Glycemic/Insulinemic Effects of Fresh Mango as a Sugar Substitute in Realistic Breakfasts.

Overview

Large blood sugar and insulin increases after meals high in table sugar are related to risk for diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, large increases in blood sugar may also negatively impact vascular health. Previous research suggests that mango consumed in small quantities has blood sugar-lowering properties, but the evidence of this within larger, more realistic meals is limited. The investigators want to understand if replacing table sugar (sucrose) with sugar from fresh mango (which also contains fiber and plant bioactives) will lead to more favorable blood sugar, insulin, and vascular responses after eating breakfast meals. The investigators will compare the postprandial glycemic, insulinemic, and vascular response to low and high glycemic meals sweetened with either fresh mango or sucrose.

The investigators will recruit individuals with a BMI in the 18.5-35.0 kg/m2 range from the Ball State University campus and surrounding communities. Each participant will complete four meal trials in a randomized crossover design. At each meal trial, an intravenous catheter will be inserted and baseline blood sample collected. Brachial artery dilation will be measured using prior to the meal. Next, participants will consume one of four breakfast meals in a randomized crossover design: (1) cornflakes with 2% milk + fresh mango, (2) cornflakes with 2% milk + sucrose, (3) steel cut oats with water + fresh mango, and (4) steel cut oats with water + sucrose. Corn flakes based meals and oats based meals reflect high and low glycemic breakfasts, respectively. Within high and low glycemic meal conditions, total sugar from mango and sugar are matched, total energy is nearly identical (within 4 kcal), and macronutrients are matched. After each meal, blood samples will be collected at the .5-, 1-, 2-, and 3-hour mark and brachial artery dilation (using the flow-mediated dilation technique) will be measured at 1-, 2-, and 3-hour marks. An acceptability survey (9-point hedonic scale) will be completed following the meal, and a satiety survey (the SLIM) will be filled out at baseline and .5-, 1-, 1.5-, 2-, 2.5-, and 3-hour mark. The investigators will measure metabolic markers (i.e., glucose, triglycerides, HDL-C) immediately after each sample collection using the Piccolo Xpress clinical chemical analyzer. Additional blood will be collected and stored as serum in order to measure insulin using commercially available ELISAs. Participants will complete a one-time DXA scan to measure body composition and bone density.