The association of minerals intake in three meals with cancer and all-cause mortality: the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2014

Abstract

Background Intake time of diet has recently been demonstrated to be associated with the internal clock and circadian pattern. However, whether and how the intake time of minerals would influence the natural course of cancer was largely unknown. Methods This study aimed to assess the association of mineral intake at different periods with cancer and all-cause mortality. A total of 27,455 participants aged 18–85 years old in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were recruited. The main exposures were the mineral intakes in the morning, afternoon and evening, which were categorized into quintiles, respectively. The main outcomes were mortality of cancer and all causes. Results During the 178,182 person-years of follow-up, 2680 deaths, including 601 deaths due to cancer, were documented. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared to the participants who were in the lowest quintile(quintile-1) of mineral intakes at dinner, the participants in the highest quintile intake(quintile-5) of dietary potassium, calcium and magnesium had lower mortality risks of cancer (HRpotassium = 0.72, 95% CI:0.55–0.94, P for trend = 0.023; HRcalcium = 0.74, 95% CI:0.57–0.98, P for trend = 0.05; HRmagnesium = 0.75, 95% CI:0.56–0.99, P for trend = 0.037) and all-cause (HRpotassium = 0.83, 95% CI:0.73–0.94, P for trend = 0.012; HRcalcium = 0.87, 95% CI:0.76–0.99, P for trend = 0.025; HRmagnesium = 0.85, 95% CI:0.74–0.97, P for trend = 0.011; HRcopper = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.68–0.94, P for trend = 0.012). Further, equivalently replacing 10% of dietary potassium, calcium and magnesium consumed in the morning with those in the evening were associated with lower mortality risk of cancer (HRpotassium = 0.94, 95%CI:0.91–0.97; HRcalcium = 0.95, 95%CI:0.92–0.98; HRmagnesium = 0.95, 95%CI: 0.92–0.98). Conclusions This study demonstrated that the optimal intake time of potassium, calcium and magnesium for reducing the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality was in the evening.

Is There a Utility of Chrono‐Specific Diets in Improving Cardiometabolic Health?

“…In the case of minerals and their optimal intake timing, a cohort study has found that evening intake of potassium, calcium, and magnesium reduced the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality, which aligns with each mineral's corresponding metabolic rhythms. [91] This was in contrast to morning and afternoon intake, in which no significant associations were observed. With regards to cardiometabolic health, balancing potassium intake with circadian rhythms of potassium homeostasis, particularly its absorptivity and excretion rhythms-may improve potassium retention and the regulation of membrane polarization, which potentially extends to glucose and lipid intestinal absorption, metabolism, as well as blood pressure regulation, [91] although the exact mechanisms is yet to be established.…”

“…[ 91 ] This was in contrast to morning and afternoon intake, in which no significant associations were observed. With regards to cardiometabolic health, balancing potassium intake with circadian rhythms of potassium homeostasis, particularly its absorptivity and excretion rhythms—may improve potassium retention and the regulation of membrane polarization, which potentially extends to glucose and lipid intestinal absorption, metabolism, as well as blood pressure regulation, [ 91 ] —although the exact mechanisms is yet to be established.…”

The Association of Dietary Fiber Intake in Three Meals with All-Cause and Disease-Specific Mortality among Adults: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2014

“…In nutritional epidemiology, food substitution models have been used to study the relationship between nutrient or food substitution and related health or disease outcomes and offer dietary advice for the prevention and treatment of diseases [30]. Today, many studies have recognized and used the method of substitution analysis to study the substitution of one food or nutrient with another under the premise of equal energy or equal intake, and then observed changes in epidemiological indicators [5,31,32]. Based on the CPH model mentioned above, we established an equivalent dietary fiber substitution model to evaluate the changes in all-cause and cancer mortality risks caused by switching dietary fiber intake from a single time period to another single time period.…”

“…As a result, research in the field of nutrition has created the concept of chrono-nutrition, which posits that when you eat is as important as what you eat [2]. A growing body of animal and human studies have shown that the timing of energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intake had an influence on biological clocks and circadian rhythms, which are associated with the development of cancer and CVD [3][4][5][6][7]. However, to date, whether and how the intake time of dietary fiber could impact the health of humans remains largely unknown.…”

Emergence of nutrigenomics and dietary components as a complementary therapy in cancer prevention

“…Some minerals, such as zinc, selenium, magnesium, vanadium, and germanium, are connected to human health and cancer prevention among the multitude of essential and non-essential minerals (Singh et al 2012). The immune system is the natural mechanism that defends against cancer (Xu et al 2021), and minerals supplement it. Numerous population studies have discovered that dietary mineral intake may in uence the development of some cancers.…”