Protein Snack At Night - Increase In Blood Sugar In The Morning

Protein snack at night - Increase in blood sugar in the morning

Scientists expected a 4 a.m. protein snack to improve blood sugar control. But its effect turned out to be the opposite. The authors of the study emphasize that regularly raising blood sugar levels increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Photo: Hans Braxmeier / Pixabay

Protein-rich nighttime snacking leads to an increase in blood sugar levels in the morning after breakfast. They reported on their findings at the conference "Future Physiology 2020", which was held in virtual mode by the Physiological Society.

Regular increases in blood glucose (sugar) levels carry a number of health risks. The main ones are the development of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. It was previously known that snacking a few hours before the main meal helps maintain blood sugar levels within the normal range. Scientists were confident that this partly explains why it is after breakfast that the greatest peak in sugar levels is observed: we usually do not eat before breakfast throughout the night.

Scientists from the University of Bath decided to test whether a night snack would help control sugar levels in the morning. The study they conducted involved 15 volunteers. In experiments, they were woken up at 4 a.m. Then half of them received 300 milliliters of pure water, the other - 300 milliliters of whey protein solution. After such a “snack”, the participants went to bed again. At 9 o'clock in the morning, they received a light breakfast, after which their blood sugar levels were checked 2 hours later.

The result of the study surprised scientists. After breakfast, blood sugar levels were higher in people who received milk protein at 4 a.m.

Scientists believe that the reason for the increase in sugar in the morning against the background of a nightly snack is that the body does not expect that a person will eat at 4 in the morning. In addition, at this time, he simply may not need food. As a result, the proteins obtained undergo conversion into carbohydrates, which affects the morning sugar values.

The authors of the study point out that their data should be of interest to people who actively approach the prevention of diabetes, heart disease and obesity.