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Published on: January 7, 2018
Big breakfast rich in protein and fat improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetics
Hadas Rachel Rabinovitz1, Mona Boaz, Tali Ganz
1The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment Institute of Biochemistry and Food Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Objective:
Our goal was to evaluate the effect of breakfast size and composition on body weight, glycemic control, and metabolic markers in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods:
59 overweight/obese adults with T2DM were randomized to one of two isocaloric diabetic diets for 3 months; big breakfast (BB), breakfast was rich in fat and protein and provided 33% of total daily energy or small breakfast (SB), breakfast was rich in carbohydrates and provided 12.5% of total daily energy.
Results:
Although body weight was reduced similarly in both groups, the BB group showed greater HbA1c and systolic blood pressure reductions (HbA1c: -4.62% vs. -1.46%, p = 0.047; SBP -9.58 vs. -2.43 mmHg; p = 0.04). T2DM medication dose was reduced in a greater proportion of the BB participants (31% vs. 0%; p = 0.002) while in the SB, a greater proportion of participants had a dose increases (16.7% vs. 3.4%; p = 0.002). Hunger scores were lower in the BB group and greater improvements in fasting glucose were observed in the BB group.
Conclusions:
A simple dietary manipulation enriching breakfast with energy as protein and fat appears to confer metabolic benefits and might be a useful alternative for the management of T2DM.
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