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The inability of the body to regulate blood glucose is a significant risk factor for health and has the potential to impact all individuals. Chronic elevation of fasting blood glucose can lead to a variety of metabolic disorders which can lead to severe complications. While it is known that diet and exercise and positively impact glucose management the prevalence continues to grow. Identifying a nutritional or supplementation strategy as a tool in the control of blood glucose can provide significant value. This dissertation presents studies, each with an aim to further develop our understanding of nutritional and supplemental techniques to regulate blood glucose.
Low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets are a nutritional strategy to improve body composition and glucose regulation. In a twenty-week case-study the dietary intake, blood glucose and lipids of a natural bodybuilding competitor were examined. A low carbohydrate diet (<20% kCal) with high-fat intake (<60% kCal) significantly improved body composition, increased in cholesterol, HDL, and LDL. Triglycerides remained, unchanged and lipoprotein ratios remained a low risk for cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.
Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs): leucine, isoleucine, and valine; are essential for healthy tissue growth and development. Current research has primarily focused on BCAAs as a group or leucine alone. However, each BCAA appears to have unique characteristics, and isoleucine is hypothesized to influence glucose regulation. This presentation examines the use of isoleucine as a supplement for glucose management.
Six-weeks of ILE supplementation to a high fructose diet, alone or in combination with treadmill running has no significant impact on serum glucose, insulin, lipids, or lipoprotein cholesterol in rats. ILE supplementation appears to improve total and free hepatic cholesterol and may influence lipid metabolic pathways within the liver.
Traditional BCAA supplements are taken in a 2:1:1 (leucine:isoleucine:valine) ratio. Consumption of a meal supplemented with an ILE enriched (2:6:1) BCAAs significantly improves the glucose metabolism in health college-aged males, but not females. ILE appears to positively influence glucose and insulin response to feeding in males but not females. Further efforts will be required to understand sex differences in response to amino acids.