Measurements
fasting blood glucose
CREST
All clinical evaluations and laboratory tests were conducted before and after each phase. A trained nutritionist gathered the information about socio-demographic and medical history of participants through the face-to-face interview. Half way between the lower rib margin and the iliac crest was measured as waist circumference (WC), in centimeters. For weight measurement, individuals were weighed by a digital scale (OMRON, HN-286-E, Japan; with the accuracy of ± 100 g) without shoes, while wearing light clothes. Additionally, participants stood without shoes for height measurement, and a portable stadiometer (Seca, Hamburg, Germany, with accuracy of 0.5 cm) was used for this measurement. BMI was computed through weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (mSubjects were recommended to maintain their normal diet and lifestyle throughout all study phases. An expert nutritionist instructed individuals to complete a 3-day food record in each phase for assessment of energy and dietary intakes. Participants completed these records during a week in both phases (sumac and placebo arms) for two weekdays and 1 weekend day. Then, using the Iranian household measures, dietary intakes were converted to gram/day [A 12-h fasting blood sample was gathered from each participant, before and after of each study phase. After centrifuging blood samples for 10 min at room temperature, serum fasting blood glucose (FBG) concentration was assessed on the day of blood collection by enzymatic colorimetric method and through the use of the glucose oxidase (Pars Azmoon commercial kits, Tehran, Iran). Commercial kits were used for measurement of serum triglyceride, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), HDL-c and total cholesterol concentrations by direct enzymatic colorimetric method (Pars Azmoon commercial kits, Tehran, Iran) and using a biochemical auto analyzer (Alpha Classic, Sanjesh Company, Iran).