Nashville: A new study by researchers at Vanderbilt University has shed light on how the body’s response to breakfast can influence blood sugar levels later in the day, offering new insights into diabetes management.
The study, published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, examined the biological mechanisms behind the ‘second-meal effect’ – a phenomenon in which the composition of an earlier meal affects how the body processes food at a subsequent meal.
Researchers from Vanderbilt’s Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics focused on the roles of insulin and glucagon, two hormones that play opposing roles in regulating blood glucose.
While insulin helps lower blood sugar and promotes glucose storage in the liver, glucagon signals the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream.
The team found that elevated glucagon levels in the morning reduced the liver’s ability to store glucose at the next meal. This occurred even when insulin and blood glucose levels were similar during the later meal.
Instead of efficiently capturing and storing glucose, the liver continued releasing it into the bloodstream. Researchers linked this response to reduced levels of glucokinase, an enzyme that helps the liver take up and store glucose.
The findings suggest that glucagon may have a more significant role in the second-meal effect than previously understood.
Rather than simply counteracting insulin, the hormone may leave a lasting metabolic signal that influences how the liver responds to food several hours later.
The research could have particular implications for people with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes. It may help explain why blood sugar levels can rise during the day even when morning glucose readings appear normal.
The findings also support further investigation into treatments that address both insulin and glucagon pathways rather than focusing on insulin alone.
Researchers stated that more work is needed to understand the gene and protein networks responsible for the effect and how these mechanisms are altered in metabolic diseases.
