1. Stable Carbon Isotope Signatures in Human Blood from 200 Individuals: A Potential Biochemical Assay for the Consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup Rebecca Kraft Center for a Livable Future Research Day April 8, 2008 Advisor: Dr. A. Hope Jahren

2. Obesity as a sustainability issue in health 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 199619982000 2002 2004 Since the 1976 prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States has increased from under 15% to 33% (2004) Causeof death% 1.Heart disease27 2.Cancer24 3.Accidents6 4.Stroke5 5.Respiratory5 6.Diabetes3 7.Pneumonia2 8.Suicide2 9.Kidney disease2 10.Alzheimer’s 2 (*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs overweight for 5’ 4” person) Health consequences Type 2 Diabetes Hypertension Dyslipidemia Coronary heart disease Stroke Gallbladder disease Sleep apnea Endometrial cancer Breast cancer Colon cancer …

3. Dietary change and obesity overweight obese HFCS

4. Barriers to understanding food consumption and diet-related disease: Questionnaires are not reliable Meal components are not always known People are forgetful People lie How do we study diet- related disease?

5. Exploring health from the perspective of an earth scientist Carbon cycle diagram taken from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/CarbonCycle/carbon_cycle4.htm Human anatomy diagram taken from http://www.agen.ufl.edu/~chyn/age2062/lect/lect_19/147a.gif

6. Stable isotopes = ‰

7. Sample collection –200 individuals analyzed (100 males, 100 females) –Blood collected without additives –Serum and clot separated by centrifugation –0.05 to 0.35 mg of serum and clot transferred into high-purity tin capsules –Samples analyzed in triplicate –Analytical uncertainty: 0.01‰

8. Carbon stable isotopes in blood Total population serum Mean: -18.8 Min: -22.9 Max: -15.6 Range: 7.2 Total population clot Mean: -18.9 Min: -23 Max: -16.1 Range: 6.9 Female Serum Mean: -18.8 Min: -22.9 Max: -15.6 Range: 7.2 Male Serum Mean: -18.7 Min: -20.9 Max: -16.1 Range: 4.8 Female Clot Mean: -19.1 Min: -23 Max: -16.1 Range: 6.9 Male Clot Mean: -18.8 Min: -21 Max: -16.8 Range: 4.2  13 C VPBD (‰)

9. What is the relationship between clot and serum?

10. Blood carbon signatures in context

11. The next steps In progress –Feeding study in partnership with the USDA –Several studies correlating survey data consumption with blood stable isotope data The future –Blood archive study examining blood isotopic composition in relation to obesity and diabetes –Isotopic composition of other blood components

12. Project collaborators and funding Funding –Center for a Livable Future Innovation Grant Collaboration: This project and our continuation of research is made possible by the cooperation of a diverse group of researchers spanning JHU, JHSPH, JHMI, and the USDA

13. Is there a relationship between carbon and nitrogen? –No significant correlation between carbon and nitrogen in clot or serum –May be possible to see a correlation among smaller populations grouped by consumption Female serum Male serum Female clot Male clot

14. Animal or vegetable?

15. Geochemical tool applied to health C4 photosynthesis -10 to -14‰