A study led by the URV concludes that a diet rich in fibre and whole grains reduces the risk of death, especially from cancer, in people with high cardiovascular risk
For years, much of the debate surrounding carbohydrates has focused on the amount consumed. However, there is growing evidence that the quality of the foods providing them may be decisive for health. An international study by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRB CatSud) and CIBEROBN concludes that people who consume higher-quality carbohydrates have a lower risk of mortality, especially from cancer. The research, published in the journal Food & Function, highlights the importance of prioritising fibre-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains over products made with refined flours or sugary drinks.
The research team worked with data from 7,210 participants in the PREDIMED project, one of the most important clinical trials on the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular health. All participants, men aged between 55 and 80 years and women aged between 60 and 80 years, were at high cardiovascular risk and were followed for an average period of six years. During this time, 425 deaths were recorded, of which 169 were due to cancer and 103 to cardiovascular disease.
Beyond the quantity of carbohydrates
To assess the quality of carbohydrates in the diet, the research team used the Carbohydrate Quality Index (CQI), which combines four characteristics of carbohydrate-rich foods: fibre content, the proportion of whole grains relative to refined grains, glycaemic index, that is, how quickly a food raises blood glucose levels, and the proportion of carbohydrates coming from solid foods compared with sugary drinks. The aim was to evaluate the overall quality of the diet rather than simply count the grams of carbohydrates consumed.
The results reveal that participants who followed a poorer-quality diet in terms of the carbohydrates they consumed had a 28% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 48% higher risk of dying from cancer than those whose carbohydrate intake was of higher quality. “Traditionally, a great deal of attention has been paid to the quantity of carbohydrates in the diet, but our results indicate that their quality may be even more relevant for preserving health and increasing life expectancy,” highlights Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at the URV, ICREA researcher and co-author of the study.
Fibre and whole grains account for the benefits
The analysis also made it possible to identify which components of high-quality carbohydrates carry the greatest weight in this association. The benefits are mainly explained by a higher intake of fibre and whole grains. In fact, people with the lowest fibre intake had a 51% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 72% higher risk of dying from cancer. An increased risk was also observed among participants who consumed fewer whole grains, whereas the glycaemic index, analysed in isolation, showed no significant relationship with mortality.
According to the researchers, these benefits could be explained by the fact that fibre-rich plant foods also provide vitamins, minerals and other bioactive compounds that contribute to improving metabolic health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Therefore, they conclude that a simple strategy to improve health is to prioritise fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains, while reducing the consumption of sugary drinks and products made with refined flours.
Reference: Vázquez-Lorente H, Nishi SK, Shyam S, Martínez-González MA, Corella D, Estruch R, Ros E, Gómez-Gracia E, Fiol M, Lapetra J, Serra-Majem L, Esteve-Luque V, Babio N, Fitó M, Toledo E, Sorlí JV, Zazpe I, Salas-Salvadó J. Carbohydrate quality index and mortality risk in older adults at high cardiovascular risk. Food & Function. 2026;17:4404-4414.
Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance affect millions of people worldwide and significantly increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. However, the biological mechanisms that explain why these metabolic alterations are associated with a lower survival rate are still not fully understood. An international study led by researchers from Rovira i Virgili University, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine of Catalonia South (IRB CatSud), and the CIBER Network for Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) has identified a series of molecular patterns present in the blood that allow for the detection of individuals at higher risk of mortality.
The research, published in the journal Metabolism , was conducted within the framework of the PREDIMED project and is based on metabolomics, a discipline that analyzes hundreds of molecules in the body to obtain a detailed picture of its function. These molecules, called metabolites, are products of the body’s metabolic processes and contain information about genetic factors, diet, lifestyle, and a person’s health status.
The research team analyzed plasma samples—the liquid fraction of blood in which blood cells float—from nearly 700 elderly individuals with a high cardiometabolic risk. Using advanced mass spectrometry techniques, they examined hundreds of metabolites and identified 31 associated with type 2 diabetes and 105 related to insulin resistance.
