The Impact of Gluten and Inulin on Sensory Attributes, Breath Hydrogen, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Satiety in Healthy Adults

Background: Gluten and inulin type fibers have been shown to impact satiety, breath hydrogen, GI symptoms, and properties of different food products. Objective: To investigate the effects of gluten and inulin on sensory attributes, breath hydrogen, GI symptoms, and satiety in healthy individuals. Methods: A randomized, controlled crossover design was conducted with 24 healthy adults (ages 18-39). Fasted subjects consumed a 16 oz. low FODMAP smoothie as the control. Treatment smoothies consisted of the low FODMAP base and either gluten (5g) or inulin (5g). Breath hydrogen measures were taken at baseline (0), 1, 2, and 3, hours. Subjective GI symptoms surveys were collected at baseline (0), 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 12, and 24 hours. VAS was collected at baseline (0), 10 min, 30 min, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 hours. Sensory analysis was completed after the first initial sips of smoothie consumption. Breath hydrogen, GI symptoms, and VAS scales were assessed by area under the curve using the trapezoidal rule. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used to evaluate differences between treatments with significance set at P\u3c0.05. Results: In the sample of healthy adults, there was no difference (p\u3e0.05) in breath hydrogen between treatments at any time point or total AUC. There was a difference for GI symptoms between the low FODMAP control and gluten treatment, with gluten producing less total GI symptoms (mean difference 2.84; p=.015). There was no difference in any sensory attribute or overall liking between treatments. There were significant differences in hunger between control and inulin treatments (MD=-6.18; p=0.024). There were also significant differences in fullness between control and inulin (MD=5.96; p=.026) and gluten and inulin treatments (MD=6.74; p=.016). There were no differences between treatments for satisfaction and volume of food to eat (p\u3e.05). Conclusion: The use of gluten and inulin at levels of 5 grams in a smoothie application had no impact on sensory attributes. Consumption of inulin resulted in a decrease in hunger and an increase in fullness. These results support not limiting gluten or inulin consumption in healthy individuals, as they did not lead to increased breath hydrogen or GI symptoms

Differences in Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Stress, and Lifestyle Factors in Adults With and Without Irritable Bowel Syndrome After Consumption of Gluten and Inulin

Background: Gluten and inulin type fibers have been shown to impact satiety, breath hydrogen, GI symptoms, and properties of different food products. Stress is often thought to play a role in breath hydrogen and gastrointestinal symptoms. Additional lifestyle factors are often related to increased GI symptoms including fiber consumption, increased high-intensity exercise, higher rates of anxiety, and disrupted sleep behaviors. Furthermore, individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) often display differences in GI symptoms based on consumption of gluten and inulin and lifestyle factors. Objective: The objective of this panel will be to describe the findings from a year-long study examining the impact of consumption of gluten and inulin (a FODMAP) on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, breath hydrogen, satiety, perceived stress, cortisol levels, and a variety of lifestyle factors including anxiety, diet, physical activity, and sleep in adults with and without IBS. Methods: A blinded, randomized, controlled crossover design was conducted with 24 non-IBS participants. Fasted participants consumed a control low FODMAP smoothie and treatment smoothies that consisted of the low FODMAP base (control) with gluten (5g) or inulin (5g). Cortisol and breath hydrogen were measured at baseline (0), 1, 2, and 3 hours. GI symptoms were measured at baseline (0), 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 12, and 24 hours. VAS was collected at baseline (0), 10 min, 30 min, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 hours. Perceived stress, State and Trait Anxiety, and Physical activity were measured for each treatment. Dietary intake and Sleep were analyzed at one time point as these measures assessed behaviors over the past 30 days. Salimetrics ELISA assays were used to determine cortisol values. Variables were analyzed by the Area Under the Curve using the trapezoidal rule, Spearman rho correlation coefficients, Independent T-tests, Repeated Measures ANOVA, and Simple-Effects Tests with significance set at p\u3c.05. Results: There were no differences between non-IBS and IBS groups in any diet variable, including fruits, vegetables, fiber, dairy, added sugar, whole grains, physical activity variables, or sleep (p\u3e0.05). There were no differences in state-somatic, trait-somatic, trait-cognitive, or trait-total in either treatment for non-IBS and IBS groups (p\u3e0.05), except for the inulin treatment had a difference in state-cognitive between non-IBS and IBS groups (MD=3.5714; p=0.035) with the IBS group having more state-cognitive anxiety. The IBS group had more total GI symptoms to begin with (p=.001), however, there were no differences in change in breath hydrogen between treatments or groups (p\u3e0.05). More details will be provided during the panel discussion. Conclusion: In this sample of participants, the restriction of gluten and inulin in the diet (at 5 grams) is not warranted for those with and without IBS, as neither treatment produced a significant increase in breath hydrogen or GI symptoms for either group. In those with IBS, there were increased GI symptoms to start with, indicating more GI distress but not related to the consumption of gluten or inulin at the 5-gram level

Examination of Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Stress, and Lifestyle Factors With the Consumption of Gluten and Inulin in Healthy Adults

Background: Gluten and inulin type fibers have been shown to impact satiety, breath hydrogen, GI symptoms, and properties of different food products. Stress is often thought to play a role in breath hydrogen and gastrointestinal symptoms. Additional lifestyle factors are often related to increased GI symptoms including fiber consumption, increased high-intensity exercise, higher rates of anxiety, and disrupted sleep behaviors. Objective: The objective of this panel will be to describe the findings from a year-long study examining the impact of consumption of gluten and inulin (a FODMAP) on sensory attributes, satiety, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, breath hydrogen, perceived stress, cortisol levels, and a variety of lifestyle factors including anxiety, diet, physical activity, and sleep. Methods: A blinded, randomized, controlled crossover design was conducted with 24 non-IBS participants. Fasted participants consumed a control low FODMAP smoothie and treatment smoothies that consisted of the low FODMAP base (control) with gluten (5g) or inulin (5g). Cortisol and breath hydrogen were measured at baseline (0), 1, 2, and 3 hours. GI symptoms were measured at baseline (0), 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 12, and 24 hours. VAS was collected at baseline (0), 10 min, 30 min, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 hours. Sensory analysis was completed after the first initial sips of smoothie consumption. Perceived stress, State and Trait Anxiety, and Physical activity were measured for each treatment. Dietary intake and Sleep were analyzed at one time point as these measures assessed behaviors over the past 30 days. Salimetrics ELISA assays were used to determine cortisol values. Variables were analyzed by the Area Under the Curve using the trapezoidal rule, Spearman rho correlation coefficients, and Repeated Measures ANOVA with significance set at p\u3c.05. Results: Main findings include no differences in breath hydrogen measurements and very little changes in GI symptoms when consuming five grams of gluten or inulin. Lifestyle variables overall did not correlate with breath hydrogen or GI symptoms. There were significant differences found for cortisol values in the control versus inulin and control versus gluten treatment groups. Additional findings will be discussed in detail during the panel. Conclusion: In healthy adults, consumption of five grams of gluten or inulin did not increase GI symptoms nor breath hydrogen levels indicating there is high tolerance of gluten consumption and inulin consumption. Lifestyle variables did not appear to play a large role in the relationship to GI symptoms. More research is needed to understand the relationship with cortisol and consumption of gluten or inulin