Protein drink cuts high sugar levels in diabetics

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking a beverage containing the protein hydrolysate and the amino acid leucine with meals reduces the occurrence of high blood sugar (glucose) levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a report in the journal Diabetes Care.

This study shows for the first time that drinking a protein and amino acid mixture can improve the glucose control, under real-life conditions, in a group of patients with long-standing type 2 diabetes, Dr. Ralph J. F. Manders from Maastricht University, the Netherlands told Reuters Health.

Manders and colleagues used continuous glucose monitoring to assess the impact of drinking a hydrolysate/leucine mixture with each main meal as a nutritional strategy to improve daily glucose control in 11 diabetic patients.

The patients had significantly lower 24-hour glucose levels during the protein beverage phase than when they consumed an inactive "placebo" drink.

The rate of high blood glucose levels was 39 percent during the protein beverage period of the trial, the results indicate, compared with 55 percent during the placebo period.

"Nutritional interventions can be applied as an effective strategy to improve daily glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes," Manders concluded.

"In future studies we want to further elucidate the potential of protein (hydrolysates) and/or specific amino acids as...nutrients in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes," Manders added.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, December 2006.