Using this data, the researchers constructed two metabolomic signatures—two biological fingerprints that reflect metabolic changes when type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance develop. The results show that people with a more pronounced presence of these signatures had a significantly higher risk of dying during the follow-up period.
More specifically, participants with a metabolic signature associated with type 2 diabetes had a 52% higher risk of mortality from any cause. In the case of insulin resistance, this increase was 33%. Furthermore, the researchers identified several metabolites common to both conditions, which were also associated with a worse prognosis.
To test the robustness of the results, the research team replicated the analysis in three large, independent US cohorts containing data collected over decades: the Nurses’ Health Study I , Nurses’ Health Study II , and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study . This external validation confirmed the associations initially observed in the Mediterranean population of PREDIMED.
“These results help us better understand the biological mechanisms that link alterations in glucose metabolism with mortality risk,” explains Jesús F. García Gavilán, a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the URV. The researcher, first author of the article, also highlights the potential of metabolomics: “If we gather enough evidence, metabolites can be a powerful tool for determining a patient’s risk level, and could even pave the way for adopting precise and personalized prevention strategies.”
The study is the result of extensive international collaboration between institutions in Spain and the United States, including the URV, IRB CatSud, CIBEROBN, the University of Navarra, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute. The research was led by researchers from the ANUT-DSM group at the URV, IRB-CatSud, and CIBEROBN, and is part of a metabolomics research line supported by a National Institutes of Health project, coordinated by researchers Jordi Salas-Salvadó (URV) and Frank Hu (Navarra).
Reference: García-Gavilán JF, Paz-Graniel I, Pérez-Acosta JA, Ruiz-Canela M, Li J, Clish C, et al. Metabolomic profiles of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance and their associations with all-cause mortality . Metabolism. 2026;156599.
Research carried out by investigators from the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRB CatSud), the CIBER CIBERobn network (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de la Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición) and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has focused, within the framework of a study published in the scientific journal Andrology, on diet quality in relation to sperm quality. The study concluded that men who regularly consume nuts have better sperm quality.
The study worked with a sample of up to 222 healthy men aged between 18 and 40 years who were participants in the international project called Led-Fertyl. This was a cross-sectional study focused on dietary and lifestyle factors related to semen quality. To analyse the relationship between nut consumption and sperm quality, the researchers collected detailed information on the participants’ eating habits through validated nutritional questionnaires and compared it with the results of their semen analyses, the clinical test used to assess parameters such as sperm concentration, count, and motility.
Participants with a higher consumption of nuts were less likely to show abnormalities in sperm motility, one of the factors that may affect male fertility. More specifically, the research team points out that men who consumed one portion per day were 75% less likely to present sperm motility problems and had a 69% lower risk of having any abnormality in their semen analysis.
Study reference
Dávila-Córdova E, Babio N, Valle-Hita C, Fernández de la Puente M, Beltran-Arasa A, Cebrián-Puig M, Fambuena-Perez V, García-Serrano I, Murphy MM, Salas-Salvadó J, Salas-Huetos A. Nut Consumption and Sperm Quality in Healthy Men: Results From the Led-Fertyl Study. Andrology. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.70204
Acting without sufficiently considering the consequences, making hasty decisions or being carried away by emotions of the moment are some of the behaviours associated with impulsivity. In the past, several studies have linked this psychological trait to unhealthy habits, such as tobacco consumption, harmful substances and unhealthy foods, among others. It has also been associated with mental health problems and poorer overall health status. However, there was no clear scientific evidence in older populations without any diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
Now, a research team from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRBCatSud) and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for the Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) has demonstrated that following a low-calorie Mediterranean diet, engaging in physical activity and receiving behavioural support reduce impulsivity. The results have been published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, one of the scientific publications with the greatest international impact in the fields of psychology and psychiatry.
The team analysed data from 306 participants in the PREDIMED-Plus-Cognition study, which evaluates cognitive status and other factors related to the mental health of participants in the PREDIMED clinical trial. Volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups: one followed an intensive programme aimed at increasing adherence to a slightly calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, increasing physical activity and reinforcing these changes through behavioural support; the other received only general recommendations to follow a Mediterranean diet. Impulsivity was assessed at the beginning of the study and during the three years of follow-up through personality questionnaires and cognitive tests.
