The key to better body chemistry for the diabetic, is to blunt the rise in sugar. A whey cocktail prior to a meal is an easy way to reduce sugar spikes…

Diabetes is a sugar problem !

Specifically, as a diabetic, your body does not produce enough insulin, to signal the relevant cells, to QUICKLY clear the excess sugar, from the circulatory system.

The excess sugar is what creates the havoc, resulting in damage.

In the type 2 diabetic, it is the insulin timing that is off…..

The insulin does eventually arrive and do the job.  It just doesn’t arrive quick enough, allowing the sugar levels to rise, unacceptably high.

Stopping the spike

The key to better body chemistry for the diabetic, is to blunt the rise.

The obvious way to do this, is to eat foods that have very little sugar or foods with a low glycemic index i.e. the sugars that are present, get released slowly.

But, are there other ways to do this ?

Prime the pump

Sugars are not the only signal that stimulates the release of insulin.   Proteins are also able to get the pancreas to release insulin – they’re not as adapt at it, but they do it.

Enough to make a difference to the timing of the insulin response.

And a quicker response time, means better sugar levels.

This is what a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University discovered, when they gave 15 type 2 diabetics a protein drink, prior to a high sugar meal.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

As part of the study, the diabetic patients “enjoyed”, the kind of breakfast that would normally be frowned upon by their doctor. The high glycemic breakfast they tucked into, included three slices of white bread with a generous serving of jam. Ouch !

The breakfast was served up on two separate occasions. On one of the occasions, the participants started their breakfast feast, with a whey cocktail, this was served 30 minutes before the main course, while on the other occasion, the pre-breakfast drink was just a glass of water.

To keep tabs on the sugar levels and things, blood samples were taken at regular intervals throughout the morning. The team tracked sugar levels, insulin levels, as well as GLP-1 levels.

NOTE : GLP-1, is an incretin hormone, which is involved in controlling the insulin response to a meal. Several drugs used to treat diabetes, work by increasing GLP-1 levels.

Slowing the sugar storm

The blood work confirmed the bread and jam breakfast was not a good move for the diabetic patients, sugar levels rocketed up.

But, only when the breakfast was consumed without the whey protein.

The glass of whey protein (50 g in 250 ml of water), transformed the breakfast into a much less damaging affair. The whey dropped the sugar levels by a whopping 28 %.

It’s not because whey protein is special, it is……….

The rule of thirds

The idea, behind the rule of thirds is BALANCE. Balancing the BIG THREE nutrients i.e. carbohydrates, protein and fat, creates better body chemistry.

It works for healthy people.

This study confirms, it works…….. for diabetics.

Better than meds

In fact, eating according to the rule of thirds, should be mandatory for someone with diabetes.

The benefit the team reported in this study, is larger than the effect seen with the commonly used diabetes meds.

Adding a little protein to a meal is an easy and safe way to keep your sugar levels in check. And as an added benefit, it will beef up your muscles, which helps combat insulin resistance.

Further reading

The most effective strategy to decrease oxidative stress, is to simply eat less, but starving is not actually required…. burning fat is all that is needed.