Methods: Wister rats were fed only with CLEA Rodent Diet CE-2 from 4 to 54 weeks of age, provided either in a powdered form (n=9) or in a solid form (n=9). An oral glucose tolerance test were administered to both groups every week, and blood glucose levels were measured six times in each test; at fasting, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 120 min after oral administration. All measured values in the two groups were compared with Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results: and Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the two groups in blood glucose levels until the rats were 41 weeks old. Blood glucose levels of the powdered diet group measured at 45 min, 60 min, and 120 min after oral administration were significantly higher than those of the solid diet group when they were 45 weeks old (p<0.05). Furthermore, when they were 51 weeks old, the blood glucose levels of the former were significantly higher than those of the latter at every measuring time after oral administration (p<0.05). Our data made it clear that lifetime diet texture would influence glucose tolerance. We conclude that food mastication is of particular importance in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases like metabolic syndrome.