Whey Protein-Enriched and Carbohydrate-Rich Breakfasts Attenuate Insulinemic Responses to an ad libitum Lunch Relative to Extended Morning Fasting: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Abstract

Background: Typical breakfast foods are rich in carbohydrate, so they not only elevate blood glucose during the morning, but also elicit a second-meal effect that can attenuate blood glucose responses in the afternoon.

Objectives: To determine whether a reduced-carbohydrate protein-enriched breakfast can elicit similar effects on glucose control later in the day but without hyperglycemia in the morning.

Methods: In a randomized crossover design, 12 healthy men and women (age 22 ± 2 y, BMI 24.1 ± 3.6 kg·m^-2; Mean ± SD) completed 3 experimental conditions. In all conditions, participants consumed an ad libitum lunch at 1200 ± 1 h but differed in terms of whether they had fasted all morning (control) or had consumed a standardized porridge breakfast at 0900 ± 1 h (320 ± 50 kcal; prescribed relative to resting metabolic rate) that was either carbohydrate-rich (50 ± 10 g CHO) or protein-enriched (that is, isoenergetic substitution of carbohydrate for 15 g whey protein isolate).

Results: The protein-enriched breakfast reduced the morning glycemic response (iAUC 87 ± 36 mmol·L^-1·180 min) relative to the carbohydrate-rich breakfast (119 ± 37 mmol·L^-1·180 min; P = 0.03). Despite similar energy intake at lunch in all 3 conditions (protein-enriched 769 ± 278 kcal; carbohydrate-rich 753 ± 223 kcal; fasting 790 ± 227 kcal), postlunch insulinemic responses were markedly attenuated when breakfasts had been consumed that were either protein-enriched (18.0 ± 8.0 nmol·L^-1·120 min; P = 0.05) or carbohydrate-rich (16.0 ± 7.7 nmol·L^-1·120 min; P = 0.005), relative to when lunch was consumed in an overnight fasted state (26.9 ± 13.5 nmol·L^-1·120 min).

Conclusions: Breakfast consumption attenuates insulinemic responses to a subsequent meal, achieved with consumption of energy-matched breakfasts typically high in carbohydrates or enriched with whey protein isolate relative to extended morning fasting.

Trial registration number: NCT03866720 (clinicaltrials.gov).

Keywords: energy balance; metabolism; protein; sugar; thermogenesis.