Effect of diurnal variations in the carbohydrate and fat composition of meals on postprandial glycemic response in healthy adults: A novel insight for the second-meal phenomenon

Takafumi Ando*, Satoshi Nakae, Chiyoko Usui, Eiichi Yoshimura, Nobuo Nishi, Hidemi Takimoto, Shigeho Tanaka

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Meals, particularly carbohydrate intake, determine diurnal blood glucose (BG) excursions. However, the effect of meals with variable carbohydrate content on diurnal BGexcursions remains poorly understood, despite routine consumption of meals that vary daily. Objective: The aim of this study was to verify our hypothesis that glycemic response is elevated when a meal with a higher carbohydrate content follows a meal with a lower carbohydrate content. Design: Thiswas a secondary analysis of a study whose primary endpoint was energy metabolism (e.g., energy expenditure and substrate oxidation). This crossover study was designed to test BG responses to 3 types of meals with different macronutrient contents [regular meals (R), meals with a high-carbohydrate breakfast (CB), and meals with a high-fat breakfast (FB)] using a continuous glucose monitoring system. The R test included 3 meals/d with the same macronutrient composition; the CB test, a high-carbohydrate meal at breakfast, a high-fat meal at lunch, and a high-carbohydrate meal at dinner; and the FB test, a high-fat meal at breakfast, a high-carbohydrate meal at lunch, and a high-carbohydrate meal at dinner. Each test had similar daily macronutrient compositions, except CB and FB had larger variations in carbohydrate content than R. Fourteen healthy young men were tested in random order and underwent whole-body indirect calorimetry. Results: Daily peakBGconcentrations were higher for the CB (mean ± SD: 143.9 ± 25.3 mg/dL) and FB (140.2 ± 24.8 mg/dL) conditions than for the R condition (127.5 ± 15.7 mg/dL). Postprandial BG peaks after a high-carbohydrate meal were ∼20 mg/dL higher when a previous meal was relatively high-fat than when not high-fat (P < 0.05 for all). A multiple regression analysis indicated that the postprandial glycemic response was negatively associated with the preprandial respiratory quotient. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that switching from high-fat to high-carbohydrate meals contributes to larger postprandial BG excursions, along with alterations in prioritization of carbohydrate utilization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)332-342
Number of pages11
JournalAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume108
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018 Aug 1
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • A high-fat meal
  • Blood glucose management
  • Carbohydrate oxidation
  • Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)
  • Diurnal variations
  • Human calorimeter (chamber)
  • Postprandial glycemic response

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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