Increasing protein generally forces out processed carbs from our diet and improves the amount of vitamins and minerals contained in our food. While protein does generate an insulin response, increasing the protein content of our food typically decreases our insulin response to food. What happens to insulin and blood sugar when we eat more protein? It seems we require about half as much insulin for protein as we do for carbohydrate.īut does this mean we should avoid or minimise protein for optimal diabetes management or weight loss? Does protein immediately turn to chocolate cake in our bloodstream? Low fat, low carb, high protein foods elicit a significant insulin response.Īs you can see in the chart below, once we account for protein, we get a better prediction of our insulin response to food. Meat and fish and high-fat foods (butter, cream, oil) tend to have a negligible impact on glucose.īut the story is not as simple when it comes to our insulin response to food.Īs shown in the chart below, the carbohydrate content of our food only partially predicts our short-term insulin response to food. So we are comparing the glucose and insulin response to various foods to eating pure glucose.Īs shown in the chart below, the blood glucose response of healthy people is proportional to their carbohydrate intake. To calculate the glucose score or the insulin index pure glucose gets a score of 100% while everything else gets a score between zero and 100% based on the comparative glucose or insulin area under the curve response. The food insulin index testing measured the glucose and insulin response to various foods in healthy people (i.e. The food insulin index data is an untapped treasure trove of data that can help us understand the impact of foods on our metabolism. The advantage of obtaining glucose from protein via gluconeogenesis rather than carbs is that it is a slow process and easier to control with measured doses of insulin compared to simple carbs, which will cause more abrupt blood sugar roller coaster. Someone on a very low carbohydrate diet may rely more on protein for glucose via gluconeogenesis compared to someone who can get the glucose they need directly from carbohydrates. The fact that protein can be converted to glucose is of particular interest to people with diabetes who sometimes go to great lengths to keep their blood sugar under control. any “excess protein” can be used to refill the small protein stores in the bloodstream and replenish glycogen stores in the liver via gluconeogenesis. Once your body has used the protein it needs to build and repair muscle and make neurotransmitters, etc. Thirteen amino acids can be converted to glucose.Five others can be converted to either glucose or ketones, depending on the body’s requirements at the time.the micronutrient building blocks that makeup protein) can be converted to glucose. The different amino acids have different behaviours when it comes to their ability to convert to glucose vs ketones: Gluconeogenesis is the process of converting another substrate (e.g. You’re probably aware that protein can be converted to glucose via a process in the body called gluconeogenesis. what they can do to optimise their metabolic health.the reason that some people may see an increase in their blood sugars and a decrease in their ketones after a high protein meal,.And what exactly is a “well-formulated ketogenic diet” anyway?.If adding fat doesn’t get you into the “ optimal ketosis zone“, do you need exogenous ketones to get your ketones up so you can start to lose weight?.If you’ve dropped the carbs and protein to manage your blood sugars, should you eat “fat to satiety” or continue to add more fats until you achieve “ optimal ketosis“?.If you are managing diabetes, should you avoid protein because it can convert to glucose and “kick you out of ketosis”?.Some common questions around the interwebs include: I want to shed some light on protein, insulin, and how high-protein meals impact your blood sugar. There is a lot of controversy and confusion over gluconeogenesis and the impact of protein on blood sugar and ketosis.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |