NMR foodomics in the assessment of diet and effects beyond nutrients

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review provides an overview of most recent research studies employing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics in the assessment of effects of diet and food ingestion.

Recent findings: NMR metabolomics is a useful tool in the elucidation of specific diets, for example, the Mediterranean diet, the New Nordic diet types, and also for comparing vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diets where specific diet-linked metabolite perturbations have been identified. Another core area where NMR metabolomics is employed involves research focused on examining specific food components or ingredients, including dietary fibers and other functional components. In several cases, NMR metabolomics has aided to document how specific food components exert effects on the metabolic activity of the gut microbiota. Research has also demonstrated the potential use of NMR metabolomics in assessing diet quality and interactions between specific food components such as meat and diet quality. The implications of these findings are important as they address that background diet can be decisive for if food items turn out to exert either harmful or health-promoting effects.

Summary: NMR metabolomics can provide important mechanistic insight and aid to biomarker discovery with implications for compliance and food registration purposes.