Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that whey supplementation may have beneficial effects on lipid profiles, although results were inconsistent. A literature search was performed in March 2015 for randomized controlled trials observing the effects of whey protein and its derivatives on circulating levels of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). A meta-analysis was subsequently conducted. The meta-analysis results of 13 trials showed that whey supplementation significantly reduced the circulating TG level by 0.11 mmol/l (95% CI: −0.21, 0 mmol/l), whereas the whey protein had no effects on circulating TC (−0.11 mmol/l, 95% CI: −0.27, 0.05 mmol/l), LDL-C (−0.08 mmol/l, 95% CI: −0.23, 0.07 mmol/l) and HDL-C (0.01 mmol/l, 95% CI: −0.04, 0.05 mmol/l). Subgroup analysis showed that significant TG reduction disappeared in participants with low body mass index, low supplemental whey dose or under exercise training/energy restriction during the trial. No evidence of heterogeneity across studies and publication bias was observed. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that the effects of whey protein supplementation were modest, with an overall lowering effect on TG but no effect on TC, LDL-C and HDL-C.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by Yili Innovation Center, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.
Author contributions
L-QQ and IMYS designed the study; L-QQ developed search strategies and drafted the manuscript; J-WZ and XT completed the literature search and data extraction. ZW, YW and IMYS critically reviewed the manuscript and contributed to the discussion. All authors assisted in the interpretation of the analyses and the revision of the manuscript.
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The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.
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L-QQ received grant support from Yili Innovation Center, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., to conduct the review. YW and IMYS are employees of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Zhang, JW., Tong, X., Wan, Z. et al. Effect of whey protein on blood lipid profiles: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 879–885 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.39
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