Protein hydrolysate/leucine co-ingestion reduces the prevalence of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetic patients.

Epidemiological surveys and preliminary intervention studies have shown that postprandial hyperglycemia is a direct and independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes (1–4). Moreover, it has been reported that postprandial spikes in blood glucose concentration are even more relevant to the onset of cardiovascular complications than merely elevated fasting blood glucose levels (5–7). Protein hydrolysate/leucine coingestion could represent an effective nutritional intervention to stimulate postprandial insulin secretion, augment postprandial blood glucose disposal, and improve blood glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetic patients (8–10). Though promising, the clinical relevance and applicability of such a nutritional intervention remains to be established. In the present study, we applied continuous glucose monitoring to assess the impact of protein hydrolysate/leucine coingestion with each main meal as a nutritional intervention strategy to improve daily glycemic control in long-standing type 2 diabetic patients.