How healthy is your diet? This new urine test can reveal the truth

New Delhi: Scientists have found a new technique that can help you determine whether your eating habit is pretty healthy or not.

As per a new study, the five-minute urine test can track a person's diet by showing how much fat, sugar, fibre and protein a person has eaten.

It detects and measures the levels of certain biological markers that are created by breakdown of foods such as red meat, chicken, fish and fruit and vegetables.

The study, which was carried out by the researchers at Aberystwyth University, Imperial College London and Newcastle University, focused on 19 people who had been make to follow four different diets ranging from very healthy (high in fruits and vegetables) to quite unhealthy (with lots of high-fat foods and low in fruits and vegetables).

All participants strictly followed the diets for three days and stayed at a lab, throughout which the researchers collected their urine samples in the morning, afternoon and evening.

The researchers analysed for various compounds, called metabolites, produced when certain foods are broken down in the body.

Some of the compounds indicate red meat, chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables while others point at some specific foods as grapes, citrus fruits or leafy green vegetables.

Professor John Draper from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University, and co-author on the study, is working on developing the test for use in the home.

“The future challenge is to apply the technology developed in this laboratory study in a community setting and objectively monitor diet in the home. The teams in Aberystwyth and Newcastle have been doing just this and the results are looking very promising,” professor Draper said.

Researchers, based on the results of the tests, develop a urine metabolite profile that indicates a person is eating a healthy, balanced diet comprising of fruit and vegetables.

The study has been published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.