Scientists from LIOS find out that a fasting-mimicking diet can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases

Researchers at the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Pharmacology (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis) and Riga Stradiņš University (Latvia) have shown for the first time that fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is an effective and feasible strategy to significantly decrease plasma trimethylamine N-oxide concentrations and thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This research is published in the open-access journal “Nutrients” (IF= 5.719).

Recently trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) has become a trending topic of scientific discussion and scientists are linking increased plasma concentrations of TMAO to a higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. As TMAO is a diet-derived gut microbiota metabolite, LIOS researchers decided to find out if the dietary approaches can target TMAO levels.

Researchers have determined the effects of FMD, which is a vegetable-based, low-calorie and low-protein alternative of intermittent fasting, on TMAO levels and other metabolic parameters in healthy volunteers.

They realized that a 5-day cycle of FMD is an effective and feasible strategy to significantly decrease plasma TMAO concentrations. In parallel, they observed notable improvements in plasma metabolic parameters in all volunteers subjected to FMD.

The present study provides evidence that this type of cyclic caloric restriction that instigates molecular mechanisms of fasting combined with limiting the intake of animal-derived protein sources should be considered a novel dietary approach to target TMAO levels.