Location: Nutrition, Food Safety/Quality
Project Number: 0500-00117-001-003-G
Project Type: Grant
Start Date: Sep 30, 2024
End Date: Sep 29, 2027
Objective:
During this 36-month project we will run a thirteen-month randomized crossover study to seek evidence demonstrating that daily consumption of peanuts and peanut products improve cardiometabolic, cognitive, and intestinal health in a racially diverse prediabetes population. Upon showing the health benefits of peanuts for management of prediabetes and prevention of T2DM, they can be further promoted as an important nutritional strategy to combat those conditions. This will lead to an additional demand for peanuts and result in agricultural expansion of this commodity. Further, the findings of this study will inform the development of targeted, evidence-based dietary strategies to enhance metabolic health and reduce disparities in pre-diabetes and its complications.
Approach:
Part of this project consists of a thirteen-month randomized crossover study to seek evidence demonstrating that daily consumption of peanuts and peanut products improve cardiometabolic, cognitive, and intestinal health in a racially diverse prediabetes population.
We'll investigate whether adults with pre-diabetes consuming 34g of peanut butter (2 tablespoons) 3 x/week, 34g of dry roasted peanuts (1 handful) 2-3x/week, and 47g of peanut flour 1-2x/week for six months will have 1) reduced levels of serum HbA1c, fasting glucose (FBG), insulin, HOMA-IR (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance) and improved lipid profile, 2) reduced blood pressure, improved endothelial function, arterial stiffness and microvascular function, 3) Improved gut microbiota composition and reduced intestinal permeability, 4) improved cognitive function (verbal memory and executive functions [inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility]) and brain health metrics as assessed by neuroimaging, and reduced serum markers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Will also compare the effectiveness of the intervention on the abovementioned outcomes among races including non-Hispanic Black (NHBA), non-Hispanic White (NHWA), non-Hispanic Asian (NHAA) and Hispanic (HA) adults. Lastly, we will explore whether changes in cardiometabolic and cognitive outcomes are associated with changes in intestinal microbiota outcomes and whether changes in cardiometabolic outcomes are associated with changes in cognitive function parameters.
