Plant-Based Meals Increase Gut Hormones and Satiety Compared to Processed-Meat Meals

by | Feb 24, 2020 | 2019, Diabetes, Fruits and Vegetables, Men's Health, Obesity, Weight Control

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Plant-based meals with tofu increased postprandial secretion of gastrointestinal hormones and promoted satiety, compared to processed meat and cheese meals, in healthy, obese, and diabetic men.

fruit and vegetablesExtensive research has demonstrated the influence of diet on the development of insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) 1.  Ingestion of foods trigger secretion of the gastrointestinal tract hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), which increase insulin secretion and help maintain glucose homeostasis2. In addition, the satiety hormones GLP-13, peptide YY (PYY) 4, pancreatic polypeptide (PP) 5 and amylin6 regulate appetite and energy homeostasis. Research has shown that red meat, particularly processed meat, is associated with a 38% increased risk for T2D 7, while saturated fats in red meat increase insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and the risk of CVD 8. However, a plan- based diet has been shown to decrease the risk of T2D by as much as 50% 9.

Kahleova and team10 hypothesized that a plant-based meal produces higher levels of gastrointestinal hormones and increases satiety in men with type 2 diabetes or obesity while having a negligible effect on healthy men. In a three-group randomized cross-over study, the team investigated the postprandial metabolism in response to two meals matched for energy and macronutrient content: a processed-meat and cheese burger and a plant-based burger with tofu. They measured the physiological response to these meals in men with type 2 diabetes (n = 20), age-matched obese men with normal glucose values (n=20), and healthy age-matched controls (n=20). Overnight fasting preceded each of the two study meals; blood samples were taken at baseline and at 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after each meal to measure gastric hormone levels of GLP-1, amylin, and PYY. Satiety was self-reported at these time points.

  • Postprandial secretion of GLP-1 after the Vegan meal increased the highest in T2D men, with an increase of 30.5 % (21.2-40.7%; P < 0.001) and increased the least in healthy men, who had an increase of 15.8% (8.6-23.5%; P = 0.01).
  • Postprandial plasma concentrations of amylin increased in all groups after the Vegan meal and was highest in obese men and lowest in healthy men: amylin in T2D men increased by 15.7% (11.8-19.6%; P < 0.001); in obese men by 11.5% (7.8% -15.3%; P = 0.03); and in healthy men by 13.8% (8.4% -19.5%; P < 0.001).
  • Postprandial PYY after the V-meal was significantly increased only in healthy men where it increased by 18.9% (7.5-31.3% P = 0.03).
  • Satiety was greater in all participants after the V-meal and increased by 9% in T2D men (4.4-13.6%; P= 0.004); 18.7% in obese men (12.8-24.6%; P < 0.001); and 25% in healthy men (18.2-31.7%; P< 0.001).

These findings indicate that, compared to processed meat and cheese, plant-based meals with tofu may be an effective tool to increase postprandial secretion of gastrointestinal hormones, and promote satiety in healthy, obese, and diabetic men. Furthermore, the results may have practical implications for T2D prevention.

Source: Klementova, Marta, Lenka Thieme, Martin Haluzik, Renata Pavlovicova, Martin Hill, Terezie Pelikanova, and Hana Kahleova. “A Plant-Based Meal Increases Gastrointestinal Hormones and Satiety More Than an Energy-and Macronutrient-Matched Processed-Meat Meal in T2D, Obese, and Healthy Men: A Three-Group Randomized Crossover Study.” Nutrients 11, no. 1 (2019): 157.

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Posted February 24, 2020.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from  the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

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