Effect of Plant and Animal Proteins on Biomarkers of Colorectal Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes in Healthy Adults (ScenoProt)
Effect of Plant and Animal Proteins on Biomarkers of Colorectal Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes in Healthy Adults (ScenoProt)
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of dietary plant and animal proteins on
 gut metabolism and markers for colorectal cancer as well as blood protein metabolites and
 markers for type 2 diabetes in healthy adults. The study participants will be stratified into
 three groups with different protein composition in diets: 1) animal 70%/plant 30%; 2) animal
 50%/plant 50% and 3) animal 30%/plant 70%. The participants will get part of their diet as
 ready foods or raw material to promote their compliance. The participants will also get
 personal advice for their diets. Blood, stool and urine samples will be collected in the
 beginning and in the end of the 12 week intervention, as well as phenotype measures like BMI,
 blood pressure and body composition. The participants will also fill food diary before and in
 the end of the intervention.
A human intervention study with healthy volunteers will be carried out to compare the effects
 of animal and plant-based protein sources on gut metabolism and markers for colorectal cancer
 as well as blood protein metabolites and markers for type 2 diabetes.

 The study will be done in parallel-design, randomized fashion, with healthy human volunteers
 aged 20 - 69 years. Exclusion criteria will be as follows: strict vegan, regular user of fish
 oil or other food supplements, extreme sports, inflammatory bowel disease, colon irritable,
 celiac disease, continuous antibiotics or less than three months of the latest antibiotics
 use, type 2 diabetes and hormonal, liver or kidney disease. Duration of the intervention will
 be 12 weeks.

 Intervention groups will be as follows (n=50/group):

 Group 1: Dietary proteins from animal sources 70% and from plant sources 30%, representing an
 average Finnish diet consumed at the moment.

 Group 2: Dietary proteins from animal sources 50% and from plant sources 50%, containing at
 most 500 g red meat/week (according to the current Finnish Nutrition Recommendations).

 Group 3: Dietary proteins from animal sources 30% and from plant sources 70%.

 The intake of total protein will be kept at similar level compared to habitual, but intakes
 of fat and carbohydrates may vary as composing a diet with plant-based protein sources
 inevitably causes changes for example in dietary fibre intake. We will aim at controlling
 other potential dietary confounders to the extent that is possible in a whole-diet approach.
 This will ensure the feasibility of the diets and facilitate future applications in dietary
 practices at the population level.

 Before starting the intervention, the persons will get dietary advice how to fulfill their
 diets. They will get part of foods free to help to implement the diets and to enhance
 compliance.

 Blood, urine and fecal samples will be collected at the baseline (at the beginning of the
 intervention) and at the end of the intervention. Dietary intake and food consumption during
 the intervention will be followed by 3-day food records in the beginning and at the end of
 the intervention period. Nutrient intakes will be calculated using AIVO program.

 The following data collection and analyses will be carried out at the beginning and at the
 end of intervention:

 -  height, weight, waist circumference

 -  body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis

 -  resting blood pressure, hemoglobin

 -  fasting lipid profile in the blood (total cholesterol, LDL and HDL, triglycerides)

 -  fasting glucose and insulin, HbA1c in the blood

 -  markers for low-grade inflammation in the blood: hs-CRP, cytokines such as IL-1beta,
 IL-6, IL-10

 -  protein metabolomics in the blood

 -  markers of nutritional status in the bood: vit. D25-OH, carotenoids, vitamin C and B12,
 alkyl resorcinols

 -  urea/nitrogen in the urine

 -  measures of gut metabolism and risk markers for colorectal cancer: total N-nitroso
 compounds in the feces, plant-derived polyphenol metabolites in the feces, concentration
 of bile acids, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assays of fecal water samples in 2D and 3D
 colon cancer cell cultures and gut microbiota analyses.
Inclusion Criteria:

 Healthy, no exclusion criteria listed below.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 Strict vegan, food allergies, oral medication for any allergies, regular use of food
 supplements, extreme sports, inflammatory bowel disease, colon irritable, caeliac disease,
 any kind of cancer within 5 years, continuous antibiotics or less than three months of the
 latest antibiotics use, type 1 or 2 diabetes, hormonal, liver or kidney disease, pregnancy,
 lactation.