Research

Hormonal

Composite meals with high fiber, low total fat, and minimal processing elicit significantly lower postprandial metabolic stress (GlucoTRIG index) compared to meals high in fat and refined foods, despite similar caloric content.

To minimize metabolic stress after a meal, prioritize high-fiber, low-fat whole foods (like beans, vegetables, and fruits) over processed foods high in fat, even if the high-fat meal has fewer carbohydrates. A meal with 58% carbohydrates but high fiber and low fat (like the study's Meal 3) was metabolically healthier than meals with lower carbohydrates but higher fat content.

GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The meal (M3) with a high fiber, low total fat content and containing less refined foods (fruits, beans, vegetables, plain yogurt) exhibited a significantly (p = 0.007) lower GlucoTRIG value (10 ± 7.7) compared to the other two meals, M1 (77 ± 19.8) and M2 (38 ± 12.1) which contained low processed foods, and were relatively high in fat and low in fiber meals.
Rohith N. Thota et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2022

Why this rating

Randomized cross-over trial with healthy subjects, but small sample size (n=10 per meal) and short duration.

Source

Significance of Postprandial Insulin and Triglycerides to Evaluate the Metabolic Response of Composite Meals Differing in Nutrient Composition – A Randomized Cross-Over Trial

Rohith N. Thota et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2022

DOI 10.3389/fnut.2022.816755

crossover · n=10Cited 5×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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