The type of sugar used makes a significant difference to the blood glucose management of people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study carried out by the German Institute of Human Nutrition.
While not all sugars are alike in their metabolic profile, it is physiology and hormone response that matter more than carbohydrate chemistry.
The study results provide new scientific evidence that the favorable metabolic profile of Beneo’s Palatinose (isomaltulose) results from the opposite effect it has, compared to sucrose on the incretin hormones GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) and GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1).
The benefits of Palatinose, observed in direct comparison with sucrose in this study, suggest that the hormone (incretin) response plays a key role for the effects in metabolism and health.
Study design
The human intervention study used a randomized, double-blind cross-over design with 10 type-2 diabetics who consumed 50g Palatinose or sucrose dissolved in water after overnight fast.
The results show that Palatinose reduces insulin secretion and lowers blood glucose fluctuations in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
With Palatinose, the blood glucose response was lower (with approximately 20% lower peak concentrations), the insulin release was 55% lower, the GIP release was very low and delayed (overall 40% less vs sucrose) and the GLP-1 secretion was higher and sustained (overall 6.3 fold higher vs sucrose).
As a result of its slower digestion, Palatinose bypasses the K-cells in the upper intestine (which produce GIP) and reaches GLP-1 producing L-cells in the lower intestine.
These incretin hormones play an important role in blood glucose regulation, insulin release and related long-term effects in development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Professor Dr. Andreas F.H. Pfeiffer and his team of researchers demonstrated long-term benefits of the different incretin hormone response of Palatinose in blood sugar management and diabetes prevention.
Within an earlier long-term feeding study with mice, the same research group showed that a diet with Palatinose (versus sucrose) resulted in less liver fat accumulation and better glucose tolerance.
While these results indicated that the lower effects of Palatinose (versus sucrose) on GIP release were relevant benefits in the prevention of a fatty liver and type 2 diabetes, they may also imply further potential for the ingredient in weight management and body fat.
A link of these benefits with the different incretin response, and here in particular the lower GIP release, was established with animals who did not have GIP receptors.
