Blood Glucose Control Using African Traditional Fermented Foods

Although African traditional fermented foods have been linked to health benefits, research pertaining to the use of uniform products in the control of blood glucose is lacking. This study is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of African traditional fermented foods at reducing blood sugar amongst adult pre-diabetic patients. This study shall comprise a multi-centre parallel (3-arm) randomized controlled trial of a fermented milk product, a fermented cereal-based product, and standard medical care. 252 pre-diabetic adults shall be recruited from 12 treatment facilities located at 4 Counties (3 clinics from each County) across Kenya. The primary outcome is change in glycated haemoglobin. Secondary outcomes shall include, change in weight (BMI), waist circumference, levels of fasting plasma glucose, C reactive protein and lipid profile. Safety as well as the acceptability and experience of fermented foods as a treatment modality for pre-diabetes will additionally be assessed amongst study participants. At each study site, data comprising clinical measurements and responses from self-report questionnaires shall be collected over a follow-up period of 12 weeks. Two focus group discussions shall additionally be held in week 13. Comparison of the mean changes between the three groups shall be carried out using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Pairwise comparisons shall additionally be undertaken using linear mixed regression models.