Emulsion Lipid Digestion & Satiety Study - Effect of Physical State and Acid Stability

Impact of Emulsion Droplet Physical Properties on Postprandial Lipemia and Satiety in Healthy Adult Males

The purpose of this study is to compare the changes in blood lipids and feelings of satiety after consumption of acid stable or acid unstable oil-in-water emulsions in which the droplets are in either the liquid or partially solid (i.e. crystalline) states.

A double blinded randomized cross-over acute meal study will be carried out in which 15 healthy male participants will attend four study visits, separated by at least one week. On each study visit, fasted participants will consume either the emulsion with solid or liquid droplets and that is either acid stable or acid unstable, in a randomized order. All emulsions will have similar compositions, mainly differing in terms of droplet physical state, achieved by using lipids with different melting temperature. The emulsions will also contrast in terms of colloidal stability to acids, achieved by using different emulsifiers. This will isolate the impacts of physical state and acid stability, and their interactions. Postprandial lipemia, gastric emptying and satiety will be measured for 6 hours after consumption of each test beverage. The study meals will include crushed acetaminophen, the appearance of which will be measured in plasma as a measure of liquid content gastric emptying. It will also include periodic measurements of the gastric antrum area by ultrasound to assess the rate of gastric emptying. Participants will be asked to maintain their usual lifestyle habits throughout the study, with some changes in the 48 hour period leading up to each of the four visits.

Inclusion Criteria:

• BMI of 18 - 26 kg/m2
• generally healthy
• non-smoking
• non to moderate alcohol drinkers
• fasting plasma cholesterol level <5.2 mmol/L
• plasma triacylglycerol level <1.7 mmol/L
• plasma glucose level <5.6 mmol/L
• no history of gastric surgeries

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of major medical conditions
• taking prescription medications/ over the counter medications
• taking natural health products/ dietary supplements (other than a multivitamin)
• oral antibiotic use in the previous 3 months
• planning to take oral antibiotics in the next 3 months
• food allergy/anaphylactic/life-threatening allergy
• smokers/ regular users of recreational drugs
• elite/ training athletes
• significant weight loss/ gain during the past 3 months
• previous reaction/ sensitivity to acetaminophen
• inability to avoid taking acetaminophen for 48 hours
• sensitivity to the artificial sweetener Sugar Twin® Sucralose and artificial vanilla extract
• not willing to consume Sugar Twin® Sucralose or Artificial vanilla.