Acute metabolic responses to butter, margarine, and a monoglyceride gel-structured spread

Cardiovascular and metabolic health concerns have led to interest in development of saturated- and trans fat-free margarines, spreads, and other foods. We have recently characterized a novel monoglyceride gel (MAG GEL) that can structure liquid oil into a semi-plastic solid consistency in the absence of saturated and trans fats. Consumption of this MAG GEL resulted in tempered postprandial metabolic responses compared to those resulting from consumption of a compositionally equivalent but unstructured oil suspension, suggesting a structure-dependent metabolic response. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that postprandial blood lipid and metabolite responses to MAG GEL would be tempered compared to the responses after ingestion of butter and tub-margarine of equal total fat content. Indeed, blood triglyceride response was tempered in MAG GEL compared to butter, margarine, and unstructured oil trials, all of which produced similar triglyceride responses. The blood free fatty acid, glucose, and insulin responses were not different in MAG GEL compared to butter or margarine trials; and interestingly, there were no differences between butter and margarine trials for any of the metabolic response variables. The MAG GEL is a useful structure for many applications, and produces salubrious postprandial metabolic effects compared to other spreadable fats.