Efficacy of nutritional interventions to lower circulating ceramides in young adults: FRUVEDomic pilot study

Abstract

The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends a diet largely composed of fruit and vegetables. Consuming a diet high in fruit and vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates and saturated fat may reduce an individual's risk for type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, low‐grade chronic inflammation, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Several recent studies have implicated the bioactive sphingolipid ceramide as an associative and causative biomarker for the development of these conditions. Considering that the intake of fruit and vegetables is frequently inadequate in young adults, we performed a pilot investigation to assess the efficacy of a free‐living fruit and vegetable intervention on overall metabolic health, circulating ceramide supply, and inflammatory status in young adults. We discovered that adoption of the recommended DGA for fruit and vegetable intake for 8 weeks decreased waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and circulating cholesterol. Lipidomics analysis revealed that nutritional intervention can lower circulating ceramides, including C24:0 ceramide, a known inhibitor of insulin signaling. Unexpectedly, we observed an increase in C16:0 ceramide, suggesting that this form of ceramide in circulation is not associated with metabolic disease in humans. We also observed an improved inflammatory status with enhanced fruit and vegetable intake that was correlated with ceramide concentrations. These data suggest that adopting the recommended DGA is associated with a reduction of many, but not all, ceramide species and may help to prevent or mitigate MetS. Future research needs to assess whether the ceramide‐lowering ability of nutritional intervention is associated with reduced risk of developing metabolic disease.

Flaxseed Oil or n‐7 Fatty Acid‐Enhanced Fish Oil Supplementation Alters Fatty Acid Composition, Plasma Insulin and Serum Ceramide Concentrations, and Gene Expression in Lambs

“…The predominant (>40%) ceramide in the serum was 24:0‐Cer, followed by 16:0‐Cer and 22:0‐Cer, which were both about 20% of total. This profile is comparable to dairy cows (Rico et al, ) and humans (Mathews et al, ). Supplementation with POA reduced circulating levels of 24:0‐Cer and 24:1‐MHexCer, and increased circulating levels of 24:0‐LacCer compared to CON or FLAX.…”

Ceramides and Ceramide Scores: Clinical Applications for Cardiometabolic Risk Stratification

“…Additionally, certain dietary interventions may lower circulating ceramide levels. Mathews et al assessed the efficacy of a fruit and vegetable intervention on overall metabolic health, circulating ceramide supply and inflammatory status in young adults ( 40 ). They observed in this pilot study of 36 young adults participating in the 8-week free-living nutritional intervention that a short-term nutritional intervention can lower serum ceramide concentrations.…”

Impact of a Fruit and Vegetable Diet Intervention in Young Adults with Metabolic Syndrome on Behavior and Gut Microbiome

“…Similarly, metabolic parameters improved in participants after an 8-week energy-restricted Mediterranean diet[25]. We previously reported our results of an 8-week diet focused on adopting the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans that improved metabolic and cardiovascular measures in young adults without MetS[87]. Altogether, these results indicate a simple intensive 8-week diet intervention can improve metabolic parameters.…”

“…Another concern is the study length of 8-weeks. While this has been enough time to yield metabolic and microbial improvements in other studies [25], and in our previous study using a similar 8-week diet intervention [87], this cohort (with risk of MetS) did not see as many desired metabolic improvements suggesting that as disease burden increases that longer diet interventions may be needed. Lengthening the study period may help give participants with lower baseline diet quality the extra time needed to improve their diet in a free-living intervention, which more closely resembles peoples' lives and struggles.…”