Biomarker of whole grain wheat intake associated lower BMI in older adults

Abstract

Alkylresorcinols (AR) are phenolic lipids in the bran fraction of some whole grains (wheat, rye and barley). Plasma AR reflect recent intake of these whole grains. We examined the cross‐sectional associations between plasma AR (measured by LCMS/MS), whole wheat intake, and body mass index (BMI) in 407 free‐living older adults (166 men and 241 women; 60–81y; mean BMI 27.9 kg/m2). After adjustment for total cholesterol and triglyceride, median plasma AR across quartile categories of AR were 5, 13, 28, and 62 nmol/L, respectively. Whole grain wheat (servings/d) and bran (g/d) intakes were estimated using a semi‐quantitative FFQ. Spearman correlation coefficients between plasma AR and whole grain wheat and bran were 0.34 and 0.28, respectively. Age and sex adjusted geometric mean daily whole wheat intakes in the lowest and highest quartile categories of plasma AR were 0.4 and 1.1 servings (P‐trend <0.0001). Without inclusion of added bran, whole grain intake (g/d) was weakly correlated with plasma AR (r = 0.12, P<0.0001). After adjustment for lifestyle and dietary covariates, mean BMI values in the lowest and highest quartile category of plasma AR were 27.8 and 26.7 kg/m2, respectively (P‐trend 0.03). Our study confirms the observed inverse relationship between whole grain intake and BMI using an independent biomarker of whole grain wheat intake.Grant Funding Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under Cooperative Agreement 58‐1950‐7‐707, the National Institutes of Health (AG14759 and HL69272)