4. Discussion
T2D
CVD, LIPIDAEMIA
In this study, we investigated the effects on cardiovascular risk factors of an eight-week supplementation with aronia extract, fermented aronia extract, and placebo, respectively, in subjects with T2D. After an 8-week supplementation with aronia, we did not observe any significant differences in blood pressure, adiponectin, or hs-CRP. Regarding blood pressure, our results are in line with findings from Simeonov et al. who did not find any significant effect on blood pressure in individuals with T2D after a 3-month non-blinded, non-controlled supplementation regimen [No changes were observed for hs-CRP. However, baseline values were generally low with values below 1 mg/L, and a value below 10 mg/L indicates a low cardiovascular risk [In accordance with the European Society of Cardiology, it is recommended that individuals with T2D and high CVD risk are more closely monitored in regard to lipid levels than healthy people with LDL-cholesterol levels below 1.8 mmol/L [In accordance with to the European Society of Cardiology, it is recommended that fasting triglyceride levels are maintained below 2.3 mmol/L [Since placebo, FAE, and AE are similar in nutritional composition, but all contain rather large amounts of sugar, it is interesting that lipid levels changed less than 0.1 mmol/L after supplementation with FAE and AE, with the exception of triglycerides, which were increased by 0.23 ± 0.08 mmol/L after AE supplementation. This could suggest that FAE and AE might have protective effects by preventing rises in lipid levels after the consumption of an unhealthy amount of sugar for eight weeks. On the other hand, it remains puzzling why triglycerides would increase after supplementation with AE. However, a higher intake of saturated fatty acids and a lower intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids and carbohydrates have been connected to lower triglyceride levels [Furthermore, it has previously been reported that raisins have a low glycaemic index, and that 50 g of raisins can be considered a healthy snack for individuals with T2D [Even though the supplements have small variations in nutritional composition, it is unlikely that this alone could account for the observed differences. It is possible that the high content of anthocyanins, in AE and FAE, prevented increases in blood lipids like those observed after supplementation with placebo. In line with this postulation, a meta-analysis has reported that a supplementation with anthocyanins had a positive effect in individuals with lipidaemia [