Protein intake with insulin response and blood glucose

AllanMisner · 2019-03-03 15:28:32 UTC

I’m reading a popular bodybuilding book (I’ll be interviewing the author in a few days). He made a statement in the book that I just couldn’t follow, but he provided a link to a study. I went down the rabbit hole and I’m still not following how this happened.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The acute effects of four protein meals on insulin, glucose, appetite and energy intake in lean men.

S Pal and V Ellis, The British journal of nutrition, Oct 2010

Different dietary proteins vary in their ability to influence satiety and reduce food intake. The present study compared the effects of four protein meals, whey, tuna, turkey and egg albumin, on postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations as well as on appetite measures and energy intake in twenty-two lean, healthy men. This was a randomised, cross-over design study where participants consumed four liquid test meals on separate occasions followed by the collection of regular blood samples (fasting, +30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 min). They were then offered a buffet meal 4 h later. The blood glucose response after the consumption of the test meal, as an incremental area under the curve (AUC), was significantly lower with the whey meal than with the turkey (P < 0.023) and egg (P < 0.001) meals, but it was not lower than with the tuna meal (P < 0.34). The AUC blood insulin after the consumption of the test meal was significantly higher with the whey meal than with the tuna, turkey and egg meals (all P < 0.001). The AUC rating of hunger was significantly lower with the whey meal than with the tuna (P < 0.033), turkey (P < 0.001) and egg (P < 0.001) meals. Mean energy intake at the ad libitum meal was significantly lower (P < 0.001) with the whey meal than with the tuna, egg and turkey meals. There was a strong relationship between self-rated appetite, postprandial insulin response and energy intake at lunch. Whey protein meal produced a greater insulin response, reduced appetite and decreased ad libitum energy intake at a subsequent meal compared with the other protein meals, indicating a potential for appetite suppression and weight loss in overweight or obese individuals.

Thoughts?

ETA: These were lean men, so I’d assume they are not metabolically challenged.

RobC · 2019-03-03 15:40:17 UTC

I do not buy it.

Is it saying that a whey shake in the morning will make you eat a smaller lunch???

My experience (when I used to have whey - never again!) is exactly the opposite - real food in the morning would make for a smaller or later lunch.

But! How happy those whey protein companies must be that this study came out in their favor - such a rare thing.

RobC · 2019-03-03 16:17:21 UTC

Also, seems very unnatural in terms of their choices.

If these people were served:

Tuna in water from a can
Cold turkey breast
Cold hard boiled eggs

Then I can see them being hungrier at lunch - but, the conclusion that whey has appetite suppression qualities as a meal replacement is faulty.

This is not real-world, run the same test with a bacon and eggs breakfast or a sausage and cheese omelet and see how whey does.

I guess I should say “This is not real-world for most people” - if you are a bodybuilder trying to get down to 7% body fat, this might be helpful information on your morning food choice but, for the vast majority of people, it (I think) comes to the wrong conclusion.

PaulL · 2019-03-03 23:02:11 UTC

@AllanMisner Check this out, see if it’s relevant (you’ll find it interesting, in any case):

PaulL · 2019-03-03 23:40:37 UTC

Found a link to the full text of the study:

Note that applicants were excluded if their protein intake was more than 30% of calories. This may be relevant.