Milk, whey, and amino acids and their effect on spiking insulin.

[Richie_Awesome]

Amino acids, like glucose, can stimulate insulin release. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, as insulin can increase uptake of aminos into the cells. Before and after a workout, we can harness this property to our advantage.

The branched chain aminos (BCAAs) are potent stimulators of insulin release, and whey is rich in BCAAs.

Many dairy products cause cause significant insulin responses despite their modest effect on blood sugar, and the greatest spike in insulin is seen after ingestion of whey.

This seems to be due to the fact that whey causes an earlier and more pronounced rise in blood levels of the "insulinotropic" amino acids, including the BCAAs, see:

Glycemia and insulinemia in healthy subjects after lactose-equivalent meals of milk and other food proteins: the role of plasma amino acids and incretins -- Nilsson et al. 80 (5): 1246 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Results: A correlation was found between postprandial insulin responses and early increments in plasma amino acids; the strongest correlations were seen for leucine, valine, lysine, and isoleucine. A correlation was also obtained between responses of insulin and GIP concentrations. Reconstituted milk powder and whey had substantially lower postprandial glucose areas under the curve (AUCs) than did the bread reference (?62% and ?57%, respectively). Whey meal was accompanied by higher AUCs for insulin (90%) and GIP (54%).

Conclusions: It can be concluded that food proteins differ in their capacity to stimulate insulin release, possibly by differently affecting the early release of incretin hormones and insulinotropic amino acids. Milk proteins have insulinotropic properties; the whey fraction contains the predominating insulin secretagogue.

From: Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects.

BACKGROUND: Whey proteins have insulinotropic effects and reduce the postprandial glycemia in healthy subjects. The mechanism is not known, but insulinogenic amino acids and the incretin hormones seem to be involved. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate whether supplementation of meals with a high glycemic index (GI) with whey proteins may increase insulin secretion and improve blood glucose control in type 2 diabetic subjects. DESIGN: Fourteen diet-treated subjects with type 2 diabetes were served a high-GI breakfast (white bread) and subsequent high-GI lunch (mashed potatoes with meatballs). The breakfast and lunch meals were supplemented with whey on one day; whey was exchanged for lean ham and lactose on another day. Venous blood samples were drawn before and during 4 h after breakfast and 3 h after lunch for the measurement of blood glucose, serum insulin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). RESULTS: The insulin responses were higher after both breakfast (31%) and lunch (57%) when whey was included in the meal than when whey was not included. After lunch, the blood glucose response was significantly reduced [-21%; 120 min area under the curve (AUC)] after whey ingestion. Postprandial GIP responses were higher after whey ingestion, whereas no differences were found in GLP-1 between the reference and test meals. CONCLUSIONS: 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.

From: Plasma glucagon and insulin responses depend on the rate of appearance of amino acids after ingestion of different protein solutions in humans.

To find out whether the hormonal response to feeding with protein solutions is influenced by the nature and degree of protein fractionation, we examined insulin and glucagon responses after intake of protein solutions containing the same amount of nitrogen (2.9 g each) in three men and three women. Four test meals (600 mL) [glucose (419 kJ/L), pea (PPH) and whey peptide hydrolysates (WPH) (921 and 963 kJ/L, respectively) and a cow's milk solution (MS) containing complete milk proteins (2763 kJ/L)] were tested. Peptide hydrolysates elicited a faster increase in venous plasma amino acids than did MS (P < 0.05). Despite the higher carbohydrate content of the MS, the peptide hydrolysates elicited a peak insulin response that was two and four times greater than that evoked by the MS and glucose solutions, respectively (P < 0.05). The insulin response was closely related to the increase in plasma amino acids, especially leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine and arginine, regardless of the rate of gastric emptying. The three protein solutions elicited similar increases of plasma glucagon; however, the response was fastest for both peptide hydrolysates (P < 0.05) and more prolonged for the MS (P < 0.05). The glucagon response was linearly related to the increase in plasma amino acids, regardless of the rate of gastric emptying or meal composition (r = 0.93, r = 0.96 and r = 0.78, all P < 0.05, for the PPH, WPH and MS). Among the plasma amino acids, tyrosine (r = 0.82-0.98, P < 0.05) and methionine (r = 0.98, P < 0.001) were most closely related to the plasma glucagon response. This study shows that the glucagon response to feeding with protein solutions depends on the increase in plasma amino acid concentrations. The combined administration of glucose and peptide hydrolysates stimulates a synergistic release of insulin, regardless of the protein source.

[1quick1]

Good stuff. Good reads.

[Richie_Awesome]

Originally Posted by 1quick1

Good stuff. Good reads.

Thank you

[IceDragon]

Hang on...I thought a spike in insulin was a bad thing?

I haven't done biology yet, so forgive my ignorance.

[1quick1]

Originally Posted by IceDragon

Hang on...I thought a spike in insulin was a bad thing?

I haven't done biology yet, so forgive my ignorance.

PWO it is suppose to be beneficial. All other times it is generally avoided.