Postprandial hyperglycemia (PPHG) is strongly linked with the future development of cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes (T2D). . Hence, reducing postprandial glycemic excursions is essential in T2D treatment to slow progressive deficiency of β-cell function and prevent cardiovascular complications. Most of the metabolic processes involved in PPHG, i.e., β-cell secretory function, GLP-1 secretion, insulin sensitivity, muscular glucose uptake, and hepatic glucose production, are controlled by the circadian clock and display daily oscillation. Consequently, postprandial glycemia displays diurnal variation with a higher glycemic response after meals with the same carbohydrate content, consumed at dusk compared to the morning. T2D and meal timing schedule not synchronized with the circadian clock (i.e., skipping breakfast) are associated with disrupted clock gene expression and are linked to PPHG. In contrast, greater intake in the morning (i.e., high energy breakfast) than in the evening has a resetting effect on clock gene oscillations and beneficial effects on weight loss, appetite, and reduction of PPHG, independently of total energy intake. Therefore, resetting clock gene expression through a diet intervention consisting of meal timing aligned to the circadian clock, i.e., shifting most calories and carbohydrates to the early hours of the day, is a promising therapeutic approach to improve PPHG in T2D. This review will focus on recent studies, showing how a high-energy breakfast diet (Bdiet) has resetting and synchronizing actions on circadian clock genes expression, improving glucose metabolism, postprandial glycemic excursions along weight loss in T2D.
Postprandial hyperglycemia (PPHG) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) strongly contributes to glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values [1]. It is linked to increased risk for the development of cardiovascular complications, even when glycemic control is restored [2][3]. Further, PPHG leads to a progressive decline of β-cell function and deficient and delayed early postprandial insulin response [4][5][6]. Hence, the reduction of glycemic peaks is an essential “target” in the treatment of T2D to mitigate the decline of β-cell secretion and prevent cardiovascular complications [2][6][7].
The circadian clock temporally coordinates the metabolism over a 24-h period to anticipate daily recurring feeding-fasting cycles and optimize the metabolic efficiency at an appropriate time of the day, thereby preventing metabolic dysregulation [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Most of the hormonal and enzymatic functions controlling PPHG, i.e., secretion of insulin [17][18][19], glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) [20], GLUT-4 expression in skeletal muscle [21][22], and hepatic glucose production [23][24]; are regulated by the circadian clock and display diurnal variations.
The circadian clock is controlled by light/dark signals and other external inputs such as meal timing or food availability [12][13][14]. The insulin sensitivity, β-cell responsiveness, GLUT-4 activity, and muscular glucose uptake are all enhanced in the early hours of the day compared to dusk or evening [8][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Therefore, the metabolism is optimized for food intake in breakfast, while the evening and nighttime are optimal for fasting and sleep [9][34][35][36][37]. Indeed, postprandial glycemia displays a clear circadian pattern, with the higher glycemic response after meals with the same carbohydrate content, consumed at dusk compared to the morning, both in healthy [23][27][29][33][38][39], and T2D individuals [14][15][25][35][40].
Meal timing exerts a critical influence on peripheral clocks involved in postprandial glycemia [14][15][41][42][43][44].
Circadian misalignment, with day/night cycle, often imposed in modern society, like shift workers, skipping breakfast, snacking all day, including in the evening hours, are associated with disrupted clock gene expression and linked with aberrant metabolic responses, weight gain, PPHG, increased risk for T2D [12][27][34][37][42][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52], and cardiovascular complications [53]. Breakfast skipping is also linked to a significant increase in HbA1c even without overeating in the evening [47].
Asynchrony of the circadian clock is central in the pathophysiology of T2D [12][13][54]. Lower transcripts of clock gene expression in T2D are linked to insulin resistance, delayed β-cell secretion and reduced β-cell proliferation [12][27][34][37][48][55], PPHG, and increased HbA1c [15][36][43][54]. Moreover, breakfast’s omission in T2D patients causes further disruption in clock gene expression, and it is linked to PPHG and delayed and deficient early insulin and GLP-1 responses after subsequent meals [15][43][49]. In contrast, meal-timing pattern, aligned with the circadian clock, consuming high in energy breakfast, exerts a powerful effect on the clock network temporal synchronization, thereby improving the postprandial glycemic responses across the day in healthy and T2D patients [15][35][39][43][56].
Therefore, breakfast consumption might be critical in T2D for the achievement of metabolic homeostasis and improvement of PPHG [14][15][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. Hence, resetting clock gene expression through a diet intervention consisting of meal timing aligned to the circadian clock is a promising therapeutic intervention approach to improve PPHG [12][15][27][43].
The circadian clock regulation of PPHG is influenced by the meal timing schedule [14][41][42][44]. Breakfast skipping and over-eating in the evening led to asynchrony of the circadian clock and is linked to weight gain, PPHG, and diabetes [43][48][49][50].
