Making a change in your breakfast routine can help patients manage type 2 diabetes, claims a new study, published recently in the Journal of Dairy Science. H. Douglas Goff, and a team of scientists from the Human Nutraceutical Research Unit at the University of Guelph collaborated with researchers from the University of Toronto and examined the effects of consuming high-protein milk at breakfast on blood glucose levels and satiety throughout the whole day.
The study showed that milk consumed with breakfast cereal significantly reduced postprandial blood glucose levels compared with water. They also compared how high protein concentration and normal dairy concentration reduced postprandial blood glucose concentration. High amount of protein also reduced appetite after the second meal when compared with the low-protein equivalent.
“Metabolic diseases are on the rise globally, with type 2 diabetes and obesity as leading concerns in human health,” said Dr. Goff and his team. “Thus, there is impetus to develop dietary strategies for the risk reduction and management of obesity and diabetes to empower consumers to improve their personal health.”
The study was randomized, controlled and double-binded, and the research team also examined the impact of increasing the protein concentration and the proportion of whey protein in milk people consume with a high-carbohydrate breakfast cereal on blood glucose levels, feeling full, and food consumption throughout the day.
The process of digestion of whey and casein proteins, both of which occur naturally in milk, involves releasing gastric hormones that slow down digestion, which gives people the feeling that they are full. Whey protein achieve this effect swiftly, whereas casein proteins’ digestion can provide a long and lasting effect.
Though the team admits that they only found a modest difference in amount of food consumed at during lunch when the amount of whey protein at breakfast was increased, they also tell us that when milk is taken with a high-carbohydrate breakfast, it reduces the blood glucose levels even after lunch. Whey protein only achieved a modest effect on the levels of blood glucose and satiety.
According to the research team, “This study confirms the importance of milk at breakfast time to aid in the slower digestion of carbohydrate and to help maintain lower blood sugar levels. Nutritionists have always stressed the importance of a healthy breakfast, and this study should encourage consumers to include milk.”