Taking whey protein at night may lead to diabetes, heart disease

Consuming protein at night increases the blood sugar level in the morning for healthy people, leading to health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Updated: July 11, 2020 10:25 pm

the blood sugar response to breakfast was higher when participants had consumed protein rather than plain water at 4 a.m. @Shutterstock

Obesity is a leading cause of diabetes and heart disease. What you eat and when you eat can have a major impact on the development of many chronic diseases. Of course, lifestyle habits and lack of exercise also contributes to this. But till now, protein, especially whey protein, was seen as a safe food to have if you have diabetes. But now, researchers say that this may not be the case. Also Read - Watch your diet if you have high cholesterol: Avoid carbs, not saturated fat

According to a new study from the University of Basel in Switzerland, consuming protein at night increases the blood sugar level in the morning for healthy people, leading to health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Previous research has shown that a snack a few hours before a meal can help control blood sugar levels, which may partly explain why the first thing we eat each day (i.e. breakfast) tends to increase blood sugar more than other later meals. The study was presented this week at the Physiological Society’s virtual early career conference called Future Physiology 2020. Also Read - Diabetics beware: Too much stress can cause a sugar spike

Expert try to find answers for people trying to control blood sugar levels

This study investigated whether waking up at night to consume some protein might keep blood sugar lower the next morning. Surprisingly, the blood sugar response to breakfast was higher when participants had consumed protein rather than plain water at 4 a.m. These unexpected findings may be informative for people trying to improve their control of blood sugar levels, the researchers said. Also Read - High blood sugar: A cold climate, genetics, pollution may increase your risk of diabetes

For the purpose of the study, the research team studied 15 healthy young men and women (8 females and 7 males). The participants were woken up at 4 a.m. to drink 300 ml of a water solution, either with or without 63 grams of whey protein. They then went back to sleep, and at 9 a.m. were provided with a standard amount of porridge for breakfast, with blood samples collected for 2 hours afterwards to check the blood glucose response.

Body may be converting protein to sugar instead of energy

According to the study, one explanation for the result is that the body does not expect or need much food to be consumed during the night and so the protein itself was turned into sugar. This may result in the body having more carbohydrates already available upon waking such that the energy in the breakfast can less easily be used or stored, so it builds up more in the blood. It also leads to obesity, which, in turn, may increase your risk of heart disease. According to the researchers of this study, future research will look at whether this applies to older and overweight people who tend to have more problems controlling their blood sugar levels. They also add that it would be interesting to know to what extent the findings are due to eating at an unusual time or the type of protein consumed.

(With inputs from IANS)

Published : July 11, 2020 9:00 pm | Updated:July 11, 2020 10:25 pm

Read Disclaimer