Protein Doesn’t Affect Post-prandial Glucose Levels in Type 1’s

Study shows type 1 diabetes patients do not need to adjust their flexible insulin scale based on the amount of protein they are about to consume….

Since protein can contribute to gluconeogenesis, the generation of glucose, testing was done to determine if more insulin is needed for a meal high in protein.

The hospital-based study looked at type 1 diabetes patients with a flexible insulin scale and investigated whether or not the prandial dose of rapid acting insulin needed to be adjusted based on the protein that was to be consumed. The post-prandial and overnight glucose levels were monitored.

The hospitalization was done for teaching purposes and the patients’ diets were controlled for the two days prior to the two days of testing. None of the patients had an acute illness and all patients agreed to participate. The protein test patients had an additional 21.5g of protein added to their meals during test days.

The primary end-point was overnight glucose levels, 12 hours after evening meal. It was found that protein had no significant effect on post-prandial glucose levels.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23521532 C. Borie-Swinburne, A. Sola-Gazagnes, C. Gonfroy-Leymarie, J. Boillot, C. Boitard, E. Larger. Effect of dietary protein on post-prandial glucose in patients with type 1 diabetes. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2013 Mar 22