Hungry All Of The Time? It Could Be In Your Blood

Researchers working on the largest in-depth nutrition study in the world have found that some of us experience big dips in blood sugar levels after eating, and it makes us hungrier, sooner

- Sarah Berry

WAS THERE A PARTICULAR REASON THAT BREAKFAST WAS THE MEAL YOU CHOSE TO FOCUS ON FOR THIS STUDY?

For the PREDICT study, we had two components. One was a very tightly controlled clinic day where people were attending our clinic in the UK at St Thomas’s Hospital, or the clinic in the USA at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. And we gave them what we call a ‘metabolic challenge meal’ – a standardised, high-fat, high-carb meal for breakfast, in the form of a muffin and a milkshake. Then we gave them a standardized lunch to really stress their systems so we could start to differentiate people’s responses.

Then they entered a two-week at-home phase where they were fitted with various wearable technology, such as a continuous glucose monitor. During the at-home phase, we provided them with standardized breakfasts with different macronutrient compositions for the whole two weeks. They differed each day in terms of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. By giving it to them as a breakfast, it meant that everyone came to them standardized, as they’d all fasted overnight. We asked them to avoid exercise because we know exercise can modulate your glycemic response. Then, after three hours they were allowed to eat freely, whichever meals they wanted, and we call this ad libitum. This way we could also look in a very real-life context, as well as in this tightly controlled context.

WHAT DID YOU FIND?