Project description
A consumer’s guide to reducing the glycaemic response to starchy foods
Starchy foods are one of the main components of our diet. They supply up to half of our energy needs and, because starch is exclusively made of glucose, these foods play a major role in our blood glucose levels. High blood glucose is linked to a number of chronic diseases and the rate at which starch in a given food is digested is directly correlated with blood glucose levels (i.e. the glycaemic response). Simply put, quickly digested starchy foods lead to high blood glucose levels. However, this effect can be counteracted by an adequate combination with other foods. The EU-funded GlucoMatchMaker project is developing the first mobile app to help people mix and match starchy foods with other foods and beverages to attenuate glycaemic responses.
Objective
Low pH foods can attenuate the glycemic response to starch-rich foods. It has been demonstrated that lemon juice, due to its low pH (pH≈2.3) inhibited key digestive enzymes thereby interrupting gastric digestion of starch in vitro. This effect can significantly reduce the glycemic response in humans. In particular, adding lemon juice to a starch rich meal reduced the mean blood glucose concentration peak by 30%. Considering the panoply of food options available, it is likely that other combinations have similar effects but no work has been conducted to develop a consolidated knowledge base to exploit this strategy.
GlucoMatchMaker will go beyond the state-of-the art by addressing this knowledge gap. The main goal is to develop and test the real-life effectiveness of the first mobile app to guide individuals on how to mix and match starchy foods with other foods/beverages to attenuate glycemic responses.
The research work will employ multidisciplinary knowledge and methodologies and is divided into 4 parts (1) Selection and characterization of starch-rich foods, low-pH foods/beverages and of how their combination influences starch digestion in vitro (WP1). (2) Determination of the conditions of effectiveness of these combinations (in silico models) (WP2). (3) Development of the first mobile app that will integrate this knowledge to guide the user on how to mix and match starch-rich foods with others to lower their glycemic impact (WP3). (4) Test the effectiveness of the developed strategy in a real-life context (WP4).
This project addresses the United Nations and EU target to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The research plan was developed in the framework of “H2020 Work Programme - Health, demographic change and wellbeing”, specifically the aim to “translate new knowledge into innovative applications and accelerate large-scale uptake and deployment”.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies food technology
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
R93 Carlow
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.