Actively Recruiting

Phase Not Applicable
Age: 14Years - 75Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
ID06874400

Comparison of Dairy and Plant-based Alternatives in Adolescents and Older Adults

Led by University of Toronto · Updated on 2025-03-13

160

Participants Needed

1

Research Sites

52 weeks

Total Duration

On this page

AI-Summary

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are comparing the effects of dairy products and plant-based alternatives on blood sugar control and nutrient quality in healthy adolescents aged 14 to 18 and older adults aged 60 to 75. This study aims to understand how these different types of foods influence blood sugar regulation and related hormones in these age groups. Participants are healthy individuals without diabetes, and the study is conducted by the University of Toronto in a Nutrition Intervention Center. Participants will be randomly assigned to consume either dairy or plant-based alternative products during the study. The dairy options include items like 2% cow's milk, dairy yogurt, cottage cheese, and isolated whey protein beverage. The plant-based alternatives include soy beverage, plant-based yogurt, tofu, simulated milk, and isolated soy protein beverage. Each participant will consume only one type of dairy or plant-based product depending on their trial group. During study visits, participants will consume these products along with a pizza meal. Participants will visit the Nutrition Intervention Center three times: one 30-minute screening visit and two study visits of approximately 2.5 hours each, spaced over at least two weeks. Before each study visit, participants will fast overnight for 12 hours and maintain their usual diet and sleep habits while avoiding exercise, alcohol, cannabis, and protein supplements. Blood samples and questionnaires will be collected to measure blood sugar, insulin, hormones, and amino acids over 145 minutes after consuming the test products. The research team will monitor participants' responses to evaluate differences in glycemic response and appetite regulation.

CONDITIONS

Brief Title

Comparison of Dairy and Plant-based Alternatives in Adolescents and Older Adults

Who Can Participate

Age: 14Years - 75Years
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible

You may qualify if you...

  • Age 14-18 years old (adolescents) or 60-75 years old (older adults)
  • BMI z-score greater than +1SD and less than +2SD for adolescents or BMI 25-30 kg/m2 for older adults
  • Willing to maintain habitual diet, physical activity pattern, and body weight throughout the study
  • Willing to maintain current dietary supplement use throughout the study and not take supplements on study visit days until dismissal
  • Willing to abstain from alcohol consumption for 24 hours prior to all study visits
  • Willing to avoid vigorous physical activity for 24 hours prior to all study visits
  • Willing to refrain from cannabis use throughout the entire study duration
  • Willing to refrain from protein supplement use throughout the entire study duration
  • Understands the study procedures, provides informed consent, and authorizes release of relevant health information to investigators
Not Eligible

You will not qualify if you...

  • Smoking
  • Thyroid problems
  • Lactose intolerance and/or allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities to study treatments
  • Previous history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, short bowel syndrome, malabsorptive syndrome, pancreatitis, gallbladder or biliary disease
  • Presence of gastrointestinal disorder or surgeries within the past year
  • Inability to comply with study procedures and safety guidelines
  • Regular breakfast skipping more than 3 days a week
  • On a special diet such as ketogenic, Atkins, or high protein or identified as restrained eaters with a high score on the Eating Attitudes Questionnaire
  • Difficulties with eating or swallowing
  • Fasting blood glucose over 5.6 mmol/L at screening
  • Uncontrolled hypertension with systolic blood pressure over 120 mmHg or diastolic over 80 mmHg at screening
  • Weight change greater than 10 pounds in the past three months
  • Using prescription or non-prescription drugs, herbal or nutritional supplements that may affect the study outcomes as judged by the investigator

AI-Screening

AI-Powered Screening

Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility

1
2
3
+1

Your Study Journey

Screening

Duration - 2 to 4 weeks

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.

1 visit (in-person)

Treatment

Duration - 2 weekly sessions

Participants consume 2 servings of either a commercially available dairy product or a plant-based alternative product during each session. Each participant enrolls in one of five trials, consuming only one specific product type in that trial.

2 visits (in-person)

Trial Site Locations

Total: 1 location

1

Nutrition Intervention Center

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3H2

Actively Recruiting

Loading map...

Research Team

C

Corrina Zhou, MSc

A

Amira Amr, PhD

How is the study designed?

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Masking

TRIPLE

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Purpose

PREVENTION

Number of Arms

2

Similar Trials

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Exposure-Based Cognitive Be...

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Actively Recruiting

1 location

Impact of Semaglutide Withdrawal on Cardiometabolic Profile ...

Obesity (Disorder)

Actively Recruiting

1 location

Evaluating the Impact of Mature Okra Flour-Incorporated Bisc...

Appetite Regulation

Actively Recruiting

1 location

Frequently Asked Questions

Have more questions? Get in touch with our team for quick support

Not the Right Trial for You?

Explore thousands of other clinical trials that might be a better match.
Sign up to get personalized trial recommendations delivered to your inbox.

Already have an account? Log in here

Published Research Related To This Trial

A comparison of the effects of dairy products with their plant-based alternatives on metabolic responses in healthy young Canadian adults: a randomized crossover study.

Nicole Da Silva, G Harvey Anderson, Amira M Amr...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39146559