Effects of low-fat whole milk on postprandial glycemia after consumption of two common Ghanaian local meals among healthy young adults

Abstract

Background: The addition of dairy products to a meal high in carbohydrates or fat may potentially result in reductions in acute postprandial glycemic responses. There is limited data on the postprandial effects of local Ghanaian meals and this potential role of milk in attenuating acute postprandial glycemia changes have not been previously tested among Ghanaians. Objectives: The overall objective of the study is to determine the effects of low-fat whole milk on postprandial glycemia after consumption of two common Ghanaian local meals among healthy young adults. Methods: The study included 10 healthy, non-obese young adults. Two common local Ghanaian meals (Waakye and Ga Kenkey) were consumed on separate days with water and low-fat whole milk. Glycemic responses were assessed at fasting and 30-minutes postprandial point intervals for 3 hours. Postprandial glycemia, was assessed by the incremental Area Under the Curve (iAUC). Percentage postprandial glycemia peak was assessed as the percentage glycemia difference between peak glycemia point and baseline. Percentage postprandial glycemia retention. Student t-test was used to compare differences in postprandial responses with and without milk. Results: On consumption of Waakye, there were statistically non-significant decreases in mean postprandial iAUC, and percentage postprandial glycemia retention with low-fat whole milk. However, a relatively lower but statistically non-significant percentage postprandial glycemia peak was observed with the low-fat whole milk. With Kenkey, the results showed a relatively lower postprandial iAUC, percentage postprandial glycemia peak and percentage postprandial glycemia retention on consumption with the low-fat whole milk. However, these differences were not observed to be statistically significant. Conclusion: There are variations in the effects of low-fat whole milk on postprandial glycemia response between different meal types. No statistically significant differences were observed in the effects of low-fat whole milk in limiting postprandial glycemia response in both test meals. The findings point to further research on the subject in different targeted populations, including type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) clients.

Keywords

• low-fat
• whole milk
• postprandial
• glycemia
• meal