# Physiological Advantages of a Fiber-Enriched Plant-Based Dessert: Improved Glycemic Control and Appetite Regulation over a Commercial Dairy Product

## TL;DR

A plant-based dessert made with chickpeas, quinoa, and sweet potatoes had better blood sugar control and increased feelings of fullness compared to a dairy dessert.

## Contribution

The study introduces a plant-based dessert with physiological benefits over a commercial dairy dessert.

## Key findings

- The plant-based dessert had a significantly lower glycemic impact and glycemic load than the dairy dessert.
- It increased satiety and fullness while reducing hunger and prospective food consumption.
- The plant-based dessert had lower energy density, fat, and added sugars per 100 g.

## Abstract

This study investigated
the glycemic response and subjective
appetite
sensations elicited by a research prototype of a plant-based cocoa
dessert, formulated with chickpeas, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and brown
rice, and compared it with a commercial dairy dessert. Eleven participants
(mean age = 27.0 ± 7.91 years; BMI = 24.11 ± 3.35 kg/m2) consumed portions containing 50 g of available carbohydrates
in a randomized crossover design. Capillary blood glucose was measured
at fasting and at 15–120 min postprandially. The incremental
area under the curve (iAUC) was significantly lower for the plant-based
dessert compared with the commercial dairy dessert (13003 ± 466
vs 13492 ± 492 mg·min/dL; p = 0.0021).
At 15 min, postprandial glucose for the plant-based dessert was significantly
lower than that for the dairy dessert (p < 0.05).
Both desserts presented high glycemic index values (80.22 ± 44.00
vs 83.23 ± 46.78), but the plant-based dessert exhibited a lower
glycemic load (16.60 vs 18.31). Subjective appetite analyses showed
that the plant-based dessert produced significantly greater satiety
at 90 and 120 min (p < 0.05) and higher fullness
scores at 60, 90, and 120 min (p < 0.05) than
the commercial dairy dessert. Conversely, hunger and prospective food
consumption scores were significantly lower after the plant-based
dessert at the same time points (p < 0.05). Appetite-specific
sensations were also modulated, with significantly higher scores for
salty and tasty hunger were observed after consumption of the plant-based
dessert (p < 0.05). Both the plant-based and commercial
dairy desserts exhibited inverse correlations between glycemia and
hunger (r = −0.93, p = 0.0017; r = −0.92, p = 0.0032) and prospective
food consumption (r = −0.96, p = 0.0004; r = −0.98, p <
0.0001), whereas satiety (r = 0.93, p = 0.0019; r = 0.95, p = 0.0007)
and fullness (r = 0.91, p = 0.0009; r = 0.95, p = 0.0008) were positively correlated
with glycemia, respectively. Per 100 g, the plant-based dessert had
lower energy density, fat, and added sugars than the commercial dairy
dessert. Overall, the plant-based cocoa dessert elicited a more favorable
physiological profile, combining attenuated glycemic impact, moderate
glycemic load, and enhanced satiety, supporting its potential as a
nutritionally improved, functional alternative for the development
of health-oriented dessert formulations.