Whole-Food Bioactives and Cardiometabolic Health: Human Clinical Evidence

Translating mechanistic insights from laboratory models into real-world dietary guidelines remains a major challenge in public health. While isolated supplements offer concentrated doses, whole foods are more sustainable and culturally accessible. Emerging clinical evidence highlights that the natural food matrix significantly influences how bioactive compounds are absorbed and utilized to support cardiometabolic and energy metabolism.This Research Topic focuses on clinical evidence demonstrating how whole-food-based dietary interventions—rich in bioactive compounds—affect cardiometabolic health and energy expenditure. We aim to consolidate rigorous human evidence that nutritionists and clinicians can use to design practical dietary strategies for preventing and managing cardiometabolic diseases.Only human clinical trials (acute or chronic) qualify as original research; pre-clinical, in-vitro, and animal studies are out of scope. Interventions must use whole or reformulated foods in their natural matrix — isolated synthetic supplements or foods enriched with extracted compounds will not be considered.We welcome original research and systematic reviews/meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) covering the following themes:• Human Dietary Interventions: Clinical trials evaluating whole or reformulated foods rich in bioactives (e.g., polyphenols, carotenoids, phytosterols, organosulfur compounds, bioactive peptides) on cardiometabolic risk factors.• Bioavailability & Bioaccessibility: Human trials investigating how the whole-food matrix impacts the absorption and metabolism of active dietary compounds.• Individual Variability: Clinical insights into how genetics, metabolic health backgrounds, or gut microbiota influence individual responses to whole-food interventions.• Energy Metabolism: Human studies assessing the impact of whole-food bioactives on energy intake, satiety, and energy expenditure.• Systematic Reviews: High-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses strictly focused on human RCTs examining whole-food bioactives and cardiometabolic disease outcomes. Topic editors: Elaine Rush, Jia Jiet Lim, Isaac Amoah Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83446/whole-food-bioactives-and-cardiometabolic-health-human-clinical-evidence