Abstract
Most nutrition studies looking at the association of food with cardiometabolic markers rely on food frequency questionnaires, which are prone to recall bias. Pentadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid and trans-palmitoleic acid are fatty acids that are not synthesized endogenously but are obtained from the diet, particularly dairy, making them reasonable biomarkers of dairy consumption. We investigated the association of dairy fatty acid biomarkers with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes (T2D). In a clinical trial, 111 participants with T2D (age 58.5 ± 8.9 years, HbA1c 8.09 ± 0.96%) were randomized into three groups: a control group that maintained baseline dairy intake, a low-fat (LF) group that incorporated ≥3 servings/day of LF dairy and a high-fat (HF) group that incorporated ≥3 servings/day of HF dairy. We compared the fatty acids (FA) composition between the three groups at 24 weeks. Pentadecanoic acid and trans-palmitoleic acid increased in the HF group by 14.1% ± 5.4% and 17.5% ± 5.1%, respectively, but not in the control and LF groups (p = 0.0474 and p = 0.0025 for group-by-time interaction, respectively). Those increases were positively associated with changes in total cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol VLDL-C and triglycerides but were not associated with changes in HbA1c from baseline to 24 weeks. These results suggest that the intervention was successful and that participants were likely compliant, which supports the validity of the main trial.
Highlights
Most observational studies have shown that full-fat dairy is not associated with higher risk of diabetes. [1,2] In a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials with healthy subjects, increased dairy food consumption for more than one month led to an increase in weight but had no effect on glucose, lipid profile or blood pressure [3]
We aimed to look at the association between individual fatty acids, pentadecanoic acid (15:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0) and trans-palmitoleic acid, and HbA1c, body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes
We investigated the compliance within the controlled clinical trial, looking at specific dairy fatty acid biomarkers: pentadecanoic acid (15:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0) and trans-palmitoleic acid at the start and at the end of the trial in each of the three diet groups
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Previous reports suggest that dietary fat and saturated fat, in particular, are contributing factors to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and can cause insulin resistance. It is suggested that not all saturated fats have similar cardiometabolic effects. Most observational studies have shown that full-fat dairy is not associated with higher risk of diabetes. [1,2] In a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials with healthy subjects, increased dairy food consumption for more than one month led to an increase in weight but had no effect on glucose, lipid profile or blood pressure [3]. Most nutrition studies rely on dietary recall and measure dairy intake with food frequency questionnaires
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