How to Reduce After Breakfast Blood Sugars 40%

December 19, 2010

Previous studies have shown a considerable reduction in hyperglycemia after

the second meal of the day, provided that breakfast had been taken. The

preservation of this effect in Type 2 diabetes was not confirmed until

recently. Postprandial hyperglycemia acts as an independent risk factor for

cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death in subjects with Type 2

diabetes. It was hypothesized that post-breakfast hyperglycemia in subjects

with Type 2 diabetes could be improved non-pharmacologically by using

a *high-protein,

low-carbohydrate prebreakfast snack.*

Researchers studied 10 men and women with diet- and/or metformin-controlled

Type 2 diabetes. Metabolic changes after breakfast were compared between 2

days: breakfast taken only and soya-yogurt snack taken prior to breakfast.

The results showed that there was a significant lower rise in plasma glucose

on the snack day. The incremental area under the glucose curve was 450 ± 55

mmol · min/l on the snack day compared with 699 ± 99 mmol · min/l on the

control day (*P* = 0.013). The concentration of plasma free fatty acids

immediately before breakfast correlated with the increment in plasma glucose

(*r* = 0.50, *P* = 0.013).

This study demonstrated for the first time that the provision of a

practical, high-protein, low-carbohydrate snack prior to breakfast reduced

by 40% the postprandial plasma glucose increment in people with Type 2

diabetes. These findings confirm a potent expression of the second-meal

effect in people with Type 2 diabetes. The importance of the present

observation is that a more practical means of improving glucose tolerance

could potentially be of therapeutic benefit in people with Type 2 diabetes.

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