Development of a Standardized Clinical Protocol for Ranking Foods and Meals Based on Postprandial Triglyceride Responses: The Lipemic Index

Abstract

Postprandial triglyceride levels are being increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). There is a need for developing a standardized clinical protocol which allows foods and meals to be ranked based on the resulting postprandial triglyceride response. This pilot study offers a novel approach to standardize such testing based on equicaloric intakes, allowing for increased flexibility in comparing different food and meal offerings, as well as a high potential for public knowledge transfer. Our laboratory has developed a standardized 2100 kJ beverage, consisting of fat, protein, and simple carbohydrates (LIXR) with the goal of eliciting a reference postprandial triglyceride response. As we hypothesized, a certain commercial product which gave favourable glycemic responses yielded significantly higher triglyceride responses than our reference solution, indicating an important gap in current methods of identifying low-risk foods for subjects at risk for CVD. The lipemic index may eventually be used in combination with other nutritional tools to provide an enhanced overall assessment of health risks associated with consuming certain foods.