Khara Lucius, ND

Category: Nutrition

  • Combo of Curcumin or Resveratrol with Mediterranean Diet in People with Ulcerative Colitis

    Combo of Curcumin or Resveratrol with Mediterranean Diet in People with Ulcerative Colitis

    This was a small, short-term study in 46 people with mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis (UC). Subjects were randomized to one of three groups for 8 weeks:

    • Mediterranean Diet (MD)
    • MD plus curcumin 1600mg daily
    • MD plus resveratrol 500mg daily

    At the completion of the trial, all groups experienced significant reductions in CRP and ESR levels (p <0.05). Only the resveratrol group saw a significant improvement in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p =0.01).

    All groups also had significant reductions in the frequency of bowel movements (p= 0.001 for all). Regarding health-related QOL, all groups experienced statistically significant improvements (p<0.05); compared to the other groups, the resveratrol group subjects had even better pain scores (p<0.05), and the curcumin group reported even better social functioning (p<0.05).

    This trial lends support to the concept that the MD is safe and effective in people with mild or moderate UC. Is there a strong advantage to adding curcumin or resveratrol to the MD for these folks? In this trial, aside from some minor differences, there was not a big advantage. It does seem important to note that both curcumin and resveratrol are thought to suffer from poor bioavailability. The formulations of curcumin and resveratrol used in this particular trial do not specify any ingredients or manufacturing methods that would enhance bioavailability.

    Citation:

    Erol Doğan Ö, Karaca Çelik KE, Baş M, Alan EH, Çağın YF. Effects of Mediterranean Diet, Curcumin, and Resveratrol on Mild-to-Moderate Active Ulcerative Colitis: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 2024 May 16;16(10):1504. doi: 10.3390/nu16101504.

    Link:

    Full text on Pub Med

  • Fasting Mimicking Diet Reduces Hepatic Fat, Insulin Resistance, and Biological Age

    Fasting Mimicking Diet Reduces Hepatic Fat, Insulin Resistance, and Biological Age  

    In this study, 100 adults were randomized to either their usual diet, or to a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD), for 3 months. Usual diet group participants were simply instructed to follow their regular diet. Fasting participants followed FMD for 5 days per month for 3 consecutive months, using a commercial FMD meal kit (Prolon). Mean age was 42.2 ± 12.5 for usual diet group subjects, and 43.3 ± 11.7 for FMD group subjects. Baseline BMI was comparable: 27.8 ± 5.1 in usual diet group subjects, and 26.6 ± 4.9 for FMD group subjects.

    At the completion of the trial, FMD subjects reduced both total body fat and BMI (p= 0.002 and p= 0.0002). Fifteen subjects also volunteered to complete an MRI to measure abdominal fat distribution. For these volunteers who also had BMI >25, both subcutaneous and visceral fat were reduced from baseline (p =0.008 and p= 0.003). Five participants also had hepatic steatosis (baseline hepatic fat fraction, HFF, of >5%). For these subjects, HFF was reduced from 14.32 ± 5.8% at baseline, to 7.94 ± 4.22%, an almost 50% reduction (p = 0.02).

    Regarding insulin resistance, HOMA-IR was reduced from 1.473 ± 0.85 to 1.209 ± 0.99 with FMD (p = 0.046), and HbA1c went from 5.8 ± 0.3 at baseline, to 5.43 ± 0.404 (p = 0.032).

    To calculate “biological age”, a group of multi-system biomarkers was used (albumin, alkaline phosphatase, serum creatinine, C-reactive protein, Hba1c, systolic BP, and total cholesterol, using the biologic age equation from NHANES III). Median biological age in the FMD participants decreased by close to 2.5 years (p = 0.0007). Change in biologic age was found to be independent of weight loss.

    Citation:

    Brandhorst S, Levine ME, Wei M, Shelehchi M, Morgan TE, Nayak KS, Dorff T, Hong K, Crimmins EM, Cohen P, Longo VD. Fasting-mimicking diet causes hepatic and blood markers changes indicating reduced biological age and disease risk. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 20;15(1):1309. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45260-9. PMID: 38378685; PMCID: PMC10879164.

    Link:

    Full text on Pub Med