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Nutrition and Health (including climate and ecological aspects)

The cumulative effects of chilling and reheating a carbohydrate-based pasta meal on the postprandial glycaemic response: a pilot study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 75, pages 570–572 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

This pilot study investigated the effects of chilling and reheating a pasta-based meal on the postprandial glycaemic response. In this single-blind crossover study, 10 healthy volunteers consumed identical pasta meals (pasta, olive oil, and tomato sauce), served either freshly prepared, chilled, or chilled/reheated, on three separate randomised occasions. Capillary blood samples were taken for two hours postprandially. A significant difference in glucose Incremental Area Under the Curve was observed (p = 0.006), with the greatest difference observed between the freshly cooked and chilled/reheated meals (p = 0.041). Significant differences in incremental peak glucose were also observed (p = 0.018). These results suggest that making simple changes to domestic food processing methods can reduce the glycaemic excursion following a pasta meal, with the potential for health benefit.

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Fig. 1: Postprandial glucose response to three identical pasta meals, served either freshly cooked, chilled, or chilled and reheated.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr Francesca P. Robertson (University of Surrey) for assisting with the laboratory analysis of the blood samples.

Funding

This work was part-funded by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and sponsored by the University of Surrey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7WG, UK

    Tracey M. Robertson, Jonathan E. Brown, Barbara A. Fielding & M. Denise Robertson

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  1. Tracey M. Robertson
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  2. Jonathan E. Brown
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  3. Barbara A. Fielding
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  4. M. Denise Robertson
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Contributions

TMR and MDR designed the study and conducted the research. TMR analysed the data. All authors contributed to interpretation of results and writing the report.

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Correspondence to Tracey M. Robertson.

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Robertson, T.M., Brown, J.E., Fielding, B.A. et al. The cumulative effects of chilling and reheating a carbohydrate-based pasta meal on the postprandial glycaemic response: a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr 75, 570–572 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-00736-x

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