Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment
Abstract Long-duration spaceflight impacts human physiology, including well documented immune system dysregulation. The space food system has the potential to serve as a countermeasure to maladaptive physiological changes during spaceflight. However, the relationship between dietary requirements, th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21927-5 |
| _version_ | 1811198546669469696 |
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| author | Grace L. Douglas Diane DeKerlegand Holly Dlouhy Nathan Dumont-Leblond Eden Fields Martina Heer Stephanie Krieger Satish Mehta Bridgette V. Rooney Manolito G. Torralba Sara E. Whiting Brian Crucian Hernan Lorenzi Scott M. Smith Millennia Young Sara R. Zwart |
| author_facet | Grace L. Douglas Diane DeKerlegand Holly Dlouhy Nathan Dumont-Leblond Eden Fields Martina Heer Stephanie Krieger Satish Mehta Bridgette V. Rooney Manolito G. Torralba Sara E. Whiting Brian Crucian Hernan Lorenzi Scott M. Smith Millennia Young Sara R. Zwart |
| author_sort | Grace L. Douglas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Long-duration spaceflight impacts human physiology, including well documented immune system dysregulation. The space food system has the potential to serve as a countermeasure to maladaptive physiological changes during spaceflight. However, the relationship between dietary requirements, the food system, and spaceflight adaptation requires further investigation to adequately define countermeasures and prioritize resources on future spaceflight missions. We evaluated the impact of an enhanced spaceflight diet, with increased quantity and variety of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other foods rich in flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acids, compared to a standard spaceflight diet on multiple health and performance outcomes in 16 subjects over four 45-day closed chamber missions in the NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA). Subjects consuming the enhanced spaceflight diet had lower cholesterol levels, lower stress (i.e. cortisol levels), better cognitive speed, accuracy, and attention, and a more stable microbiome and metatranscriptome than subjects consuming the standard diet. Although no substantial changes were observed in the immune response, there were also no immune challenges, such as illness or infection, so the full benefits of the diet may not have been apparent in these analog missions. These results indicate that a spaceflight diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids produces significant health and performance benefits even over short durations. Further investigation is required to fully develop dietary countermeasures to physiological decrements observed during spaceflight. These results will have implications for food resource prioritization on spaceflight missions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:33:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-753fcbc228d141d9ba576fd8e3bd77a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:33:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-753fcbc228d141d9ba576fd8e3bd77a12022-12-22T03:53:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-12-0112112210.1038/s41598-022-21927-5Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environmentGrace L. Douglas0Diane DeKerlegand1Holly Dlouhy2Nathan Dumont-Leblond3Eden Fields4Martina Heer5Stephanie Krieger6Satish Mehta7Bridgette V. Rooney8Manolito G. Torralba9Sara E. Whiting10Brian Crucian11Hernan Lorenzi12Scott M. Smith13Millennia Young14Sara R. Zwart15Human Health and Performance Directorate (SF4), NASA Johnson Space CenterJES TechKBRCentre de Recherche de L’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie Et de Pneumologie de QuébecJES TechIU International University of Applied Sciences and University of BonnKBRJES TechGeoControl CompanyJ Craig Venter InstituteKBRHuman Health and Performance Directorate (SF4), NASA Johnson Space CenterJ Craig Venter InstituteHuman Health and Performance Directorate (SF4), NASA Johnson Space CenterHuman Health and Performance Directorate (SF4), NASA Johnson Space CenterUniversity of Texas Medical BranchAbstract Long-duration spaceflight impacts human physiology, including well documented immune system dysregulation. The space food system has the potential to serve as a countermeasure to maladaptive physiological changes during spaceflight. However, the relationship between dietary requirements, the food system, and spaceflight adaptation requires further investigation to adequately define countermeasures and prioritize resources on future spaceflight missions. We evaluated the impact of an enhanced spaceflight diet, with increased quantity and variety of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other foods rich in flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acids, compared to a standard spaceflight diet on multiple health and performance outcomes in 16 subjects over four 45-day closed chamber missions in the NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA). Subjects consuming the enhanced spaceflight diet had lower cholesterol levels, lower stress (i.e. cortisol levels), better cognitive speed, accuracy, and attention, and a more stable microbiome and metatranscriptome than subjects consuming the standard diet. Although no substantial changes were observed in the immune response, there were also no immune challenges, such as illness or infection, so the full benefits of the diet may not have been apparent in these analog missions. These results indicate that a spaceflight diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids produces significant health and performance benefits even over short durations. Further investigation is required to fully develop dietary countermeasures to physiological decrements observed during spaceflight. These results will have implications for food resource prioritization on spaceflight missions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21927-5 |
| spellingShingle | Grace L. Douglas Diane DeKerlegand Holly Dlouhy Nathan Dumont-Leblond Eden Fields Martina Heer Stephanie Krieger Satish Mehta Bridgette V. Rooney Manolito G. Torralba Sara E. Whiting Brian Crucian Hernan Lorenzi Scott M. Smith Millennia Young Sara R. Zwart Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment Scientific Reports |
| title | Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| title_full | Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| title_fullStr | Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| title_short | Impact of diet on human nutrition, immune response, gut microbiome, and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| title_sort | impact of diet on human nutrition immune response gut microbiome and cognition in an isolated and confined mission environment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21927-5 |
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