Chronic Sucrose Intake, Markers of Health and Biomarker Identification

Excessive free sugar intake is of concern within the general public, as intakes have been associated with weight gain and cardiovascular disease. Average intakes are over double that of the 5% of total energy intake that is recommended by the Science Advisory Committee on Nutrition, but intakes are calculated from observational measures that lack sensitivity and discovery and validation of a new biomarker from biological fluids may allow for more specific measurement and a better understanding of intake:disease relationships. Furthermore, understanding the biochemistry of sucrose intake will allow the identification of damage occurrence and alternative metabolic pathways, as well as novel protein damage that occur with chronic sucrose exposure. This study aims to identify a biomarker of chronic sucrose consumption using metabolite profiling technology. The study will be composed of a randomised controlled intervention trial, in which participants will be required to consume an amount of sucrose (0-120g/d) every day for 7 days and provide biofluid samples (urine and blood) before the initiation, during and following the intervention; that will undergo metabolic analysis. Furthermore, participants will have their anthropometrics and dietary intake monitored throughout the study. The biomarker will also be validated against the dietary information and correlated with indices of health and sucrose-induced damage. The investigators will also monitor the feasibility and acceptability of chronic sucrose intake during the intervention.