Effect of low-glycemic-sugar-sweetened beverages on glucose metabolism and macronutrient oxidation in healthy men

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 40; no. 6; pp. 990 - 997
• Main Authors: Kahlhöfer, J, Karschin, J, Silberhorn-Bühler, H, Breusing, N, Bosy-Westphal, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/443/319; 631/443/319/1642/137/773; 631/443/319/1642/393; 631/443/319/2723; 631/80/86/2367; 692/163; 692/700/2814; Adult; Analysis; Beverages; Blood glucose; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Body mass index; Body size; Carbohydrates; Care and treatment; Cross-Over Studies; Dietary Carbohydrates - pharmacology; Dietary Sucrose - pharmacology; Energy; Energy Metabolism - drug effects; Epidemiology; Exercise; Fat metabolism; Germany; Glucose; Glucose metabolism; Glucose monitoring; Glycemic Index; Health aspects; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Homeostasis; Humans; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Insulin secretion; Internal Medicine; Intervention; Male; Maltodextrin; Measurement; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolism; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - drug effects; original-article; Oxidation; Oxidation resistance; Oxidation-Reduction - drug effects; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Postprandial Period; Proteins; Public Health; Quotients; Respiratory quotient; Secretion; Sensitivity analysis; Sucrose; Sugar; Sweetening Agents - pharmacology; Sweetness; Weight control; Weight gain; Young Adult; Germany
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2016.25

Background/Objectives: Sugar-sweetened-beverages (SSB) provide high amounts of rapidly absorbable sugar and have been shown to impair insulin sensitivity and promote weight gain. We hypothesized that when compared with high-glycemic index (GI) SSB low-GI SSB lead to lower insulin secretion and thus an improved preservation of insulin sensitivity and fat oxidation during an inactive phase. Subjects/Methods: In a controlled cross-over dietary intervention 13 healthy men (age: 23.7±2.2 years, body mass index: 23.6±1.9 kg m − 2 ) consumed low-GI (isomaltulose) or high-GI (75% maltodextrin+25% sucrose, adapted for sweetness) SSBs providing 20% of energy requirement for 7 days. During this phase, participant's habitual high physical activity (11 375±3124 steps per day) was reduced (2363±900 steps per day). The provided ad libitum diet comprised 55% CHO, 30% fat and 15% protein. Glycemic and insulinemic responses were assessed: Day-long (7-day continuous interstitial glucose monitoring, 24-h-urinary c-peptide excretion), during meal test (37 g isomaltulose vs 28 g maltodextrin+9g sucrose) and measures of insulin sensitivity (basal: homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), postprandial: Matsuda-ISI). Macronutrient oxidation was assessed by non-protein respiratory quotient (npRQ) in the fasted state (npRQ fasting ) and postprandial as the area under the npRQ-curve during meal test (npRQ tAUC-meal ). Results: Day-long glycemia was lower with low-GI compared with high-GI SSB (−5%, P <0.05). Low-GI SSB led to lower insulin secretion during meal test (−28%, P <0.01) and throughout the day (−31%, P <0.01), whereas postprandial glucose levels did not differ between low-GI and high-GI SSBs. Insulin sensitivity deteriorated on inactivity with both SSBs, but was better preserved with low-GI isomaltulose compared with high-GI maltodextrin–sucrose (ΔHOMA-IR: +0.37±0.52 vs +0.85±0.86; ΔMatsuda-ISI: −5.1±5.5 vs −9.6±5.1, both P <0.05). Both, fasting and postprandial fat oxidation declined on inactivity, with no difference between high-GI and low-GI SSBs. Conclusions: Compared with high-GI SSB, 7-day consumption of beverages sweetened with low-GI isomaltulose had beneficial effects on inactivity-induced impairment of glucose metabolism without effecting fuel selection.