Protein powder effect on blood sugar

Swole_T1D

Well-known member
Trusted Member
Currently working with @Funnyman on my keto diet and found out that many protein powder are garbage, or at least they have more filler than they told us.

As a T1D i'm checking my Blood Sugar frequently and i'm doing it with a FreeStyle Libre so i can get a nice picture of what my blood sugar doing while i eat this or that.

In the past i found out that the Yummy Sports Iso was total garbage, the sweety taste that come with it was really from sugar, i had massive spike in blood sugar when i used them. Throw them in the garbage and got refund.

So i'm gonna start a thread about all the protein so people can have a better idea of which one are trully sufar free or really low carbs (5-6g less)

Every 5-8gr of carbs make my blood sugar raise by 1 point. So i can easely assume that when i take a protein shake that raise my blood sugar 3 points it surely have at least 15g carbs in it.

Every test was done and will be done with no insulin used at least 3hours before the shake and trying to have a stable blood sugar level before taking my shake.

So the last 3 i tried are :

MP FitMiss Vanilla (25g serv size, 3g carbs 1.5g fats - 16g prot serv) 1.5x scoop result in approx 2.5 mmol/l rise so more like 12g carbs in this 1.5x portion instead of 4.5g (didn't take picture, since i wasn't planning on doing this thread but talk about it with funnyman)

Celluco Whey Cinnamon Swirl (33g serv size, 3g carbs - 1g fats - 24g prot) 1 scoop result in a 3.3 mmol/l rise so we're talking about at least 15g carbs in it
cellucor.jpg

Canadian Protein Whey Vanilla (30g serv size, 2g carbs - 2.5g fats - 24g prot) 1 scoop result in a 4.5 mmol/l rise so at least 20g carbs here also
cp.jpg

The last 2 are Whey protein so maybe it digest too fast and begin gluconeogenesis, i can't talk much about this part but think it could be a possibility to consider.

Next step will be to try Isolate or a blend of isolate and casein.
Also i'll look into brand that contain stevia instead of other sugar replacement ingredients.

I'll send msg to company to get sample to try also
 
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Oh and to give you a comparison from a breakfast meal. Still have a raise but we got a lot more nutrient in it for half the rise

3 eggs, 2 bacon and sprinkle of cheese (30g fats, 1.5g carb, 36g prot)

breakfast.jpg
 
@bebeav
Hey Buddy,
Good idea for a thread, grateful to you for it.
One point to take notice of is that whey definitely will cause a spike. I see that you are aware of this but I think it deserves more weight if the position is that the products tested have more carbs than label claims.
This is an area you are much more knowledgeable in than myself for sure but I thought this was a good thing to point out.
I don't have any info on hand but there have been studies on whey and the magnitude of the reactions to it you may wish to look up. Layne probably has some of it in his content.
IDK but possibly you could subtract the whey response from the total to get an idea of carb content (?)

Good shit, cheers brother, be well!
 
@bebeav
Hey Buddy,
Good idea for a thread, grateful to you for it.
One point to take notice of is that whey definitely will cause a spike. I see that you are aware of this but I think it deserves more weight if the position is that the products tested have more carbs than label claims.
This is an area you are much more knowledgeable in than myself for sure but I thought this was a good thing to point out.
I don't have any info on hand but there have been studies on whey and the magnitude of the reactions to it you may wish to look up. Layne probably has some of it in his content.
IDK but possibly you could subtract the whey response from the total to get an idea of carb content (?)

Good shit, cheers brother, be well!

Yes that's what i tought, i need to find more about it and see how it can impact everything and then how to reduce the effect.

I'm pretty sure hydrolyzed whey create even more spiking.

This also made me questionning about the maximum protein intake in one serving i can eat, because too much will only be a waste because it won't be processed as protein and just become glucose.

I want the lowest response possible from the whey at first.
I ordered isolate with stevia and casein to see how/if these react differently.

I shouldn't see more than 1-1.5 mmol/l rise when using quality whey i think.

I think that's the main reason why keto diet need to be with low/moderate protein intake to be succefull.

I will also have to test if i can reduce spiking with mct when i'll find the best quality whey.

