Protein Hydrolysate and Amino Acid-Carbohydrate Mix Increases Post-exercise Plasma Insulin Responses in Men

A study on the response of men with Type 2 diabetes who took an insulinotropic protein hydrolysate with a single bolus of carbohydrate after eating showed lower blood glucose.

The findings are published in The Journal of Nutrition.

Participants ingested both insulinotropic protein hydrolysate with and without additional free leucine with a single dose of carbohydrate.

Both patients with long-standing Type 2 diabetes and a healthy control group participated in three trials where plasma glucose, insulin, and amino acid responses were determined after drinking beverages with various compositions of carbohydrate, protein hydrolysate, or protein hydrolysate and free leucine. Research is showing plasma leucine concentrations correlated with the insulin response in all subjects, leading to the conclusion that co-ingestion of a protein hydrolysate with or without additional free leucine strongly augments insulin response after ingestion of a single bolus of carbohydrate. It significantly lowers after-meal blood glucose levels in patients with long-standing Type 2 diabetes.