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Gastrointestinal transit, post-prandial lipaemia and satiety following 3 days high-fat diet in men

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 240–246 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

High-fat (HF) diets of 2 weeks have been shown to accelerate gastric emptying (GE). To date, no studies have shown any alteration in GE following shorter HF diets. The aim of this study was to assess if an HF, high-energy diet of 3 days can adapt gastrointestinal (GI) transit, blood lipids and satiety.

Subjects/Methods:

Eleven male volunteers participated in a study consisting of three, 3-day interventions each separated by a test day. During the first intervention, volunteers recorded their diet. In the second and third interventions, volunteers repeated their food diary plus either a low-fat yogurt or HF yogurt supplement in randomized order. Test days involved measurement of GE using the 13C octanoic-acid breath-test, mouth-to-caecum transit time (MCTT) using the inulin H2 breath test and satiety using visual analogue scales. Blood samples for measurement of lipaemia were taken using a venous cannula.

Results:

MCTT was different between the three test days (P=0.038), with the shortest MCTT following the HF intervention. GE was shortest following the HF intervention. There were no differences in satiety between the interventions. The HF intervention reduced triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Conclusion:

This study shows that changes in GI transit owing to an HF diet can occur in a time period as short as 3 days.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) for their support of this project. Inulin was donated by Orafti, Belgium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, UK

    M E Clegg, P McKenna & A Shafat

  2. School of Life Sciences, Functional Food Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    M E Clegg

  3. Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

    C McClean & G W Davison

  4. Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, Northern Ireland, UK

    T Trinick & E Duly

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  1. M E Clegg
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  2. P McKenna
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  6. E Duly
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Correspondence to A Shafat.

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Clegg, M., McKenna, P., McClean, C. et al. Gastrointestinal transit, post-prandial lipaemia and satiety following 3 days high-fat diet in men. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 240–246 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.235

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