Whey protein before meals stimulates insulin production

Last Updated: 2017-07-11

By Lorraine L. Janeczko

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating whey protein before meals can stimulate insulin, glucagon, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) production, researchers reported June 12 at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"Whether or not a person has type 2 diabetes, ingesting whey protein before a meal stimulates hormones but leaves lipid responses unchanged," lead study author Dr. Kjeld Hermansen of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark told Reuters Health.

"Compared to whey proteins that are part of the main meal, pre-meal whey proteins delay gastric emptying in people with type 2 diabetes as well as those without the disorder," he said in an email.

Postprandial lipemia (PPL) with elevated triglycerides, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is commonly seen with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Dr. Hermansen and his two co-authors, Dr. Jen Juul Holst of the University of Copenhagen and Dr. Ann Bjoernshave of the Danish Diabetes Academy in Odense, conducted two parallel, randomized, crossover studies in 12 participants who had T2D and 12 participants who did not. The groups were matched for body mass index, age, and sex, and all participants completed the study.

All were given 200 ml of water and 20g of whey protein or 200 mL of pure water either 15 minutes before, or during, the main meal that was rich in fat, and they were monitored for 6 hours after they ate.

In the participants with and without T2D, pre-meal whey protein increased the mean postprandial concentrations of insulin, glucagon and GIP.

The ApoB-48 incremental area under the curve (iAUC) and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) AUC were higher in the diabetic participants, but no difference between the two groups was found in the mean triglyceride or ApoB-48 concentrations. The mean concentration and iAUC of glucose was higher in the diabetic group.

And as measured by the concentration of S-paracetamol, whey protein before a meal delayed gastric emptying by 30 minutes (p=0.003).

"These are important glucose-regulating hormones, GIP and GLP-1 by stimulating insulin secretion and regulating glucagon secretion postprandially," Dr. Holst noted in an email.

"The results showed increases with the whey protein pre-meal and also changes in glucagon concentrations, but this did not result in clear changes in lipid absorption and lipoprotein profile," he noted.

"The hormones were measured using highly accurate and extensively validated assays, especially designed to evaluate secretion profiles," he explained.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Dairy Research Foundation, and the Danish Diabetes Academy helped support the study.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2r7eXVC

American Diabetes Association 2017.