Several recent reports suggest that eating in synchrony with the circadian clock by shifting more energy and CH to the morning hours (i.e., high energy and CH breakfast), and reducing energy and CH consumption in the evening hours, facilitate weight loss, improve postprandial glycemia, and reduce appetite and craving in metabolic syndrome and in T2D, compared to the inverse pattern, i.e., “high in energy and CH dinner” and reduced breakfast [15][27][30][35][39][40][61][73][74][75][76][77]. Clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that late meals are linked to obesity and T2D [39][40][47]. A diet intervention not aligned with the circadian clock by shifting calories and CH to later hours of the day is associated with less weight loss and higher postprandial and overall glycemia among obese [39][40] and in T2D individuals [15][35].
3.5. Addition of Whey Protein to High Energy Breakfast (Bdiet), Enhance the Reduction Postprandial Hyperglycemia and Body Weight in Type 2 Diabetes
As we described above, the Bdiet schedule resulted in a significant reduction in overall postprandial glycemia and weight reduction in obese non-diabetics [35][40] and T2D individuals [15][40][56]. Bdiet also led in T2D individuals to a significant decrease in HbA1c [74]. The lowering effect of the Bdiet on the overall PPHG was associated with a greater and earlier increase in GLP-1 and insulin responses after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, suggesting a day-long effect of Bdiet [35][56][75].
It has been reported that increased protein (>35 g) intake in the breakfast leads to the reduction of all-day postprandial glycemic excursions [85][86] and greater GLP-1 and insulin and response after breakfast, lunch, and dinner [35][56].
In addition to the protein load, the source and quality of the protein ingested in the breakfast are critical for its lowering effect on the glycemic postprandial response [87][88]. It was showed in previous studies that Whey protein exerts a greater lowering effect on postprandial glucose compared to other proteins such as eggs, soy, gluten, fish, or casein in healthy [89][90][91] and T2D individuals [76][92][93][94].
Particularly, Whey milk protein that accounts for 20% of whole milk protein has insulinotropic/β-cell-stimulating and glucose-lowering effects through bioactive peptides and amino acids generated during its gastrointestinal digestion [89][90].
These bioactive peptides can stimulate several gut hormones, including GLP-1, which stimulate β-cells insulin secretion [89][92][93][94][95], and reduce the activity of DPP-4, attenuating the degradation of GLP-1 in the proximal gut [94]. Hence, Whey protein pre-load breakfast may be a potential mode to stimulate GLP-1 secretion, thereby augmenting the early insulin response and reducing postprandial glucose.
In an acute crossover study, T2D patients consumed a high glycemic index breakfast, one day preloaded with a drink containing 50 g of Whey protein and other day preloaded with water. Breakfast preloaded with Whey protein vs. water displayed a significant reduction in postprandial glucose response [76] (Figure 9). Furthermore, the addition of Whey pre-load before breakfast led to a substantial increase of postprandial GLP-1 response, predominantly during the early interval, and significantly stimulated the early insulin response and the insulin post-breakfast peak [76] (Figure 9).
These results are in line with previous reports showing that Whey protein pre-load exerts a potent stimulatory effect on β-cell secretion, reducing postprandial glycemia in healthy [79][80][93][94] and T2D patients [92][94]. This enhanced and almost restored early insulin secretion after Whey pre-load is important since a deficiency or loss of this early insulin response is a key abnormality contributing to hyperglycemia and T2D [4][5][6].
The increase of the postprandial GLP-1 after Whey pre-load occurred in a parallel fashion with the insulinotropic effect. This correlation supports that the higher incretin response is the mechanism subserving the more rapid and higher insulin response in the Whey protein group.
Whey protein pre-load of high glycemic index breakfast stimulated the postprandial total and intact GLP-1 responses, the early prandial insulin secretion, and significantly reduced the PPHG in T2D patients. Therefore, Whey protein may represent a novel glucose-lowering strategy in T2D [76].
We further explored in T2D patients the long-term effect of Whey protein. In this study in T2D, we tested during 12 weeks the long-term influence of Whey protein on weight loss, reduction of overall PPHG, and HbA1c. We used a well-established feeding regimen (Bdiet) consisting of a high-calorie and protein breakfast, medium-sized lunch, and low-calorie dinner [35][39][56][74] (Figure 10).
The participants were randomly assigned to one of the three diet intervention groups The only difference among the three diet interventions was the breakfast composition: (1) Whey protein breakfast diet (WBdiet), with high protein content at breakfast, containing Whey as the primary source of protein; (2) Protein breakfast diet (PBdiet), with high protein content at breakfast from other sources, i.e., eggs, tuna, soy; and (3) Carbohydrate breakfast diet (CBdiet), with low protein and high CH content in the breakfast [75]. All patients underwent 3 all-day meal challenges testing WBdiet, PBdiet, and CBdiet (Figure 10).
