Effect of Different Nutritional Supplements on Glucose Response of Complete Meals in Two Crossover Studies.

Postprandial hyperglycemia is an important risk factor in the development and progression of type-2 diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. Therefore, maintaining a low postprandial glucose response is key in preventing these diseases. Carbohydrate-rich meals are the main drivers of excessive glycemic excursions during the day. The consumption of whey protein premeals or mulberry leaf extract was reported to reduce postprandial glycemia through different mechanisms of action. The efficacy of these interventions was shown to be affected by the timing of the consumption or product characteristics. Two randomised crossover studies were performed, aiming to identify the optimal conditions to improve the efficacy of these nutritional supplements in reducing a glycemic response. The acute postprandial glycemic response was monitored with a continuous glucose monitoring device. The first study revealed that a preparation featuring 10 g of whey protein microgel reduced the postprandial glucose response by up to 30% (p = 0.001) and was more efficient than the whey protein isolates, independently of whether the preparation was ingested 30 or 10 min before a complete 320 kcal breakfast. The second study revealed that a preparation featuring 250 mg mulberry leaf extract was more efficient if it was taken together with a complete 510 kcal meal (−34%, p < 0.001) rather than ingested 5 min before (−26%, p = 0.002). These findings demonstrate that the efficacy of whey proteins premeal and mulberry leaf extracts can be optimised to provide potential nutritional solutions to lower the risk of type-2 diabetes or its complications.

An Assessment of Three Carbohydrate Metrics of Nutritional Quality for Packaged Foods and Beverages in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Carbohydrate quality is an aetiological factor of diet-related disease. Indices of carbohydrate quality featuring various ratios of carbohydrates-to-dietary fibre-to-sugar have been associated with improved product and/or diet quality in westernised countries. Carbohydrate intake is especially high in Asia Pacific. Thus, this study evaluated the ability of such carbohydrate metrics to discriminate the nutritional quality of carbohydrate-rich packaged foods and beverages in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, with an additional focus on beverages. This evaluation was conducted by comparing product nutritional composition and assessing products against three national nutrient profiling models. Results showed that Australia had the highest proportion of products meeting all metrics, compared to the Southeast Asian countries. Beverages had a low adherence to all metrics compared to solid foods. Across the five countries, both processed food and beverages meeting the metrics generally contained higher dietary fibre, protein, and certain vitamins and minerals whilst having lower energy, total sugars, free sugars, trans fat and cholesterol content compared to products not meeting the metrics. The metrics were also aligned with national nutrient profiling models to identify nutritious products. In conclusion, these metrics allowed us to discriminate product nutritional quality in the countries assessed and are applicable to beverages.

Cereal B-Glucans: The Impact of Processing and How It Affects Physiological Responses.

Cereal ß-glucans are dietary fibres primarily found in oats and barley, and have several positive effects on health, including lowering the postprandial glucose response and the improvement of blood cholesterol levels. Cereal ß-glucans have a specific combination of ß-(1→4) and ß-(1→3) linkages into linear long-chain polysaccharides of high molecular weight. Due to their particular structure, cereal ß-glucans generate viscosity within the intestinal tract, which is thought to be the main mechanism of action responsible for their positive health effects. However, cereal grains are rarely consumed raw; at least one cooking step is generally required before they can be safely eaten. Cooking and processing methods more generally will modify the physicochemical characteristics of ß-glucans, such as molecular weight, extractability and the resulting viscosity. Therefore, the health impact of ß-glucans will depend not only on the dose administered, but also on the ways they are processed or converted into food products. This review aims at summarizing the different parameters that can affect ß-glucans efficacy to improve glucose and lipid metabolism in humans.

The extra-splanchnic fructose escape after ingestion of a fructose-glucose drink: An exploratory study in healthy humans using a dual fructose isotope method.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The presence of specific fructose transporters and fructose metabolizing enzymes has now been demonstrated in the skeletal muscle, brain, heart, adipose tissue and many other tissues. This suggests that fructose may be directly metabolized and play physiological or pathophysiological roles in extra-splanchnic tissues. Yet, the proportion of ingested fructose reaching the systemic circulation is generally not measured. This study aimed to assess the amount of oral fructose escaping first-pass splanchnic extraction after ingestion of a fructose-glucose drink using a dual oral-intravenous fructose isotope method. METHODS: Nine healthy volunteers were studied over 2 h before and 4 h after ingestion of a drink containing 30.4 ± 1.0 g of glucose (mean ± SEM) and 30.4 ± 1.0 g of fructose labelled with 1% [U-13C6]-fructose. A 75%-unlabeled fructose and 25%-[6,6-2H2]-fructose solution was continuously infused (100 µg kg-1 min-1) over the 6 h period. Total systemic, oral and endogenous fructose fluxes were calculated from plasma fructose concentrations and isotopic enrichments. The fraction of fructose escaping first-pass splanchnic extraction was calculated assuming a complete intestinal absorption of the fructose drink. RESULTS: Fasting plasma fructose concentration before tracer infusion was 17.9 ± 0.6 µmol.L-1. Fasting endogenous fructose production detected by tracer dilution analysis was 55.3 ± 3.8 µg kg-1min-1. Over the 4 h post drink ingestion, 4.4 ± 0.2 g of ingested fructose (i.e. 14.5 ± 0.8%) escaped first-pass splanchnic extraction and reached the systemic circulation. Endogenous fructose production significantly increased to a maximum of 165.4 ± 10.7 µg kg-1·min-1 60 min after drink ingestion (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that a non-negligible fraction of fructose is able to escape splanchnic extraction and circulate in the periphery. The metabolic effects of direct fructose metabolism in extra-splanchnic tissues, and their relationship with metabolic diseases, remain to be evaluated. Our results also open new research perspectives regarding the physiological role of endogenous fructose production.