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The first findings in ORIGINS’ BioMood study have now been published, examining whether a Mediterranean diet can affect key biological markers in perinatal women.
Led by The ORIGINS Project Biobank Manager Nina D’Vaz, BioMood is a pilot study assessing the association between the Mediterranean diet, inflammation, metabolome, microbiome and mental health during pregnancy.
The aim of the project is to identify if perinatal women can reduce inflammation and better their gut health through this diet, which emphasises plant-based foods and healthy fats.
Published in Frontiers in Nutrition, the study reviewed properties in 51 women’s biosamples to investigate the relationship of the mediterranean diet along key inflammatory markers.
The findings confirmed an impact on inflammatory markers in perinatal women who maintain this type of diet, expanding an understanding on how to drive health outcomes during this period.
The BioMood researchers are now investigating the effect of the mediterranean diet on the microbiome, which in combination with inflammation has important effects on our health and wellbeing.
We anticipate the promising results will help us get funding for large-scale studies to investigate in more detail the effect of healthy pregnancy diets and biomarkers on both mums and children.
The study is the latest in a string of discoveries to come out of The ORIGINS Project, a The Kids Research Institute Australia led program that is following 10,000 children for over a decade to improve child and adult health. It is the largest program of its kind in Australia.