Whey protein is beneficial for type-2 diabetics. A new research shows that consumption of whey protein before meals can control glucose surges generally experience after meals.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel, conducted the study on 15 participants with well-controlled type-2 diabetes at Wolfson Medical Center. The participants were randomly given either 50 grams of whey in 250 ml water or a placebo. This was followed by a standardized high-glycemic index breakfast of three slices of white bread and sugary jelly - a meal designed to produce the maximum post-meal glucose spike.
The research team collected blood samples 30 minutes before the meal, when the whey protein or placebo drinks were consumed. Further blood samples, assessing plasma concentration of glucose, intact GLP-1, and insulin concentrations, were taken when the breakfast was served and at 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 minute intervals after the meal, researchers explained in a press release.
The study results showed that participants who had whey before the meals reported 28 percent glucose reduction after 180 minutes of consumption of meals. With whey pre-load, insulin and GLP-1 responses also were significantly higher (105 and 141 percent, respectively), producing a 96 percent increase in early insulin response.
"What is remarkable is that consuming whey protein before meals reduces the blood sugar spikes seen after meals," said Daniela Jakubowicz, professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel. "It also improves the body's insulin response, putting it in the same range or even higher than that produced by novel anti-diabetic drugs."
Researchers explained that whey protein can be separated from the casein in milk or formed as a by-product of cheese production. Drinking more milk reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and milk whey protein increases the production of a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that stimulates insulin secretion.
This, in turn, reduces the blood glucose rise after meal, Jakubowicz said.
The study was published in the journal Diabetologia.
