The Bioavailability of Iodine in Plant-based Milk Alternatives

NCT ID: NCT06775795

Last Updated: 2025-01-15

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 17 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-07-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-08-01

Brief Summary

Iodine is a mineral commonly found in seafood and dairy products such as milk and cheese. Iodine is important as it is required to make thyroid hormones which regulate growth and metabolism at all stages of life. The UK population has been iodine-sufficient for many years, however, there is now concern that iodine deficiency may be more prevalent than previously thought. This is a concern because iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in cognitive impairment and developmental delays in children.

This study will to measure the ability to absorb iodine from plant-based milk alternatives fortified with iodine and compare with cow's milk in adults. Knowing the actual iodine bioavailability from plant-based alternatives is important because plant-based milk alternatives are becoming increasingly popular, especially in young adults, and are used as a replacement for cow's milk.

In this study, participants will consume three test drinks (cow's milk, soya milk and oat milk), one per week. The study will start with the cows' milk and the other two drinks will be administered in a random order with a crossover design. We will ask participants to follow a low iodine diet for three days leading up to the test day where they will drink one of the test drinks. Participants will then keep a food diary and collect their urine for the following 24 hours. Participants will then go back to their usual diet for at least four days before starting the next arm of the study with another test drink. This data will be used to calculate how much iodine was absorbed.

Conditions

Iodine Deficiency

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Cow's milk

Semi-Skimmed UHT Milk (estimated iodine concentration: 350 µg/L) providing approximately 200 µg of iodine (approx. 570mL).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Cow's milk

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants will consume one portion of semi-skimmed cow's milk which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Oat milk alternative

Oat Drink (estimated iodine concentration: 370 µg/L) providing approximately 200 µg of iodine (approx. 545mL).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Oat milk

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants will consume one portion of plant-based milk alternative (oat) which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Soya milk alternative

Soya Drink (estimated iodine concentration: 460 µg/L) providing approximately 200 µg of iodine (approx. 435mL).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Soya milk

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants will consume one portion of plant-based milk alternative (soya) which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Interventions

Oat milk

Participants will consume one portion of plant-based milk alternative (oat) which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Soya milk

Participants will consume one portion of plant-based milk alternative (soya) which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Cow's milk

Participants will consume one portion of semi-skimmed cow's milk which will provide approximately 200 µg of iodine

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Self-reported healthy adults
• Aged 18+
• English speakers
• Signed consent form
• No allergies or intolerances to the study drinks
• Not following a vegan diet (participants will be required to drink cow's milk)

Exclusion Criteria

• Pregnancy or lactating (according to the participants own statement)
• Living outside of the UK
• Involvement in another research study where diet is restricted or modified
• History of thyroid disease (according to the participants own statement)
• Any metabolic, gastrointestinal or chronic disease such as diabetes, hepatitis, hypertension, or cancer (according to the participants own statement)
• Use of iodine containing supplements within 1 week prior to study start
• Inadequate (<70 µg/day) or excessive (>500 µg/day) iodine intake from food (assessed during screening with previously validated iodine-specific FFQ)
• Use of iodine-containing disinfectants (betadine)
• Exposure to iodine-containing X-ray/ computed tomography contrast agent within the last month

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Surrey

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

University of Surrey

Guildford, , United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

Other Identifiers

FHMS 23-24 161 EGA

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id