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

Plant-based food demand is rapidly increasing. However, the metabolic responses of plant proteins within their commercially available form remain unclear. Two randomized crossover experiments compared plant-based alternatives to dairy on postprandial glycemia, metabolic hormones, and appetite before and after a fixed-size (12 kcal/kg body weight) pasta meal in sixteen healthy young adults (eight males and eight females). In experiment 1, participants (22.8 ± 2.3 year) consumed one serving of Greek yogurt (175 g), cheddar cheese (30 g), plant-based cheese (30 g), or plant-based yogurt (175 g). In experiment 2, participants (22.3 ± 2.4 year) consumed one serving (250 mL) of cow's milk, vanilla soy beverage or vanilla almond beverage, and (30 g) of cheddar cheese or plant-based cheese. Blood glucose, insulin, and appetite were measured at baseline, post-treatment, and following a fixed-size pasta meal (post-meal) within 15-30 min. In experiment 2, C-peptide, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and ghrelin were measured. Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese lowered post-meal blood glucose more than their plant-based alternatives (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and post-treatment blood glucose was higher following almond beverage than cheddar cheese and plant-based cheese (<i>p</i> < 0.01). In experiment 1, post-treatment insulin was higher after Greek yogurt than cheddar cheese and plant-based cheese and all treatments post-meal (<i>p</i> < 0.02). Post-meal appetite was lower after plant-based yogurt than cheddar cheese and plant-based cheese (<i>p</i> < 0.01). In experiment 2, post-treatment insulin was higher after almond beverage compared to all treatments (<i>p</i> < 0.01), and post-meal GLP-1 was higher after milk than almond beverage (<i>p</i> = 0.03). We conclude that the physiological functionality of plant-based alternatives as measured by blood glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and GLP-1 did not replicate the metabolic functions of dairy products. Clinical trial registry number: http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04600128 and NCT05919667).