Revealed in Diabetes Care and performed in collaboration with Aarhus College and the Steno Diabetes Middle in Aarhus, the analysis examined how consuming Lacprodan ISO.WaterShake earlier than consuming influenced blood glucose rises within the three hours after meals.
“Findings counsel that whey protein could also be a protected, efficient and promising dietary technique to help blood glucose administration in ladies with GDM,” stated Lise Høj Brunsgaard, analysis scientist at Arla Meals Components.
Protein’s function in managing maternal blood sugar
Round 19.6% of pregnant ladies expertise hyperglycaemia throughout being pregnant, and the vast majority of these instances (79.2%) come up from GDM. GDM happens when the physique is unable to supply sufficient insulin or use it successfully to take care of regular blood sugar ranges throughout being pregnant.
This could result in being pregnant issues reminiscent of a larger threat of hypertension and preeclampsia, difficult supply, and the next likelihood of growing kind 2 diabetes within the years after being pregnant.
For infants, excessive maternal blood sugar crosses the placenta, inflicting the newborn to supply extra insulin, which may improve the danger of start harm or result in low blood sugar after start.
Earlier analysis confirmed consuming whey protein earlier than meals lowered postprandial blood glucose ranges. The whey protein additionally stimulated insulin and incretin hormone (reminiscent of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)) secretion, which may improve insulin sensitivity and enhance glucose uptake. Some analysis has additionally reported that whey protein supplementation might scale back fasting blood glucose ranges.
Pre-meal whey protein considerably lowers blood sugar in pregnant ladies
The researchers performed a placebo-controlled, single-blinded, crossover, randomized trial in contributors with and with out GDM, learning them each in take a look at settings and at dwelling.
Within the take a look at setting, volunteers have been randomized to eat both 20 g of whey or a placebo half-hour earlier than present process a oral glucose tolerance take a look at (OGTT). Researchers collected blood samples consecutively for 3 hours after the OGTT.
Within the dwelling setting, contributors wore steady glucose displays and consumed 0, 10, 15, 20, or 30 g of whey half-hour earlier than breakfast day by day.
Outcomes confirmed that the ladies who consumed whey earlier than a meal had decrease peak glucose ranges—by 1.0 mmol/L in these with GDM and 0.7 mmol/L in these with out GDM—in contrast with once they consumed the placebo. Whey consumption additionally elevated insulin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, and GLP-1 ranges in each teams.
When ladies consumed 30 g of whey earlier than meals at dwelling, their glucose peaks fell dose-dependently, with the biggest drop reaching 2.0 mmol/L in ladies with GDM in contrast with placebo.
“These impact sizes are clinically vital when a discount in blood glucose of two mmol/L is adequate to realize glycemic targets,” the researchers wrote.
Mechanistically, the researchers defined that the whey was quickly absorbed as bioactive peptides and amino acids when it reached the intestines, stimulating pancreatic insulin secretion. Supply to the intestines additionally triggered incretin hormone secretion, additional boosting insulin. The pre-meal technique, they defined, created a stronger insulin response, which probably drove whey’s glucose-lowering results.
They did observe nonetheless that whereas the intervention lowered blood sugar after meals, it could additionally exhaust insulin-producing beta cells, probably rising the danger of growing kind 2 diabetes, stating the necessity for additional, longer-term analysis.
Supply: Diabetes Care 2025;48(6):1022–1031; doi: 10.2337/dc24-2831; “Whey Protein Lowers Postprandial Blood Glucose in Ladies With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized, Crossover Medical Trial.” Authors: Smedegaard, S. et al.
