The plasma metabolomics footprint of dairy products: a reflection of consumption and a window to their cardiometabolic effects.

The general objective of this project is to identify unbiased and objective plasma metabolomics signatures of milk and cheese consumption. We will leverage data and stored, unthawed, plasma samples from 4 high quality randomized, crossover, feeding trials (RCTs) and 1 cohort of 200 free-living adults (eMECA) that were conducted or implemented at INAF research center over the past 15 years. The 4 RCTs investigated the impact of reduced fat milk (1% milk-fat) and/or regular-fat cheddar cheese (31% milk-fat) consumption on cardiometabolic health in a total of 185 adults with abdominal obesity. Therefore, the proposed project builds on a biobank that is second to none worldwide and that was created through nearly $3 million CAD of DFC investments in RCTs and human nutrition research over the past 15 years. The study will outcome on a unique demonstration of the ‘impact’ of milk and cheese consumption on cardiometabolic health, at the system level, providing novel insights on their health effects. By extension, the study will also outcome on a novel perspective on the impact of dairy fat consumption on cardiometabolic health as we will be able to compare the impact of reduced-fat milk with regular-fat cheese.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier

Student:

Partner:

Dairy Farmers of Canada

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Pharmaceuticals; Agriculture and Food

University:

Université Laval

Program: