Walnuts are a nutrient dense food, but most health research is on English walnuts (EW). Black walnuts (BW) contain a different antioxidant and fatty acid profile, and more protein, compared to EW. The purpose of the study was to compare postprandial responses following the consumption of 3 breakfast meals containing either butter (control), BW, or EW.
This study was a randomized, double-blind control trial consisting of 3 study visits for 3 different treatments. The treatments were high-fat breakfast muffins containing either butter (control), black walnuts, or English walnuts. The investigators recruited healthy, normal-weight adults between the ages of 15 and 45y. Study visits were completed in a random order with at least 72 hours between each visit. Anthropometrics, questionnaires, and fasting and postprandial blood samples were collected at each visit. Hypothesis: The walnut-containing meals would mitigate post-meal increases in glucose, insulin, triglycerides (TG), and lipid peroxidation while improving all measures of subjective appetite and TAC compared to the traditional meal without nuts.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
34
Participants in this group received a traditional muffin with butter as the predominant source of fat.
Participants in this group received a muffin in which part of the butter was substituted out for black walnuts.
Participants in this group received a muffin in which part of the butter was substituted out for English walnuts.
University of Georgia - Department of Foods and Nutrition & Department of Food Science and Technology
Athens, Georgia, United States
Change in triglycerides (TG) and glucose responses
TG (mg/dL) and glucose (mg/dL)
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
Change in lipid peroxidation
Malondialdehyde (MDA) (uM) measured via Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
Change in total antioxidant capacity
Total antioxidant capacity (uM trolox equivalents) measured via Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay.
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
Change in insulin
Insulin (uU/mL)
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
Change in angiopoietin-like proteins-3 (ANGPTL3) and -4 (ANGPTL4) responses
ANGPTL3 (pg/mL) and ANGPTL4 (pg/mL)
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
Change in hunger and satiety responses
Hunger, fullness, prospective consumption, and desire to eat measured via a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (mm). The range of scores on the continuous VAS is 0-100 mm. Zero represents no hunger, fullness, prospective consumption, and desire to eat, while 100 represents the greatest feeling of these outcomes.
Time frame: Change from baseline to 3 hours postprandially
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