From the Guidelines
Yes, nutrition monitoring does involve tracking blood parameters.
Key Blood Parameters
- Glucose
- A1C
- Lipids
- Blood pressure as stated in 1.
Monitoring Purpose
The purpose of monitoring these parameters is to assess the need for changes in therapy and to ensure successful outcomes, as noted in 1 and 1.
Additional Monitoring
In addition to blood parameters, monitoring of nutrition therapy may also involve tracking weight, anthropometry, body composition, and functional measures such as hand grip strength and gait speed, as mentioned in 1.
Biochemical Markers
While there are no good biochemical markers of nutritional status, plasma albumin and transthyretin/pre-albumin concentrations may be used to indicate and monitor catabolic activity, although their validity as nutrition indicators is low due to perturbation by inflammation, as stated in 1.
From the Research
Nutrition and Blood Parameters
- Nutrition can be monitored through blood parameters, as certain biomarkers in the blood can indicate nutritional status and intake 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Studies have shown that blood biomarkers such as glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and amino acids can be used to predict macronutrient composition of meals and monitor nutritional intake 2.
- Additionally, blood parameters such as hemoglobin, total cholesterol, and albumin can be used to assess malnutrition risk in older adults 5.
Blood Biomarkers and Nutrition
- Certain blood biomarkers, such as albumin and prealbumin, can be affected by acute illness and must be carefully interpreted in acute care settings 5.
- Blood type has not been shown to be associated with changes in cardiometabolic outcomes in response to a plant-based dietary intervention 6.
- The concentration of certain blood biomarkers, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and B vitamins, can be affected by nutritional intake and can be used to monitor nutritional status 4.
Monitoring Nutritional Intake
- Monitoring nutritional intake through blood parameters can be useful in preventing and treating diet-related diseases, particularly in hospitalized patients and older adults 3, 5.
- Regular bloodwork can help identify sudden unexplained changes in serum levels of glucose, potassium, and sodium, which can be indicative of spurious bloodwork or incorrect blood draw techniques 3.
- The use of machine learning models to predict macronutrient amounts from blood biomarkers can improve the accuracy of nutritional monitoring and may lead to the development of automated methods to monitor nutritional intake 2.