Whey Protein lowering my BG

[LonelyFatGuy]

I've searched, but only found a few, not very popular threads regarding the use of whey for the lowering of blood glucose.

I'd been a consumer for years of a certain brand of whey protein in the pursuit of gaining muscle. I hadn't really considered that it was doing much for my blood glucose, positive or negative, even though I was vaguely aware of the few small studies that had been done it, which apparently had positive results.

A recent price increase saw me drop the whey protein recently for a few weeks and I think the results were noteworthy; that being, where I would normally see a blood glucose increase from my breakfast (granola cereal with milk) from 6.0 up to roughly 8.5 mmol/mol, all of a sudden the increase was consistently up to more like 12 - 14 mmol/mol. It clicked almost straight away that it was probably the absence of the whey causing this larger increase.

Upon realisation of this I decided to buy another tub of whey (£65), and what do you know, I'm back down to a postprandial reading of 8.5 again. I can prove this over and over again, any day of the week. So now I know that all these years of whey consumption have actually been shielding me from far greater A1C results than I've otherwise had.

My main question is, why is no one talking about this...? Why isn't it all over the news, or at the very least, all over forums like this and others dedicated to diabetes? It seems like such a powerful tool, with studies to back it up, that just seems to be being ignored.

 

[chrisjohnh]

I've searched, but only found a few, not very popular threads regarding the use of whey for the lowering of blood glucose.

I'd been a consumer for years of a certain brand of whey protein in the pursuit of gaining muscle. I hadn't really considered that it was doing much for my blood glucose, positive or negative, even though I was vaguely aware of the few small studies that had been done it, which apparently had positive results.

A recent price increase saw me drop the whey protein recently for a few weeks and I think the results were noteworthy; that being, where I would normally see a blood glucose increase from my breakfast (granola cereal with milk) from 6.0 up to roughly 8.5 mmol/mol, all of a sudden the increase was consistently up to more like 12 - 14 mmol/mol. It clicked almost straight away that it was probably the absence of the whey causing this larger increase.

Upon realisation of this I decided to buy another tub of whey (£65), and what do you know, I'm back down to a postprandial reading of 8.5 again. I can prove this over and over again, any day of the week. So now I know that all these years of whey consumption have actually been shielding me from far greater A1C results than I've otherwise had.

My main question is, why is no one talking about this...? Why isn't it all over the news, or at the very least, all over forums like this and others dedicated to diabetes? It seems like such a powerful tool, with studies to back it up, that just seems to be being ignored.

Nicola Guess is a researcher having long interest in the role of high protein mediation of glycaemia, eg you might find this paper interesting which mentions whey.

https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pdi.2047

 

[HSSS]

are there any other factors to consider? Do you eat more of anything else to compensate for the lack of whey protein? Not saying that’s the case but best to consider this even if it’s to rule it out

 

[LonelyFatGuy]

are there any other factors to consider? Do you eat more of anything else to compensate for the lack of whey protein? Not saying that’s the case but best to consider this even if it’s to rule it out

Nope; nothing else was consumed in place of the whey when I removed it. My daily food intake and non-existent activity level remained the same. My life is very consistent in every single area. There's nothing else I can put it down to.

I'll be experimenting in the coming days with taking the whey before the solid food, like the studies seemed to do. Until now I've always had the cereal first, and then the shake. I'm interested to see if I can achieve even lower numbers by "lining my stomach" with the whey first.

 

[LonelyFatGuy]

Nicola Guess is a researcher having long interest in the role of high protein mediation of glycaemia, eg you might find this paper interesting which mentions whey.

https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pdi.2047

Thanks, I'll definitely check it out when I get the time.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Nicola Guess is a researcher having long interest in the role of high protein mediation of glycaemia, eg you might find this paper interesting which mentions whey.

https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pdi.2047

There seem to be some contradictions in there. For example, they say that polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils and nuts appear to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes when all I read says that vegetable oils in general contain Omega 6 which is terrible or us.
And they seem to suggest replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat is the way to go, Again, unless I'm misunderstanding, that is not what the likes of Zoe Harcombe recommend. There are plenty of You Tube videos in favour of saturated fat from meat and dairy. Importantly, I think the videos are by people with no vested interest.

 

[Tazdevl]

This could be of interest https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...es in humans have shown,hyperglycemia [32,33].

 

[KennyA]

This could be of interest https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10005124/#:~:text=Studies in humans have shown,hyperglycemia [32,33].

Thanks for this, very interesting.

 

[Melgar]

@Tazdevl I take whey powder based multi vitamin and mineral supplements (GF & Lactose free). I have good control of my blood sugars.

 

[Lainie71]

@Tazdevl I take whey powder based multi vitamin and mineral supplements (GF & Lactose free). I have good control of my blood sugars.

Out of curiosity, which brand do you take or can you recommend which is GF/Lactose free?

 

[Melgar]

I vary it @Lainie71 I am currently using N-ISO. TBH I go with what's on offer.

 

[Tazdevl]

I always took 1 scoop of Myprotein Impact Isolate Whey with a teaspoon of citrulline. As mentioned elsewhere my bodyweight is rising after making diet changes after being diagnosed. I'm going back to what I used to do just to do for breakfast.

Way to early to say anything about it but before breakfast 9.5, bit over 2 hrs later, 12.2.

Not directly dream numbers but expected the delta to be bigger?

 

[KennyA]

I always took 1 scoop of Myprotein Impact Isolate Whey with a teaspoon of citrulline. As mentioned elsewhere my bodyweight is rising after making diet changes after being diagnosed. I'm going back to what I used to do just to do for breakfast.

