The Plant Your Health study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effects of an 8-week vegan diet on Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) levels and post-challenge glucose levels in individuals with dysglycaemia.
IRAS ID
222904
Contact name
Thomas Yates
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 4 days
Research summary
The amount of people with diabetes mellitus has now reached over 4 million in the United Kingdom. Type 2 diabetes accounts for the majority of all cases of diabetes and increases the risk of many other diseases such as heart problems. Plant based diets are thought to be an effective way to improve markers of health related to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. One way that a plant based diet improves health could be through reducing waste products that are generated in the gut by the bacteria that break down food as part of the digestion process. For example, the digestion of some meats, fish and eggs results in the creation of a substance called Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) which has been linked to worse health outcomes in several studies. However, the full impact on TMAO and blood glucose levels of swapping regular meat consumption for a plant based vegan diet is not fully understood and requires further research. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to develop and undertake a clinical trial to investigate the effects of an 8-week vegan diet on TMAO levels and post challenge glucose levels in individuals with dysglycaemia (drug naïve).
The study will be interventional single group prospective trial of adults aged 18-75 years of age from a multi-ethnic population with dysglycaemia (drug naïve). A sample of 29 people will be sought. The dietary intervention (vegan diet) will last 8 weeks. Then, the participants will go back to their normal diet and come for their final visit after a four week follow-up period (week 12). To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, primary and secondary outcome data collected at baseline will be compared with data collected at 1 week, 8 weeks and 12 weeks.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
17/WS/0184
Date of REC Opinion
7 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion