Sensory Evaluation, Frequency of Food Consumption and Metabolic Responses to a Test Breakfast Meal in Middle-Aged Adults

Abstract

Facing the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), the development of nutritionalinterventions allowing not only optimal glycemic control but also promoting postprandial satietyand overall satisfaction constitutes an interesting therapeutic avenue. This study was carried outin two parts, with the first part informing the second one.The first part was conducted in 61 middle-aged adults with or without prediabetes orT2D and aimed to assess the influences of gender/sex and health status on the relative rankingof the importance of eight common determinants of food choices as well as the sensoryevaluation and the frequency of consumption of almonds, pistachios, avocados, oatmeal, andeggs. Data analysis showed that 1) participants perceived “taste and own food preferences” ashaving the greatest influence on their food choices, 2) women attributed more importance to their“own food-related health beliefs” (p=0.040), while men reported a higher influence of the“recommendations of a health professional” (p=0.065), 3) almonds’ and pistachios’ taste wasrated the highest, and 4) taste ratings of pistachios (β=0.323, p=0.018) and avocados (β=0.604,p<0.001) were positively associated with their frequency of consumption by participants.Based on the sensory evaluation of the five foods, almonds were included in the testmeal of the second part of this study. The latter was conducted in 7 middle-aged men with T2Dand aimed to assess the effects of the types of macronutrient subtypes contained in isocaloricmacronutrient-matched meals on the postprandial glycemic, hormonal (insulin and glucagon-likepeptide-1 (GLP-1)) and appetite responses. The control meal contained white bread, butter andcheese, and the test meal contained white bread and almonds. Data analysis showed that thetest meal was associated with 1) lower postprandial glycemia (p=0.014), 2) higher postprandialGLP-1 serum concentrations (p=0.044) as well as 3) decreased hunger (p=0.032) and increasedfullness (p=0.014). There were no meal-associated differences in postprandial serum insulinconcentrations.Results highlight the importance of taste and food preferences and point out somegender/sex-related differences in the determinants of food choices. They also support thebeneficial effects of almonds, a food that seemed well appreciated by men and women, on keytherapeutic targets of T2D management.