University of Missouri. US: In
healthy individuals, the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood
increases after eating. When glucose increases, levels of insulin
increase to carry the glucose to the rest of the body. Previous research
has shown that extreme increases in glucose and insulin in the blood
can lead to poor glucose control and increase an individual’s risk of
developing diabetes over time. Now, a University of Missouri researcher
has found that when women consumed high-protein breakfasts, they
maintained better glucose and insulin control than they did with
lower-protein or no-protein meals.
“For women, eating more protein in the morning can beneficially
affect their glucose and insulin levels,” said Heather Leidy, an
assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology. “If you eat
healthy now and consume foods that help you control your glucose levels,
you may be protecting yourself from developing diabetes in the future.”
Kevin Maki, of Biofortis Clinical Research, completed the study in
collaboration with Leidy. They studied women aged 18-55 years old who
consumed one of three different meals or only water on four consecutive
days. The tested meals were less than 300 calories per serving and had
similar fat and fiber contents. However, the meals varied in amount of
protein: a pancake meal with three grams of protein; a sausage and egg
breakfast skillet with 30 grams of protein; or a sausage and egg
breakfast skillet with 39 grams protein. Researchers monitored the
amount of glucose and insulin in the participants’ blood for four hours
after they ate breakfast.
“Both protein-rich breakfasts led to lower spikes in glucose and
insulin after meals compared to the low-protein, high-carb breakfast,”
Maki said. “Additionally, the higher-protein breakfast containing 39
grams of protein led to lower post-meal spikes compared to the
high-protein breakfast with 30 grams of protein.”
These findings suggest that, for healthy women, the consumption of
protein-rich breakfasts leads to better glucose control throughout the
morning than the consumption of low-protein options, Leidy said.
“Since most American women consume only about 10-15 grams of protein
during breakfast, the 30-39 grams might seem like a challenging dietary
change,” Leidy said. “However, one potential strategy to assist with
this change might include the incorporation of prepared convenience
meals, such as those included in this study.”
Leidy said the study provides a good model to initially examine the
effect of higher-protein breakfasts on glucose and insulin responses
since only healthy, non-diabetic women with appropriate glucose control
were included in the study. Based on the study’s findings, the
researchers are hopeful that the consumption of protein-rich breakfasts
also would benefit individuals with pre-diabetes, although future
research is needed to confirm.
The research, “Acute Effects of Higher Protein, Sausage and Egg-based
Convenience Breakfast Meals on Postprandial Glucose Homeostasis in
Healthy, Premenopausal Women,” will be presented at the 2014
Experimental Biology meeting this week in San Diego, Calif. Leidy
collaborated with researchers Tia M. Rains, Kristen D. Sanoshy, Andrea
Lawless and Kevin C. Maki, of Biofortis Clinical Research, a division of
Mérieux NutriSciences in Chicago. Hillshire Brands funded the research.
The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is jointly administered by the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the College of Human Environmental Sciences and the School of Medicine.
Biofortis, a Mérieux NutriSciences company, is a leading global
clinical nutrition research team serving industry leading clients from
the food, ingredient and dietary supplement industry segments.