Can high-protein diabetes-specific oral nutritional supplements improve postprandial glycemic response in prediabetes? An open-label, cross-over clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Prediabetes is becoming increasingly widespread and often progresses to diabetes, thereby raising the risk of severe complications. High-protein diets, known to improve glucose control and prevent diabetes, can utilize rich-protein oral nutritional supplements. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a diabetes-specific nutritional formula-pro (DSNF-Pro) with high-protein content and evaluate its clinical utility. Methods: An open-label, cross-over clinical trial was conducted to compare the effects of DSNF-Pro versus Standard nutritional formula (STNF) on postprandial glycemic control. Fifteen subjects with prediabetes were enrolled and consumed DSNF-Pro on the first visit and STNF on the second. Postprandial plasma glucose, serum insulin, and serum c-peptide incremental area under the curve (iAUC), as well as the maximum concentration (Cmax) and incremental maximal concentration (iCmax), were measured following the study. Statistical comparisons between DSNF-Pro and STNF were performed using Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test. Results: DSNF-Pro significantly reduced postprandial glucose iAUC by 73.4% (p = 0.0001) and postprandial c-peptide iAUC by 36.4% (p = 0.0001) compared to STNF. However, there was no significant difference in postprandial insulin iAUC between DSNF-Pro and STNF. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that DSNF-Pro effectively improved postprandial glucose responses in prediabetes, providing a practical alternative for managing glycemic control without increasing insulin secretion.