Dairy Products, Diabetes and Genetics

Nutrigenomics Approach to Investigate the Benefits of Dairy Product Consumption on Glucose Homeostasis

This study will investigate the in-depth the benefits of dairy consumption on glucose metabolism in patients at risk of type 2 diabetes using novel genomics methodology.To do so, 33 individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes will be randomly subjected to an intervention study including a 6-week intensive dairy product consumption period and a 6-week dietary counselling period.

More than 9 million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a disorder characterized by high blood glucose. Dietary modification is a key component in type 2 diabetes management. For example, dairy product consumption has beneficial effects on metabolic health. Yet, researchers have shown that mixed results exists for insulin sensitivity.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Caucasian men and postmenopausal women (absence of menstrual cycles for >12 months) aged >18 yrs;
• BMI between 25-40 kg/m2;
• Hyperinsulinemia (fasting plasma insulin >90 pmol/l);
• Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) <7.0 mmol/l; HbA1c <6.5%);
• If treated with lipid-lowering agents, the dose must have been stable over the last 3 months;
• Stable body weight (±5%) for 3 months;
• Willing to consume study foods and able to follow protocol and give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Failure to meet any one or more of the inclusion criteria;
• Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes;
• High dairy consumption ( 2 servings/day or more);
• Major surgery in the 3 months prior to study onset;
• Smoking;
• Incompatibility with dairy consumption (allergy, intolerance or dislike);
• Inflammatory bowel disease or other gastrointestinal disorder influencing gastrointestinal motility or nutrient absorption;
• Medications known to affect lipid and glucose metabolism other than those used to treat hypertension or dyslipidemia;
• Diseases known to affect glucose metabolism.