A recent study published in Life Metabolism has found that a specific blood biomarker, measured one hour after eating (SPARC-1H), can help predict which individuals will benefit most from following a Mediterranean diet. The research was led by Drs. Jiqiu Wang and Guang Ning at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The study involved 235 Chinese adults who were overweight or obese and had prediabetes. Participants were randomly assigned to follow one of three calorie-restricted diets for six months: a Mediterranean diet, a traditional Jiangnan diet, or a control diet based on typical Shanghai eating habits. All meals were provided five days per week with a 25% reduction in calories.
Researchers measured levels of SPARC, a protein associated with inflammation in fat tissue, at fasting, one hour, and two hours after glucose intake. The results showed that only the baseline level of SPARC-1H could predict how much participants would improve metabolically on the Mediterranean diet. Those with lower initial SPARC-1H levels saw greater improvements in insulin resistance and fasting blood sugar after six months on the diet. This relationship was not observed in the other two dietary groups.
Further analysis indicated that changes in SPARC-1H were linked to shifts in certain lipid profiles—specifically reductions in plasmalogen species connected to red meat consumption and metabolic inflammation—which are characteristic of the Mediterranean diet.
The study also found that different diets may require different biomarkers for predicting health benefits. For example, while SPARC-1H predicted improvements for those on the Mediterranean diet, fasting SPARC was more relevant for those following the Jiangnan diet.
"The findings suggest that a single post-meal biomarker could help identify individuals most likely to achieve significant cardiometabolic benefit from a Mediterranean diet," according to the researchers. "The work highlights a practical route towards personalized dietary recommendations for people at risk of metabolic diseases and underscores the importance of considering diet-specific physiology when developing precision nutrition tools."
