Micronutrients & recovery
Adherence to a Western diet for two weeks significantly increases plasma levels of specific fatty acids (myristic, linoelaidic, linoleic, alpha-linoleic, pentadecanoic acid) and urinary acesulfame K, serving as biomarkers for unhealthy eating patterns.
If you consume a Western diet high in processed foods, red meat, and artificial sweeteners, your body reflects this quickly. Within two weeks, levels of specific fatty acids (like myristic and linoelaidic acid) and acesulfame K rise in your blood and urine. This objective change signals that your diet is shifting towards an unhealthy pattern, highlighting the importance of reducing processed foods and artificial sweeteners.
In contrast, plasma myristic acid, linoelaidic acid, linoleic acid, α-linoleic acid, pentadecanoic acid, alanine, proline, carnitine, and deoxycarnitine, as well as urinary acesulfame K increased among participants following a Western diet.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with rigorous metabolomic validation.
Source
Metabolic Trajectories Following Contrasting Prudent and Western Diets from Food Provisions: Identifying Robust Biomarkers of Short-Term Changes in Habitual Diet
Nadine Wellington et al. · Nutrients · 2019
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