Quinoa Biscuit & CVD Risk Trial

Ulster University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Lipid Profile; Dyslipidemias; Cardiovascular Diseases

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Quinoa biscuit; Dietary Supplement: Control biscuit

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03291548

UREC/16/0106

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most common chronic diseases in older populations, which has been increasing in line with rising overweight and obesity levels in recent years. Dietary intake is a major modifiable risk factor for CVD, and one such recommendation is to increase the intake of essential (omega-3) polyunsaturated fats in our diets, for example by consuming more oily fish. We know, however, from large population level dietary surveys, that many individuals within the United Kingdom (UK) population are not consuming enough oily fish. Therefore, alternative dietary sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are required to help meet consumer needs.

Quinoa is a traditional Andean seed crop consumed in a similar fashion to staple cereal grains in Europe, and the popularity of quinoa has been growing worldwide because of its nutritional content and perceived healthiness. Quinoa contains a small amount of fat, but the ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fats is more favourable in quinoa than in other plant oils. An opportunity therefore exists to incorporate quinoa flour into more frequently consumed food products (e.g. biscuits) as an alternative means of increasing consumers omega-3 intake.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of consuming quinoa-enriched biscuits, compared to control, on markers of CVD risk over 4-weeks in older adults.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50 to 75 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Free-living, apparently healthy adults
• Aged 50-75 years at recruitment
• Low fish consumers (<2 servings/wk)
• Non-smokers
• Not regularly consuming plant stanols

Exclusion criteria

• Non-free-living adults
• Aged <50 or >75 years at recruitment
• Fish consumers (2 servings/wk or more)
• Current smokers
• Pregnant/lactating females
• Coeliac disease, wheat intolerance or any other food allergy or intolerance that would prevent consumption of the biscuits
• Currently taking any fish oil-containing supplement
• Diagnosed with a chronic medical condition (such as diabetes; CVD autoimmune/ inflammatory disorders; cancer)
• Prescribed cholesterol or blood pressure lowering medications
• Daily consumption of plant stanols

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Quinoa Biscuit

Experimental group

Description:

The quinoa-enriched biscuits containing 7.11g quinoa flour.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Quinoa biscuit

Control biscuit

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

The placebo control biscuit: an iso-energetic, matched product in terms of appearance, taste, texture and smell.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Control biscuit