Discovery of Biomarkers of Intake of of Highly Consumed Foods in Mexico

To determine diet-health associations, researchers rely on information obtained from dietary instruments, such as the 24-hour recall (R24H), food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) and food diaries, in clinical studies. However, it is widely recognized that the information provided by the different instruments is biased by different factors including recall errors and respondent burden. The impact of the variability produced by this bias decreases the robustness of diet-health associations which results in the creation of less efficient standards and recommendations for our population. To address this, the discovery of biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) is an objective tool that indicates exposure to specific foods or various dietary patterns. BFIs allow the calibration of dietary information to obtain the real consumption of the individual and thus clarify the relationship between different pathologies of interest and the intake of different foods. BIAMEX will initially focus on the discovery of BFIs of nopal, corn tortilla, mango, avocado, guava and amaranth. For this purpose, a controlled crossover intervention study is being carried out with the 6 foods to be investigated where 24h urine and plasma samples are being collected. Subsequently, the samples collected will be analyzed by mass spectrometry.