Researchers at the University of Missouri report that by eating more protein at breakfast , Type 2 diabetics reduce their glucose spikes at both breakfast and lunch.
“People often assume that their glucose response at one meal will be identical to their responses at other meals, but that really isn’t the case,” Professor Jill Kanaley, from the Missouri U. Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology explains. “If people skip breakfast, their glucose response at lunch will be huge. In our study, we found those who ate breakfast experienced appropriate glucose responses after lunch.”
In this research study Type 2 diabetics’ levels of glucose, insulin and several gut hormones which help regulate the insulin response were measured after breakfast and after lunch.
The research data revealed that eating more protein at breakfast lowered the post-meal glucose level. It showed that insulin levels were slightly elevated after the lunch meal they should be , demonstrating that subjects eating more protein for breakfast were manifesting a more correct physiologic insulin response, after food is eaten at the lunch meal.
“The first meal of the day is critical in maintaining glycemic control at later meals, so it really primes people for the rest of the day,” Kanaley said. “Eating breakfast prompts cells to increase concentrations of insulin at the second meal, which is good because it shows that the body is acting appropriately by trying to regulate glucose levels.”
Although this study was specifically aimed at diabetics, what it teaches us about control of glucose in the body after meals give more credence to the increasing support we see for low carbohydrate eating as a better lifestyle choice for the public in general. This flies in the face of the emphasis to eat a low fat diet which has been the main mantra of public health officials for years. Research from many sources regarding the harmful effect of too much sugar in the diet is being more and more widely acknowledged as new studies emerge.
Professor Kanaley says, “we suggest consuming 25 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast, which is within the range of the FDA recommendations.”
The study was published with the title A High-Protein Breakfast Induces Greater Insulin and Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Peptide Responses to a Subsequent Lunch Meal in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes. Published in the Journal of Nutrition, 2014.
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