Significant behavioural changes
After three years, participants who had followed the intensive lifestyle programme showed a significant reduction, between small and moderate, in impulsivity levels compared with the control group. More specifically, they improved impulsive personality traits, reducing tendencies such as acting without thinking about the consequences. Even more relevant was the change in their behaviour, as they improved their ability to make sound decisions, learning to prioritise long-term benefits over immediate rewards.
“This is the first time it has been shown that a multimodal intervention can regulate impulsivity in older adults, potentially helping to prevent the development of future chronic diseases,” states Carlos Gómez Martínez, postdoctoral researcher at Helse Vest and the University of Bergen (Norway). For Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Professor of Nutrition at the URV and co-leader of the study together with Gómez Martínez, adopting healthy habits not only improves physical health, but also promotes more reflective decision-making: “It could facilitate the maintenance of other healthy behaviours in the long term, contribute to preserving psychological well-being and foster a greater capacity for self-regulation.”
The study was carried out by researchers from the Human Nutrition Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRBCatSud) and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for the Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN). The research is part of the PREDIMED-Plus study, developed by several groups within the CIBER of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and has received funding from the European projects Eat2BeNice and PRIME, as well as from various competitive projects of the ISCIII.
Reference: Gómez-Martínez C, Shyam S, Camacho-Barcia L, Margara-Escudero HJ, Babio N, Forcano L, Corella D, Cuenca-Royo A, de la Torre R, Jimenez-Murcia S, Pintó X, Fitó M, Fernández-Carrión R, Matura S, Franke B, Haavik J, Fernández-Aranda F, Salas-Salvadó J. Three-year effects of a multidomain lifestyle intervention on impulsivity: Results from a randomized clinical trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 2026. doi: 10.1159/000550126.
A study of 746 older people followed for six years identifies a “microbial signature” associated with this dietary pattern and more favourable cognitive ageing
Following a Mediterranean diet not only benefits the heart and metabolism, but could also help preserve cognitive function as ageing progresses. This is according to research led by the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), the IISPV and CIBERobn, which shows how this dietary pattern is associated with a healthier gut microbiota and slower cognitive decline in older adults with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome.
The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, analysed data from 746 older adults at high cardiometabolic risk, who were followed for six years. The research team assessed adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the composition of the gut microbiota and the progression of cognitive function over time. The results indicate that those who most faithfully followed this dietary pattern had a more favourable gut microbiota and a more positive cognitive trajectory.
One of the most innovative aspects of the work is the identification of a “microbial fingerprint” characteristic of the Mediterranean diet. This new biomarker, based on the presence and abundance of certain gut bacteria associated with this type of diet, is also linked to slower cognitive decline. According to the authors, this finding provides new clues about the biological mechanisms that explain the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on the brain.
Eix intestí-cervell
Cognitive function includes abilities such as memory, attention, learning, language and decision-making, which are essential for maintaining autonomy in everyday life. In parallel, the gut microbiota is composed of trillions of bacteria that are involved in key processes such as digestion, immunity and the production of substances that influence the body’s functioning. In recent years, research has revealed the existence of the so-called gut-brain axis, a bidirectional communication system through which intestinal microorganisms can produce compounds that reach the brain and affect its functioning.
“Aquest estudi demostra que la microbiota intestinal és una peça clau en els beneficis cognitius de la dieta mediterrània”, explica Jiaqi Ni, primera autora del treball i investigadora predoctoral de la URV. “Els nostres resultats suggereixen que alguns bacteris intestinals associats a una major adherència a aquest patró alimentari podrien protegir davant del deteriorament cognitiu”.
En la mateixa línia, el catedràtic de la URV Jordi Salas-Salvadó, director de l’estudi, destaca que “identificar una empremta microbiana associada a la dieta mediterrània obre noves oportunitats per dissenyar intervencions nutricionals o microbianes orientades a promoure un envelliment cognitiu saludable”. De la seva banda, les investigadores del Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia de la URV Nancy Babio i Stephanie K. Nishi subratllen la rellevància dels resultats en un context d’envelliment poblacional i augment de la prevalença de la demència, i apunten que millorar la qualitat de la dieta és una estratègia senzilla i accessible amb beneficis reals per a la salut cerebral.