Way to early to say anything about it but before breakfast 9.5, bit over 2 hrs later, 12.2.

Not directly dream numbers but expected the delta to be bigger?

As a matter of interest, what did you have for breakfast? OK, it's only one meal, one set of readings but useful to understand what the possible factors are.

 

[Tazdevl]

Before breakfast, a sip of water to take my methformin + astma meds. Minutes after I had the mentioned whey shake.
Planning to repeat this for the next couple of days

Edit: Might be interesting to see if the astma medication influences my glucose values

 

[MrsA2]

Can anyone give me a 101 class in whey protein?
I've never used it but having read here, and other places where its used in low carb recipes, I thought I'd start to see if it could help me.

However, looking at the packets and tubs in the health store today I could not find one that would meet my usual criteria for clean real food and avoiding processed or manufactured items. Each one had a list of complex ingredients and seemed highly processed containing sweeteners and other additives and flavourings.

What is whey protein, where does it come from, how is it made?
What are the supposed benefits?
I eat high protein diet from meat fish eggs and dairy. Why would I need to introduce it?
Are there any "clean" versions?
Am curious

 

[Chris24Main]

It isn't so much that Whey protein does something unexpected with sugar, more that it has it's own insulin response-

Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects - PubMed

It can be concluded that the addition of whey to meals with rapidly digested and absorbed carbohydrates stimulates insulin release and reduces postprandial blood glucose excursion after a lunch meal consisting of mashed potatoes and meatballs in type 2 diabetic subjects.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

So - it will (if your glucose is high, which is unlikely for @Melgar) then the insulin will have the effect that insulin does.

You do need to bear in mind that if your eating regime is focused on keeping insulin low - then this may not be such a good idea.. but if you want to bump yourself out of Ketosis (and there are times that you may want to) - that would do it, and of course, everyone has different priorities.

 

[Chris24Main]

@MrsA2 - if you are having some dairy, you are likely getting plenty of whey protein as it is- if you think of the nursery rhyme - it's just the liquid portion of split milk. (Dried into a powder of course)

So - nothing inherently "good" or "bad" that doesn't apply to other forms of dairy within reason - but it's an ingredient, and can be used to make stuff - so I don't think there is an argument that you "need" to introduce it, but you may find products based on it that you like...

 

[Tazdevl]

It isn't so much that Whey protein does something unexpected with sugar, more that it has it's own insulin response-

Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects - PubMed

It can be concluded that the addition of whey to meals with rapidly digested and absorbed carbohydrates stimulates insulin release and reduces postprandial blood glucose excursion after a lunch meal consisting of mashed potatoes and meatballs in type 2 diabetic subjects.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

So - it will (if your glucose is high, which is unlikely for @Melgar) then the insulin will have the effect that insulin does.

You do need to bear in mind that if your eating regime is focused on keeping insulin low - then this may not be such a good idea.. but if you want to bump yourself out of Ketosis (and there are times that you may want to) - that would do it, and of course, everyone has different priorities.

Thanks for this article, my glucose was already high this morning (late night snacking yesterday). I started with 10.5 before breakfast & 2 hrs later I'm at 10.2.

YMMV; This is the second day I've start the day with a shake instead of the what the dietician advised (yoghurt/fruit/low carb granola)

 

[LonelyFatGuy]

Can anyone give me a 101 class in whey protein?
I've never used it but having read here, and other places where its used in low carb recipes, I thought I'd start to see if it could help me.

However, looking at the packets and tubs in the health store today I could not find one that would meet my usual criteria for clean real food and avoiding processed or manufactured items. Each one had a list of complex ingredients and seemed highly processed containing sweeteners and other additives and flavourings.

What is whey protein, where does it come from, how is it made?
What are the supposed benefits?
I eat high protein diet from meat fish eggs and dairy. Why would I need to introduce it?
Are there any "clean" versions?
Am curious

Whey is a byproduct of the cheese making process. Then there's Casein, which I believe is created by further processing the whey. (you can think of Casein as a slow release version of Whey. It's thicker though, and hard to find a good brand)

There are also protein powders made from peas, beef, and bovine collagen. Those three are the only ones I've seen so far where there're some products that list only that one ingredient; for example - Pea Protein by Bulk, Beef Protein by Bulk, and Collagen Protein by MyProtein. So those might be your best shot at a 'clean' option.

You don't need a protein powder though; the important thing is the actual protein. You could just eat some chicken... Getting the protein from whey is more about convenience.

 

[Chris24Main]

Totally agree @LonelyFatGuy -

and on that note, from a biological standpoint, I haven't personally chased down the mechanism for why this happens exactly in our guts today, but protein on it's own or with carbs acts differently to protein with fat.

That may sound contentious, but really isn't - as a species we are adapted to get the most out of animal meat (that isn't to say we need to choose any one thing or the other, only the simple biological fact; the archeological records show very clearly that as a species and proto species we adapted away from predominantly scavenging and eating fruit, to eating more meat).

I don't consider any of that questionable, but in case anyone does;

Stable isotopes reveal patterns of diet and mobility in the last Neandertals and first modern humans in Europe - Scientific Reports

Correlating cultural, technological and ecological aspects of both Upper Pleistocene modern humans (UPMHs) and Neandertals provides a useful approach for achieving robust predictions about what makes us human. Here we present ecological information for a period of special relevance in human...

www.nature.com

So - when we eat meat - protein and fat - the digestive juices that are released in order to digest fat, also allow for more uptake of nutrition from the protein.

That is also not a value judgement, only chemistry. It may well be why we instinctively drizzle oil on a salad, or butter our bread.