Blood Sugar’s Ties to Protein and Probiotics Studied

Posted On: 11-25-2016

The results of two studies examining the link between protein, probiotics, and blood sugar levels were presented at an annual American Heart Association meeting this week. Both studies are preliminary due to the fact that they have not been peer-reviewed for publication in a medical journal.

In the first study, led by Huicui Meng (a postdoctoral researcher at Tufts University’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston), four groups of 20 individuals each were asked to eat specific foods. The participants had their blood sugar levels measured regularly over two hours. All of the groups ate white bread and accompanied the bread with either rice squares cereal, unsalted butter, oat circles cereal, or tuna fish. The foods were chosen to see how the participants digested carbohydrates alongside more carbohydrates, fat, fiber, or protein. Protein was shown to slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream, but the other nutrients did not produce the same effect.

For the second study, patients who added foods that were rich in probiotics to their already-healthy diets enjoyed a reduction in blood sugar levels. Eighty participants with high blood pressure who were following the DASH diet were evaluated, and half of the participants substituted probiotic foods into their diet (such as yogurt or probiotic beverages). In the participants who substituted the probiotics, the fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C levels were reduced.

These studies show that both protein and probiotics can help to slow down the digestion of carbohydrates. This can help to prevent blood sugar spikes that contribute to type 2 diabetes or cause further damage in patients who are already diabetic.

Each of these studies, while small, provides information that doctors and patients can use when planning diets and recommending or making lifestyle changes.

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