Vegetarian diets,circulating miRNA expression and healthspan in subjects living in the Blue Zone

A long-term vegetarian diet plays a role in the longevity and maintenance of the healthspan,but the underlying mechanisms for these observations are largely unknown.Particularly,it is not known whether a longterm vegetarian dietary pattern may affect the circulating miRNA expression in such a way as to modulate the healthspan.The Adventist Health Study-2(AHS-2)cohort includes a large number of older adults who primarily follow vegetarian dietary patterns and reside in Loma Linda,California,one of five“Blue Zones”in the world in which a higher proportion of the population enjoys a longer than average lifespan.We performedmiRNA-seq in 96 subjects selected from the AHS-2 cohort with different dietary patterns.We identified several differentially expressed miRNAs between vegetarians and non-vegetarians,which are involved in immune response and cytokine signaling,cell growth and proliferation as well as age-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.Overall,our study showed that a vegetarian diet modulates aging-associated circulating miRNAs in a sex-dependent manner of differential expression for certain miRNAs,which may be related in a beneficial manner to the healthspan.Further investigation is needed to validate these miRNAs as potential biomarkers for diet-modulated longevity in humans.

Lifestyle-related disease in Crohn’s disease: Relapse prevention by a semi-vegetarian diet

AIM: To investigate whether semi-vegetarian diet (SVD) has a preventive effect against relapse of Crohn’s disease (CD) in patients who have achieved remission,who are a high-risk group for relapse.METHODS: A prospective,single center,2-year clinical trial was conducted.Twenty-two adult CD patients who achieved clinical remission either medically (n = 17) or surgically (n = 5) and consumed an SVD during hospitalization were advised to continue with an SVD and avoid known high-risk foods for inflammatory bowel disease.The primary endpoint was clinical relapse defi ned as the appearance of active symptoms of CD.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to calculate the cumulative proportion of patients who had a relapse.A 2-year analysis of relapse rates of patients who followed an SVD and those who did not (an omnivorous diet group) was undertaken.RESULTS: SVD was continued by 16 patients (compliance 73%).Remission was maintained in 15 of 16 patients (94%) in the SVD group vs two of six (33%)in the omnivorous group.Remission rate with SVD was 100% at 1 year and 92% at 2 years.SVD showed signif icant prevention in the time to relapse compared to that in the omnivorous group (P = 0.0003,log rank test).The concentration of C-reactive protein was normal at the f inal visit in more than half of the patients in remission who were taking an SVD,who maintained remission during the study (9/15;60%),who terminated follow-up (8/12;67%),and who completed 2 years follow-up (7/10;70%).There was no untoward effect of SVD.CONCLUSION: SVD was highly effective in preventing relapse in CD.

Effects of vegetarian diet-associated nutrients on gut microbiota and intestinal physiology

People are increasingly aware of the role of vegetarian diets in modulating human gut microbial abundance and intestinal physiology.A plant-based diet is thought to benefit host health by contributing to establish a diverse and stable microbiome.In addition,microbe-derived metabolites of specific nutrients known to be abundant in vegetarian diets(such as indigestible carbohydrates,arginine,and others) are important to promote effective intestinal immune responses,maintain intestinal barrier function,and protect against pathogens.This review explores the characteristics of the gut microbiome formed by vegetarian diets and the effects of diet-associated nutrients on intestinal microbial abundance.The interactions between the microbe-derived metabolites of vegetarian diet-associated nutrients and intestinal physiology are also discussed.

Effects of a shift from a mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet on some coronary heart disease risk markers

Background: There is convincing evidence that vegetarians have lower incidence of coronary heart disease, but there is a debate as to why this is the case. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether a shift from a mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet would lead to a decrease in risk for coronary heart diseases indicated by surrogate markers. Design: Twenty volunteers participated in the study (4 men and 16 women, mean age 44 years, range 27 - 61) from a town in western Sweden. Clinical examinations were performed, blood samples were drawn and dietary survey, i.e. repeated 24-h recalls were carried out before (0 months) and 3, 6 and 12 months after the change from a mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet. A dietician educated the volunteers with regard to the vegetarian dietary regimen, organized and taught the vegetarian cooking courses. Results: The dietary shift lead to an increase in the intake of total carbohydrates and fibre and a decrease in fat, protein and sucrose. The coronary heart disease risk markers body weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low-density lipoptrotein cholesterol decreased significantly. Conclusions: There was a decrease in disease risk markers even though the ratio polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids was unchanged. The main finding in this study is that there was a weight loss, sustained for one year, without any recommendation to decrease the energy intake or any focus on weight reduction.