Should you have char kway teow at lunch or dinner? Ask your gut

SINGAPORE – What if someone could tell you when is a good time of day to eat char kway teow or chicken rice, or what specific foods to avoid eating, or even when to schedule your heaviest meal?

What if you could take part in a study seeking to find answers to these and other questions?

Researchers at A*Star Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation and biotech start-up Amili, which does research on the Asian gut, have teamed up to do a study on how Singaporeans of different ethnicities digest food and the effects the food has on their blood sugar and cholesterol readings.

They are looking for participants willing to answer questionnaires; submit samples of their stool, saliva and blood; wear a blood glucose monitor and a ring that tracks their activity level and sleep quality; and eat three meals a day of Asian food that the researchers and dietitians have designed for the study. They will do this for eight days.

The idea behind the study, Dr Jeremy Lim, 52, one of Amili’s founders and its chief executive, is to establish baseline readings for the population here.

He adds: “We want to show people here that what they eat affects their health. Making small changes to their diet, and to when they eat certain kinds of food, can have an effect. We also want to create opportunities for local food manufacturers to use the data to formulate better food.”

The institute’s executive director, Dr Tan Sze, 55, notes that in Asia, there is a lot of traditional food wisdom.

“Your grandmother might warn about ‘heaty’ foods or late-night eating. How do we validate these age-old beliefs with science? Previously, we couldn’t measure such effects. Now, with modern technological tools, we can substantiate these concepts, bridging ancient wisdom and evidence-based research,” she says.

The lead researcher in the study is Dr Germaine Yong, 32, a senior scientist at the institute. She says: “Over the decades, a lot of research has shown that the way people respond to food is unique. Why that is so has been researched extensively in the West. In Asia, there is very little understanding of how multi-ethnic Asians respond to the food we eat in terms of its effect on blood sugar, cholesterol and the gut microbiome. That’s the gap.”

The study will involve laboratory work on natural plant and fungal products such as ginseng and liquorice, and the human trial.

Dr Yong says the researchers are looking to recruit 200 participants of different ethnicities, aged between 21 and 60. They should not be taking long-term prescribed medications, and not have taken antibiotics or anti-fungal medications in the three months before taking part in the study. They should be omnivores, non-smokers and not be pregnant or breastfeeding. Their body mass index or BMI should be 27.5 and below.

People who fit the bill and want to take part in the study should go to

www.amili.asia/post/remedy

for more information, and click on the link there to sign up.

Dr Lim says applicants who do not qualify for this study might be asked to take part in subsequent ones that focus on specific groups of people. These might include cancer survivors, people with fatty liver disease, diabetics and the elderly.

Participants in this study will have all meals for the eight days delivered, and they heat them up in the microwave or by steaming. At the end of each meal, they are asked to send photographs of their trays to researchers, who can track what they ate or did not eat. The halal meals are prepared by a ghost kitchen.

Dr Yong says: “Some meals are intentionally richer and some are lighter. It’s three meals a day with no snacks. We ask participants to stick to the meals, but if they do snack, we ask that they log what they eat. We know life happens.”

Researchers will monitor the readings that come from the blood glucose monitor and activity- and sleep-tracking ring that participants wear during the eight days. Participants will also have to submit stool samples daily, saliva samples three times during the eight days, and blood and urine samples on the first and last day.

For participating, they will receive $100. Dr Lim says they will also get a detailed health report at the end of the study.

“It is very intense during that week,” Dr Yong says. “But the study is designed to fit into most people’s lives.”

She is going through the process herself, wearing the tracking devices, eating the meals and going about her work and life, to make sure participants will be able to stick to the regimen.

“I’m doing this to understand the pain points for participants,” she says. “I believe that putting participants first is very important.”

The mother of two has found that her body responds well to a light dinner, but she can have a heavier breakfast. This is the kind of detail she and the other researchers want to nail down with the study.

The team expects to release some early findings at the end of 2025.

Dr Lim says: “Food is medicine. Control of many chronic diseases can be improved with smart food choices. We want the public to be aware so that we doctors will be forced to improve our knowledge of nutrition to help patients better.”