The individual and combined effects of whey protein and acute aerobic exercise on glycemic control

A large issue with glycemic control can be attributed to postprandial hyperglycemia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of acute aerobic exercise and whey protein on plasma glucose, insulin, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and glucagon in normal, healthy men. Eleven males (mean ± SD age: 24.3 ± 5.4 years; BMI: 26.0 ± 5.3 kg/m2; HbA1c: 5.2 ± 0.2 %; VO2 max: 38.3 ± 6.1 ml/kg/min) completed four randomized trials consisting of: aerobic exercise only (EX), aerobic exercise combined with 50 g whey (EXW), no exercise and whey protein (W), or no exercise and no whey protein (R). Aerobic exercise was completed 12-14 hr prior to a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Whey protein was administered 30 min prior to the OGTT. Total area under the curve (AUC) for glucose was significantly lower for EXW and W compared to EX and R. Insulin AUC was significantly higher for W and EXW compared to EX and R. GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon significantly increased in both EXW and W trials compared to R and EX. There were no significant differences found in insulin sensitivity using the Matsuda index. This study suggest that postprandial hyperglycemia can be alleviated by consumption of 50 g of whey protein prior to a 75 g glucose challenge. However, an acute bout of exercise did not confer any additional benefit.