Another option would be to slowly drink it instead of just slamming it in.
 
Good job man. Great data and I love data.

Would be very curious to see what happens if you did one of the vegan proteins as it should digest much more slowly than whey isolate

Question, How did your blood sugar react two artificial sweeteners?


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Yes that's what i tought, i need to find more about it and see how it can impact everything and then how to reduce the effect.

I'm pretty sure hydrolyzed whey create even more spiking.

This also made me questionning about the maximum protein intake in one serving i can eat, because too much will only be a waste because it won't be processed as protein and just become glucose.

I want the lowest response possible from the whey at first.
I ordered isolate with stevia and casein to see how/if these react differently.

I shouldn't see more than 1-1.5 mmol/l rise when using quality whey i think.

I think that's the main reason why keto diet need to be with low/moderate protein intake to be succefull.

I will also have to test if i can reduce spiking with mct when i'll find the best quality whey.

Another option would be to slowly drink it instead of just slamming it in.

I was borderline pre diabetic (type 2).. my doctor said glucogenisis will never occur in my body as glucogenisis is the body's fail safe for having blood sugar drop too low. It's the mechanism which when your body runs out of glucose and has no carb to convert to glucose that it will resort to converting protien to glucose instead. He said type 2 diabetics/pre diabetics simply will never have low enough blood sugar to the point where the body will convert protien to glucose. He said it's a more difficult process for the body then simply using carbs. His point is that only people who tend to get low blood sugar (type 1 diabetic and people on keto/aitkins who are not type 2) are generally the only ppl who need to worry about protiein conversion to glucose.

I am not doubting your numbers at all, but I'm curious to see how those numbers would compare in someone who isn't type 1 or who isn't on a keto/aitkins type diet where carbs aren't readily avaiable to the body.

Edit: I'm not saying my doctor is right, because I'm not sure.. BUt its food for thought.
 
I have a blood glucose monitor myself. I was borderline type 2 diabetic about a year ago. I monitored my blodo sugars religiously for several months.

I tried eliminating and adding many many things to lower my blood sugars, including seeing if I was converting protien to glucose (glucogenisis). I have always had a min of 50 grams of protien every 2-3 hours from the time I was 16 and I'm now 40. So deffinitly could have been the culprit. My doctor insisted that glucogenisis will only occur if your blood sugar drops below a healthy level. It's your body's fail safe to convert protien to glucose when your put in situations like starvation etc.... And according to him, since I am near type 2 diabetic I Would never suffer from glucogensis.

Anyways, I've become quite interested in the factors afffecting blood sugars.. So I decided to test the protien I am currently using. It's Canada Protien isolate chocolate milkshake flavour. I'm quite jaded towards canada protien b/c I had awful customer service from them recently, so this is a totally unbiased test and data.

2 days ago I took my blood sugar about 2 hours after eating a purre protien/fat meal (no carbs).. It was 5.4. Then I took one scoop of the isolate with water (no fats or added carbs aside from what was in the protien powder). I took my blood sugars at 5, 20, 40 min intervals. And they were 5.4, 5.6, 5.5...

Tonight I did the same tests with the same 2 hour wait after my last meal which was protien/fat (no carbs.. This time it happened to be after I lifted weights. My blood sugar after lifting, but before taking protien powder was 5.1. This time I took 2 scoops of the whey isolate. My blood sugars at 5min, 20 min and 50 mins was 5.2, 5.4, 5.4.




I'm unsure how long your blood sugar peaks after a meal, and its probably indiviual not an exact time for everyone.. Either way, I'm fairly confident there is very little sugar in the CP isolate..

I will also state my monitor (one touch) doesn't give what I would say 100% acurate to the tenth measurments. For example, tongiht when I took my blood sugar at 20 mins it initially was 4.7... I took it again right away and it was 5.4.. I did it one more time and it was 5.4..

I'm wondering if one could figure out if they are a victim of glucogenisis by using a blood sugar monitor.. And if so, how long would one have to keep taking their blood sugar to see if it's happening. BLood sugar spikes very fast with simple sugars, but how long is the process of glucogneisis if its happening???
 
Good job man. Great data and I love data.

