Clinical Trial Update: C15:0 & Improved Mood

Healthy Aging

How C15:0 Addresses the Metabolism-Mood Link

A new study from a randomized and controlled clinical trial is helping to validate C15:0’s role in supporting not just our metabolism and whole body health, but our mood, too. Let’s dive in.

Sounds interesting. How was this clinical trial done?

Last year, Chooi et al. published the outcomes of a 12-week double-blinded, randomized clinical trial involving the following three groups, all consisting of middle-aged women with a higher BMI and suboptimal metabolic and liver function:

• Control Group (CG): This group adhered to a caloric-restricted diet (1,000-1,500 kcal per day).
• Mediterranean Diet Group (MD): This group adhered to a caloric-restricted diet (1,000-1,500 kcal per day), as well as a Mediterranean-aligned diet.
• Mediterranean Diet + C15:0 Supplementation Group (MD + C15:0): This group adhered to a caloric-restricted diet (1,000-1,500 kcal per day), a Mediterranean-aligned diet, and also had daily pure C15:0 supplementation.

In this study, as anticipated, all three groups experienced weight loss and improved liver function. It also showed the following:

• The MD + C15:0 group had the most improved trends related to body weight and liver fat reductions compared to the other two groups.
• The MD + C15:0 group had significantly lower LDL cholesterol and improved growth of a healthy gut microbe, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, compared to the other two groups.

So, where does mood come into this study?

It has been well documented that when our metabolism is dysfunctional, so is our mood. This has been referred to by Mansur et al. as a “metabolic-mood syndrome”. As described in detail in Dr. Steph’s book, The Longevity Nutrient (check out Chapter 10), common factors that affect both our metabolism and mood include:

• Raised oxidative stress
• Low-lying chronic inflammation
• Insulin resistance
• Aging-related changes in cellular signaling pathways

Knowing that, let’s get back to the clinical trial. In this same clinical trial published by Chooi et al., Salamana-Sanabria et al. analyzed data specific to participants’ mood, including scores from the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assessments. These measurements were taken at weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12 to see if mood changes occurred over time among each of the three study groups described above (CG, MD, and MD+C15:0).

Got it. What did they find?

This study had two key findings:

1. Encouragingly, all three groups experienced not only lower body weight and improved liver function, they also had improved mood. This key finding supports that, as previously documented in the literature by Loh et al. (among others), achieving healthier body weight can improve our mood.
2. Specific to the STAI scores, the MD+C15:0 group had the most significant improvements in mood, especially as it related to lower anxiety.

In their discussion, Salamana-Sanabria et al. conclude the following: “This study indicates that an Asian-adapted MD [Mediterranean Diet], particularly when supplemented with C15:0, is associated with significant reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms.”

These findings, while having limitations, are consistent with what we’re learning about how C15:0 positively impacts both metabolism and mood.