Although the three diet interventions (CBdiet, PBdiet, WBdiet) had similar lunch and dinner composition, the effect during a meal challenge on postprandial glycemia, insulin, GLP-1, ghrelin, glucagon, and appetite scores was not limited to breakfast but extended to subsequent meals, i.e., lunch and dinner [75].
Compared to PBdiet and CBdiet, the Whey in the breakfast group (WBdiet) showed the lowest overall PPHG and overall AUC for postprandial plasma glucose, ghrelin, and hunger, and highest overall AUC for postprandial plasma insulin, C-peptide, intact GLP-1, and satiety scores. PBdiet showed similar benefits than WBdiet but less pronounced. WBdiet also led to a greater reduction of HbA1c and body weight compared to the other groups. The greatest reduction of PPHG was achieved after breakfast containing Whey (WBdiet) is supported by the increased GLP-1 and its insulinotropic effect, as reported in healthy and T2D individuals [25][80][81][89][94] (Figure 10).
Whey protein and its main components, i.e., alpha-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, and the bioactive peptides generated during its gastrointestinal digestion, are potent secretagogues of L-cells, increasing GLP-1 intracellular levels and production [25][94][95][96]. Whey protein also activates mTOR in the intestinal L cells, increasing prandial GLP-1 secretion, further stimulating β-cell postprandial response [94][95][96]. The increased GLP-1 release in WBdiet, might explain the beneficial effect of Whey consumption on PPHG and enhanced insulin release at subsequent meals after breakfast [25][80][81][94]. Whey protein ingestion is also associated with a rapid increase in plasma amino acid concentrations, specifically leucine, isoleucine, and valine, exerting a potent direct insulinotropic/β-cell-stimulating effect [89][94].
This study showed that in T2D individuals, a diet consisting of high-energy breakfast, medium-sized lunch, and reduced energy dinner is more beneficial in reducing overall PPHG, body weight, and HbA1c levels, when the primary protein source at breakfast is Whey, indicating that Whey protein at breakfast might be a potent adjuvant for the management of type 2 diabetes [75].
4. Conclusions Remarks
Postprandial hyperglycemia in T2D leads to a progressive decline of β-cell function and increases the cardiovascular risk in T2D [2,6,7]. Therefore, DI meal timing and composition should focus on mitigating glycemic peaks to reduce the decline of β-cell function and prevent cardiovascular complications [4].
Almost all hormonal and enzymatic processes influencing the PPHG, like muscular glucose uptake, the secretion of GLP-1, and β-cell insulin production, are regulated by the circadian clock and display circadian rhythms [17–24]. The circadian clock is synchronized to the day/night cycle and food cues, namely, meal timing and food availability [13,14].
As a consequence of circadian clock regulation, the β-cell secretion and responsiveness, insulin sensitivity, and muscular glucose uptake are enhanced in the early hours of the day compared to afternoon and night [8,16–23,25–33]. Therefore, the metabolism is optimal for food intake in the morning (i.e., breakfast). In contrast, the evening and nighttime are optimal for fasting and sleep [9,34–37].
Meal timing, independently of the total energy intake, exerts a critical influence on peripheral clocks genes involved in regulating metabolic processes and PPHG [41–47]. Several recent reports suggested metabolic disadvantages of reduced energy breakfast and high energy and CH consumption in evening hours. While high energy and CH consumption shifted into morning hours, “high energy breakfast” (Bdiet) increased the weight loss, insulin sensitivity and reduced the overall postprandial glycemia in obese and prediabetics [39,40,77], and substantially decrease the PPHG and HbA1c in diabetic individuals [15,35,74,75]. Moreover, in T2D, the omission of breakfast disrupts circadian clock gene expression and is linked to worsening of PPHG and delayed and deficient early insulin and GLP-1 response after subsequent meals [15,43,49].
In contrast, meal-timing pattern, aligned with the circadian clock, consuming high energy and CH breakfast (Bdiet) exerts a powerful synchronizing effect on pivotal clock gene expression. It leads to a significant reduction of postprandial glycemic peaks across the day and enhanced insulin, C-peptide, and GLP-1 postprandial responses in healthy and T2D patients. Therefore, breakfast consumption is critical for achieving metabolic homeostasis and improving PPHG in T2D [15,30,35,73,74].
Synchronization of the clock gene expression through a diet intervention consisting of meal timing aligned to the circadian clock by shifting more calories and CH to the early hours of the day (Bdiet) is a promising strategy for therapeutic interventions to improve PPHG, weight loss, and to prevent cardiometabolic complication in type 2 diabetes.
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/nu13051558