Would be very curious to see what happens if you did one of the vegan proteins as it should digest much more slowly than whey isolate

Question, How did your blood sugar react two artificial sweeteners?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Normaly i don't have any real spike with artificial sweeteners.
I can drink most energy drink without any effects at all on my blood sugar.

Vegan proteins are on the list to try, but the only one i trried i the past taste like if i was eating my own lawn. Any suggestions for something tasty?
 
I was borderline pre diabetic (type 2).. my doctor said glucogenisis will never occur in my body as glucogenisis is the body's fail safe for having blood sugar drop too low. It's the mechanism which when your body runs out of glucose and has no carb to convert to glucose that it will resort to converting protien to glucose instead. He said type 2 diabetics/pre diabetics simply will never have low enough blood sugar to the point where the body will convert protien to glucose. He said it's a more difficult process for the body then simply using carbs. His point is that only people who tend to get low blood sugar (type 1 diabetic and people on keto/aitkins who are not type 2) are generally the only ppl who need to worry about protiein conversion to glucose.

I am not doubting your numbers at all, but I'm curious to see how those numbers would compare in someone who isn't type 1 or who isn't on a keto/aitkins type diet where carbs aren't readily avaiable to the body.

Edit: I'm not saying my doctor is right, because I'm not sure.. BUt its food for thought.
Wasn't he more talking about glucagon??
The hormone made in the liver to balance lower blood sugar in a non Type 1 Diabetic?

But i will dig deeper about his opinion, it could be something right also, thank for your input!!
 
While gluconeogenesis may occur when you are on a low-carb diet, it can also happen during periods of fasting, starvation, or during intense exercise. It may also happen when you consume excess protein. The complex process is a series of chemical conversions.

Ketogenesis and gluconeogenesis are similar in that they are both chemical processes that provide energy to the body when not enough carbohydrate is present in the diet. However, ketogenesis differs in that it produces ketones to be used as fuel, rather than glucose.

So if the keto diet is well planned without too much protein, it shouldn't create glucogenesis and the body will run on ketones. I assume.
 
Although the ketogenic diet does not contain many insulin-raising carbohydrates, insulin levels will still be higher on a ketogenic diet than during a fast. Why? Because some of the amino acids found in protein cause insulin to be released after ingestion.

When insulin levels are higher than normal, it limits the body’s ability to get into ketosis. This is because insulin keeps body fat and ketones from being used as energy. As a result, the liver will favor gluconeogenesis over ketogenesis.


In other words, eating too much protein can keep you from experiencing the fat loss results and health benefits you expect from keto.
 
I have a blood glucose monitor myself. I was borderline type 2 diabetic about a year ago. I monitored my blodo sugars religiously for several months.

I tried eliminating and adding many many things to lower my blood sugars, including seeing if I was converting protien to glucose (glucogenisis). I have always had a min of 50 grams of protien every 2-3 hours from the time I was 16 and I'm now 40. So deffinitly could have been the culprit. My doctor insisted that glucogenisis will only occur if your blood sugar drops below a healthy level. It's your body's fail safe to convert protien to glucose when your put in situations like starvation etc.... And according to him, since I am near type 2 diabetic I Would never suffer from glucogensis.

Anyways, I've become quite interested in the factors afffecting blood sugars.. So I decided to test the protien I am currently using. It's Canada Protien isolate chocolate milkshake flavour. I'm quite jaded towards canada protien b/c I had awful customer service from them recently, so this is a totally unbiased test and data.

2 days ago I took my blood sugar about 2 hours after eating a purre protien/fat meal (no carbs).. It was 5.4. Then I took one scoop of the isolate with water (no fats or added carbs aside from what was in the protien powder). I took my blood sugars at 5, 20, 40 min intervals. And they were 5.4, 5.6, 5.5...

Tonight I did the same tests with the same 2 hour wait after my last meal which was protien/fat (no carbs.. This time it happened to be after I lifted weights. My blood sugar after lifting, but before taking protien powder was 5.1. This time I took 2 scoops of the whey isolate. My blood sugars at 5min, 20 min and 50 mins was 5.2, 5.4, 5.4.




