A whey protein supplement decreases post-prandial glycemia

BACKGROUND Incidence of diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance are associated with high glycemic load diets. Identifying food components that decrease post-prandial glycemia may be beneficial for developing low glycemic foods and supplements. This study explores the glycemic impact of adding escalating doses of a glycemic index lowering peptide fraction (GILP) from whey to a glucose drink. METHODS Ten healthy subjects (3M, 7F, 44.4 +/- 9.3 years, BMI 33.6 +/- 4.8 kg/m2) participated in an acute randomised controlled study. Zero, 5, 10 and 20 g of protein from GILP were added to a 50 g glucose drink. The control (0 g of GILP) meal was repeated 2 times. Capillary blood samples were taken fasting (0 min) and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after the start of the meal and analyzed for blood glucose concentration. RESULTS Increasing doses of GILP decreased the incremental areas under the curve in a dose dependant manner (Pearson's r = 0.48, p = 0.002). The incremental areas (iAUC) under the glucose curve for the 0, 5, 10, and 20 g of protein from GILP were 231 +/- 23, 212 +/- 23, 196 +/- 23, and 138 +/- 13 mmol.min/L respectively. The iAUC of the 20 g GILP was significantly different from control, 5 g GILP and 10 g GILP (p < 0.001). Average reduction in the glucose iAUC was 4.6 +/- 1.4 mmol.min/L per gram of ingested GILP. CONCLUSION Addition of GILP to a oral glucose bolus reduces blood glucose iAUC in a dose dependent manner and averages 4.6 +/- 1.4 mmol.min/L per gram of GILP. These data are consistent with previous research on the effect of protein on the glycemic response of a meal.