Nutrient And Non-Nutrient Intake, Relative Biomarkers and Their Health Effects In Apparently Healthy Participants

Anthropometry

Anthropometric measures including weight (in kilograms) and height (in meters) will be measured and combined to report body mass index (BMI) in kg/m\^2.

Time frame: At baseline

Assessment of fat free mass and fat mass

Bio-Impendence Analysis (BIA) was used to assess fat free mass (FFM) in kg and fat mass (FM) in kg.

Time frame: At baseline

Bioelectrical phase angle

Bio-Impendence Analysis (BIA) was used to measure phase angle in degree.

Time frame: At baseline

MediLite to assess adherence to Mediterranean Diet

The questionnaire consists of 9 items assessing the daily consumption of fruit, vegetables, cereals, meat and meat products, dairy products, alcohol, and olive oil, and the weekly consumption of legumes and fish. Each item provides a score ranging from 0 to 2 points. The final score ranges from 0 (low adherence) to 18 (high adherence to the Mediterranean diet).

Time frame: At baseline

MEDAS to assess adherence to Mediterranean Diet

The questionnaire consists of 14 items evaluating the consumption of olive oil for cooking and dressing; daily intake of vegetables, fruits, butter and red meat; weekly intake of wine, legumes, fish, nuts, sweets, pastries or sugar-sweetened beverages; intake of white meat instead of red or processed red meat and the use of "sofrito" sauce. Each item provides a score ranging from 0 to 1 point. The final score ranges from 0 (low adherence) to 14 (high adherence to the Mediterranean diet).

Time frame: At baseline

Assessment of physical activity level

The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) consists of 7 items, exploring the intensity of physical activity based on metabolic equivalent of task (MET) consumption and sedentary behavior.

Time frame: At baseline

Assessment of food consumption based on NOVA classification

The NFFQ (NOVA food frequency questionnaire) consists of 94-item grouped in 9 sections headings: (1) fruit and nuts, (2) vegetables and legumes, (3) cereals and tubers, (4) meat and fish, (5) milk, dairy products, and eggs, (6) oils, fats, and seasonings, (7) sweets and sweeteners, (8) beverages and (9) other. Data are reported as g/day and total daily intake for each NOVA category.

Time frame: At baseline

Markers of nutritional status

Serum proteins involved in the assessment of nutritional status including albumin in mg/L and transferrin in mg/L as well as serum iron in mg/L will be evaluated through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Fasting glucose and lipid profile

Markers involved in glucose and lipid metabolisms such as fasting glucose in mg/dl, total cholesterol in mg/dl, LDL-cholesterol in mg/dl, HDL-cholesterol in mg/dl and triglycerides in mg/dl will be evaluated in serum through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Liver function

Markers involved in hepatic functions such as aspartate transaminase in U/L, alanine transaminase in U/L and gamma glutamyl transferase in U/L will be evaluated in serum through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Renal function

Markers involved in renal functions including uric acid, azotemia and creatinine in mg/dl will be evaluated in serum through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Vitamins A, E and carotenoids

Plasma vitamin A and vitamin E in µg/mL as well as bioactive compounds such as carotenoids in µg/mL will be evaluated through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Vitamin D

Plasma vitamin D in ng/mL will be evaluated through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Vitamin B12 and folate

Plasma vitamin B12 in ng/mL and folate in ng/mL will be evaluated through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

C-reactive protein

C-reactive protein in mg/L will be measured in serum through standardized analytical methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Markers of systemic inflammation

Markers involved in the inflammatory status such as TNF-α in pg/mL, IL-6 in pg/mL will be measured in serum through ELISA kits.

Time frame: At baseline

Markers of intestinal permeability

Intestinal permeability will be assessed by analyzing serum zonulin in ng/mL and ZO-1 in ng/mL using ELISA kits.

Time frame: At baseline

Marker of intestinal permeability

Serum calprotectin in µg/mL and fecal calprotectin in µg/g will be analyzed.

Time frame: At baseline

Microbiota composition

Microbiota composition in fecal samples will be evaluated through 16S rRNA sequencing methods.

Time frame: At baseline

Proteomic analysis

Proteomic will be performed on serum samples using Somascan.

Time frame: At baseline

Metabolomic analysis

Metabolomic will be performed on urine samples by mass spectrometry.

Time frame: At baseline

Cellular DNA damage

To assess damage at the cellular DNA level the Comet assay technique will be employed.

Time frame: At baseline