Effect of toxic trace element detoxification, body fat reduction following four-week intake of the Wellnessup diet: a three-arm, randomized clinical trial

Su-Jin Jung; Woo-Lim Kim; Byung-Hyun Park; Seung-Ok Lee; Soo-Wan Chae

doi:10.1186/s12986-020-00465-9

Effect of toxic trace element detoxification, body fat reduction following four-week intake of the Wellnessup diet: a three-arm, randomized clinical trial

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2020 Jun 22:17:47. doi: 10.1186/s12986-020-00465-9. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Su-Jin Jung^{1

2}, Woo-Lim Kim¹, Byung-Hyun Park^{2

3}, Seung-Ok Lee^{2

4}, Soo-Wan Chae^{1

2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Trial Center for Functional Foods, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54907 South Korea.
² Biomedical Research Institute, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54907 South Korea.
³ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896 South Korea.
⁴ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896 South Korea.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896 South Korea.

Abstract

Background: Detox diet are known as a popular dieting strategies that helps toxins elimination and weight manage but there is very little clinical evidence. The Wellnessup diet (WD) used in the present study designed as a healthy meals based on organic plant based diets including various vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and phytonutrients.

Methods: To evaluate the effects of 4 week intake of the WD on toxic trace element detoxification, body fat reduction, and safety parameters. Forty-five women with body mass index (BMI) of 23.5-30 kg/m² were recruited. Thirty of them were assigned 1:1 to the test group (WD, 15 subjects) and control group 1 (calorie-restricted diet, CRD, 15 subjects) in a single blind and randomized, and the remaining 15 subjects were assigned to control group 2 (maintaining regular diet, MRD). The primary outcome were toxic trace element levels in hair (29 types of heavy metals), and the secondary outcomes were changes in anthropometric and urinary organic acids.

Results: The levels of four toxic trace elements in hair decreased in the WD group after the diet compared to before the diet. Ni, Rh, Sn, and Ga were significantly lower in the WD group than in the CRD or MRD group (p < 0.05). At the end of the trial, both WD and CRD groups had lower BMI, Waist Circumference(WC), Hip Circumference(HC) and WHR compared to the baseline values (p < 0.05). Compared to the WD group, the CRD group had a greater mean change (p < 0.05) from the baseline for weight loss (- 3.22 ± 0.48 kg vs - 1.88 ± 0.95 kg vs) and fat free mass (- 2.08 kg vs - 1.09 kg). The weight, BMI, body fat mass, fat free mass, WC, and HC of the CRD group were significantly decreased compared to the MRD (p < 0.05). No significant changes in any safety parameter were observed.

Conclusions: Use of WD might have several beneficial effects and safety such as body fat reduction and improving some the element detoxification through caloric restriction but did not reducing body fat mass more than calorie-restricted diet.

Trial registration: This study was registered at Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) of Republic of Korea (KCT0003002).

Keywords: Calorie-restricted diet; Detoxification; Toxic trace elements; Weight control; Wellnessup diet.