I'm unsure how long your blood sugar peaks after a meal, and its probably indiviual not an exact time for everyone.. Either way, I'm fairly confident there is very little sugar in the CP isolate..

I will also state my monitor (one touch) doesn't give what I would say 100% acurate to the tenth measurments. For example, tongiht when I took my blood sugar at 20 mins it initially was 4.7... I took it again right away and it was 5.4.. I did it one more time and it was 5.4..

I'm wondering if one could figure out if they are a victim of glucogenisis by using a blood sugar monitor.. And if so, how long would one have to keep taking their blood sugar to see if it's happening. BLood sugar spikes very fast with simple sugars, but how long is the process of glucogneisis if its happening???
I had normal whey and not Isolate.

Ordered some at the beginning of the week with Casein also. From what i remember when i used their Isolate i didn't had this problem. But switched over for the cheap whey version last summer cause i was broke. That may be the culprit. As soon as i get them i'll follow with an update.

Curiously when you eat 10-15g of sugars how do your blood sugar react after 5-20-40min?

I'm sure the process took longer in glucogenesis, even longer than complex carb since it has a lot more work to be doe before beeing glucose.
But it's only my opinion, no research done yet.

Oh and by the way, much respect for taking your condition in hand compared to 90% of the population, as a Type 2 you can help your body working better by doing better choice like you did, congrats on this!!!
 
Protein ordered, waiting for them. Will keep you update when i'll get them and will order some Vegan one as soon as i find tasty one
 
Normaly i don't have any real spike with artificial sweeteners.
I can drink most energy drink without any effects at all on my blood sugar.

Vegan proteins are on the list to try, but the only one i trried i the past taste like if i was eating my own lawn. Any suggestions for something tasty?

PVL Plant Pro is good or Completegreen Organic Protein at Costco


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I had normal whey and not Isolate.

Ordered some at the beginning of the week with Casein also. From what i remember when i used their Isolate i didn't had this problem. But switched over for the cheap whey version last summer cause i was broke. That may be the culprit. As soon as i get them i'll follow with an update.

Curiously when you eat 10-15g of sugars how do your blood sugar react after 5-20-40min?

I'm sure the process took longer in glucogenesis, even longer than complex carb since it has a lot more work to be doe before beeing glucose.
But it's only my opinion, no research done yet.

Oh and by the way, much respect for taking your condition in hand compared to 90% of the population, as a Type 2 you can help your body working better by doing better choice like you did, congrats on this!!!

I am not eating sugar until the next time I decide to have a bit of a cheat meal. But when I do, I'll try to remember to take my blood sugars. Sicne your type 1, we will respond quite differently. It also depends on what stage of type 2 someone is at with how they respond to sugars.

I do have some canada protien misceuar casien at my house. I don't like it because it turns to glue unless you use a LOT of water with it. But I'll try it out and test the blood sugars. I might have time to do it later tonight actually.

The Canada protien isolate is a lot sweeter then their miscellar casein.. So I wouldn't expect a big difference in how much they raise blood sugars.

Like I said earlier I think its very dependant person to person with how much protien it takes and how their receptors/insulin responds for how they go into glucogenisis. I'd be really interested in finding a way to test for glucogeneiss. Be good to know the magical number for protien per meal you can have without it converting.

My doctor was very clear with me ssying I would never have to deal with glucogensis because my blood sugars are simply too high for my body to go into a mode to convert protien through glucogensis. He coudl be wrong, who knows.. But you being a type 1 woudl probably have to worry about glucogenissi because your blood sugars would drop easily below the level your body wants because of your type 1.
 
i might have missed something reading this thread but i didnt see anything about fat. are you taking your protein shakes with a fat added? if doing keto without enough fat, you will get gluconeogenesis. could that not have given you a reading?
 
i might have missed something reading this thread but i didnt see anything about fat. are you taking your protein shakes with a fat added? if doing keto without enough fat, you will get gluconeogenesis. could that not have given you a reading?

The point of the thread is to figure out which protien powders are using sugars/sweetners that raise blood sugars. In order to do that acurately, the protien powder must be consumed alone. No fats, fibire or carbs.
 
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