Tag Archives: metabolism

The Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Co-Enzyme Q10 Beneficial for Healthy Aging

Healthy aging is a concern of almost everyone, considering barring any unforeseen circumstances, we all grow older. Metabolism is one focus of healthy aging researchers, with variations in metabolism

Photo by Flickr user  Vinoth Chandar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/8530944828)
Photo by Flickr user Vinoth Chandar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/8530944828)

resulting in various ailments among the elderly. Additionally, outside factors that can influence metabolism, like diet and lifestyle choices, are of interest to researchers, as changes in these habits could lead to improved aging and reduced risk of disease and injury in the elderly.

A new study in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences looked at the effect of diet on the metabolic profile of elderly, by comparing the Mediterranean diet, the Mediterranean diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10, the Western diet rich in saturated fat, and a low-fat/high-carb diet rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fat.

This study followed 10 participants, with each participant consuming each of the four diets for a four week period each (16 weeks total).

Metabolic profile of urine of each participant was measured at the start of each diet, and again after a 12 hour fast at the completion of each diet.

Important Findings:

  • Comparing the Mediterranean & CO-Q (Med&CO-Q) diet with the Western/Saturated fat diet, women consuming the saturated fat diet had higher levels of phenylacteylglycine in their urine than those women consuming the Med&CO-Q diet.
  • The Med&CO-Q diet was positively associated with B-carotene plasma levels.
  • The Med&CO-Q diet was negatively associated with Nrf2, thioredoxin, superoxide dismutase 1, and the gp91phox subunit of NADPH oxidase gene expression.
  • The Western/Saturated fat diet was positively associated with isoprostane levels in urine.
  • The Western/Saturated fat diet was negatively associated with CO-Q plasma levels.

These results suggest that the Mediterranean Diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10 may be beneficial for healthy aging in elderly. The specific metabolic findings mentioned above indicate that the

Photo by Flickr user Moyan Brenn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238549826)
Photo by Flickr user Moyan Brenn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238549826)

Mediterranean Diet supplemented with Co-enzyme Q10 could reduce the risk of disease caused by chronic oxidative stress, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.

It is important to note the sample size in this study was very small (only 10 individuals), so more research is required to further support or refute these claims.

Source:

González-Guardia, L., Yubero-Serrano, E.M., Delgado-Lista, J., Perez-Martinez, P., Garcia-Rios, A., Marin, C., Camargo, A., Delgado-Casado, N., Roche, H.M., Perez-Jimenez, F., Brennan, L., and López-Miranda, J. 2015. Effects of the Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Coenzyme Q10 on Metabolomic Profiles in Elderly Men and Women. Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences 70(1): 78-84.

Eating a Mediterranean Diet Associated with Lower Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

A recent review performed a meta-analysis on studies within the last year to determine if consuming a Mediterranean-style diet had any influence on type 2 diabetes or not.

The 17 studies included in the review varied in nature in terms of their experimental protocols: 1 was a clinical trial, 9 were prospective studies,

Photo By Tomwsulcer (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Tomwsulcer (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
and 7 were cross-sectional studies. Comparing studies with different experimental designs can be somewhat problematic, but there are ways to compare on a more broad scale.

Primary finding:

  • Sticking to a Mediterranean diet led to a 23% decrease in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
    • Even when controlling for region, general health status, and several other potentially confounding factors, this decrease in risk of developing type 2 diabetes was still seen.

While not a be-all end-all “cure” for type 2 diabetes, according to this meta-analysis, eating and maintaining a Mediterranean-style diet could provide some nutritional benefit to those wishing to prevent development of the disease.

 

Source:

Koloverou, E., Esposito, K., Giugliano, D., and Panagiotakos, D. 2014. The effects of Mediterranean diet on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis of 10 prospective studies and 136,846 participants. Metabolism 63: 903-911.