Ardmore Institute of Health supported this research published in the Journal Nutrition.

The article concludes: "In this study we report marked differences in metabolic profiles between vegans and non-vegetarians. Our results suggest that multiple potentially bioactive metabolites are increased by consumption of plant-based foods, and may lower the risk of metabolic diseases through anti-inflammatory mechanisms. On the other hand, diets high in animal products may lead to increases in various amino acids and lipid species (acyl carnitines, saturated fatty acids, ceramides, branched chain amino acids) that promote chronic diseases by increasing inflammation and insulin dysregulation, so disrupting metabolic homeostasis. The exact roles or physiological functions of other differentially abundant metabolites are not clear. It may be that some differentially abundant metabolites in vegans and non-vegetarians serve only as markers of different foods or eating patterns, while others also have important pathophysiological consequences. This study helps lay the foundation for a deeper understanding of the relationship of diet-associated metabolites to the pathophysiology of chronic diseases."

Abstract

It is unclear how vegetarian dietary patterns influence plasma metabolites involved in biological processes regulating chronic diseases. We sought to identify plasma metabolic profiles distinguishing vegans (avoiding meat, eggs, dairy) from non-vegetarians (consuming ≥28 g/day red meat) of the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort using global metabolomics profiling with ultra- performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Differences in abundance of metabolites or biochemical subclasses were analyzed using linear regression models, adjusting for surrogate and confounding variables, with cross-validation to simulate results from an independent sample. Random forest was used as a learning tool for classification, and principal component analysis was used to identify clusters of related metabolites. Differences in covariate-adjusted metabolite abundance were identified in over 60% of metabolites (586/930), after adjustment for false discovery. The vast majority of differentially abundant metabolites or metabolite subclasses showed lower abundance in vegans, including xanthine, histidine, branched fatty acids, acetylated peptides, ceramides, and long-chain acylcarnitines, among others. Many of these metabolite subclasses have roles in insulin dysregulation, cardiometabolic phenotypes, and inflammation. Analysis of metabolic profiles in vegans and non-vegetarians revealed vast differences in these two dietary groups, reflecting differences in consumption of animal and plant products. These metabolites serve as biomarkers of food intake, many with potential pathophysiological consequences for cardiometabolic diseases.

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