El treball ha estat liderat per la investigadora predoctoral Jiaqi Ni i dirigit per Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Nancy Babio i Stephanie K. Nishi, membres de la Unitat de Nutrició Humana del Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia de la URV, amb la col·laboració d’investigadors del consorci PREDIMED-Plus. L’estudi s’emmarca en una recerca multicèntrica que contribueix a aprofundir en la relació entre alimentació, microbiota intestinal i salut cerebral al llarg de l’envelliment.
Referència bibliogràfica: Ni J, Hernández-Cacho A, Nishi SK, Babio N, Belzer C, Konstati P, Vioque J, Corella D, Castañer O, Vidal J, Moreno-Indias I, Torres-Collado L, Coltell O, Fitó M, Ruiz-Canela M, Wang DD, Tinahones FJ, Salas-Salvadó J. Mediterranean diet, gut microbiota, and cognitive decline in older adults with obesity/overweight and metabolic syndrome: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med. 2025 Dec 1;23(1):669. doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04488-y.
A URV-IISPV-CIBEROBN study warns that 80% of children’s products are not nutritionally adequate and should not be promoted
Most foods for children under three years of age marketed in Spain are of low nutritional quality and do not meet the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is indicated by a study led by the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) together with the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and the CIBER of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), which warns that these products should not be promoted for sale.
To carry out the study, which has been published in the European Journal of Pediatrics, more than 800 products were analyzed, including purees, dairy products, snacks and beverages. The research team detected repetitive nutritional problems in these foods, such as a high content of added sugars -often in the form of concentrated juices-, low caloric intake and low energy density. In addition, many of the product labels analyzed were the result of marketing strategies that were misleading because they showed confusing product names, such as “veal with carrots”, in cases where veal was a minority ingredient. They also found food packaging with messages such as “no added sugars” and even with unscientific health claims.
“Many of these products generate a false perception of quality, when in fact they are not suitable according to WHO for the healthy development of children,” warns Paulina Maria Leszczynska, first author of the study.
“No podemos permitir que los intereses comerciales prevalezcan sobre la salud infantil. Es imprescindible contar con una normativa clara, vinculante y basada en evidencias científicas que proteja a la población más pequeña”, advierte Nancy Babio, investigadora del Departamento de Bioquímica y Biotecnología de la URV e investigadora principal del proyecto.
Stopped regulation
Currently, food advertising in Spain is governed by the PAOS Code, a voluntary self-regulation system with no sanctioning mechanisms. In 2022 the Ministry of Consumer Affairs proposed a Royal Decree to regulate the advertising of food and beverages aimed at children, using the WHO criteria as a basis, but the processing of the text is still blocked pending approval by the Council of Ministers.
In view of these facts, the research team has called on the Government to approve without further delay the Royal Decree regulating the advertising of baby food and to prohibit the promotion of products that are not suitable for children under 3 years of age, especially those with excessive sugar or misleading claims.
The work has been carried out by the dietitian-nutritionist Paulina Maria Leszczyńska and the research team of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the URV Sara de Heras-Delgado, Sangeetha Shyam, Jordi Salas-Salvadó and Nancy Babio, which is also part of the IISPV and CIBEROBN. The study has counted with Diane Threapleton and Janet Cade, from the University of Leeds, authors of the Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model Calculator tool, used to evaluate the nutritional and promotional performance of children’s products according to the WHO model.
Bibliographic Reference: Leszczyńska PM, de Las Heras-Delgado S, Shyam S, Threapleton D, Cade J, Salas-Salvadó J, Babio N. Nutricional contento y promocionar prácticas de foods para niños y jóvenes en el español mercado: en el cross-sectional product evaluation. Eur J Pediatr. 2025 May 10;184(6):333. doi: 10.1007/s00431-025-06156-y. PMID: 40347273; PMCID: PMC12065749.