Impact of Meal Order on Postprandial Cardiometabolic Risk Markers

The order in which the different components of a meal are eaten may have impact on the postprandial metabolic responses to carbohydrates, fat and proteins. Some of these responses are associated with the risk for developing cardiometabolic complications.

The study will be carried out in a cohort of healthy subjects with a wide BMI range and normal fasting glycemia. Postprandial metabolic responses to a reference meal starting with bread and butter (BB) will be compared with those registered after 3 other meals of identical composition, in which the starter will be permutated. Each meal is tested on an independent experimental session, with a 1 week washout interval.

The intervention will be carried out at the Food for Health Science Centre - Lund University. Additionally, the plan contemplates an initial information visit including screening of fasting blood glucose. In total, each volunteer completing the study will pay five visits to the clinical unit.

Based on the results from the above-described phase, a second step of the study will compare various quality attributes of the most effective starter on the impact on cardiometabolic risk markers, as a way to optimize putative protective actions and to gain further mechanistic insight.

Inclusion criteria

• BMI between 20 and 30 kg/m2
• Fasting blood glucose ≤ 6.1 mmol/L
• No known medical condition

Exclusion criteria

• Smoking habits
• Treatment for high blood pressure
• Treatment for hypercholesterolemia