Comparison of the Postprandial Glycemic and Insulinemic Response to Allulose
Allulose StoreComparison of postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses of allulose when consumed alone or added to sucrose
Source: ScienceDirect (Excerpt)
Key Features
- Allulose alone, as expected, minimally increased glucose and insulin levels.
- Allulose added to sucrose reduced postprandial glucose levels compared to sucrose alone.
- Insulin levels were also reduced after adding allulose to sucrose compared to sucrose alone.
- Adding allulose to sucrose also reduced the peak rise in glucose and insulin.
Abstract
Allulose is a naturally occurring monosaccharide with ~70% of the sweetness of sucrose, which may reduce postprandial glucose when consumed with a carbohydrate-containing meal.
Whether a higher allulose-to-carbohydrate ratio further inhibits both glycemic and insulin responses remains unclear.
In an acute, double-blind, randomized study, 14 non-diabetic individuals (age: 51 ± 15 years, BMI: 27.2 ± 4.1 kg/m2) were studied for 120 minutes on three separate occasions after consuming beverages containing 15g allulose, 15g allulose plus 30g sucrose, or 30g sucrose.
Following consumption of allulose, allulose + sucrose, or sucrose beverages, the glucose iAUC (mean ± SEM; 0.6 ± 0.2, 86.0 ± 9.5, and 118.1 ± 11.3 mmol × min/L) and peak elevation (0.05 ± 0.02, 1.69 ± 0.13, and 3.15 ± 0.23 mmol/L) were all significantly different (p < 0.05).
Similarly, insulin iAUC and peak elevation were also significantly different across all beverages.
This study demonstrated that allulose added to sucrose reduced both postprandial glucose and insulin responses.
Thus, dietary replacement of sucrose with allulose may be beneficial, but longer-term studies are needed to confirm long-term benefits.
Graphical Abstract
Blood Sugar Level
When 15g of allulose was added to 30g of sucrose, the blood sugar increase (iAUC) was 24% lower than when subjects consumed only sucrose.
Insulin Level
When allulose and sucrose were consumed together, the increase in insulin level was 33% lower than that of the pure sucrose drink.
Consumed alone
15g of allulose consumed alone produced virtually no blood sugar or insulin response.
1. Introduction
Increased consumption of dietary sugars in the developed world continues to be a major public health concern, prompting many health organizations to advocate for reduced intake of added or free sugars:
While a number of sugar alternatives and low-calorie sweeteners have been developed, the continuous increase in the prevalence of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases has sparked renewed interest in sugar alternatives that may offer health benefits beyond energy metabolism.
Allulose, also known as psicose, is a monosaccharide that is a C-3 epimer of fructose and naturally occurs in small amounts in dried fruits, brown sugar, and maple syrup (Oshima, Kimura, and Izumori, 2006).
Its sweetness is approximately 70% that of sucrose and it is considered low calorie (<0.2 kcal/g) (Hossain et al., 2015).
It is currently approved as a sugar substitute in the United States by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Food Drug and Administration, 2022).
Although allulose naturally occurs only in small quantities, recent advances in technology have facilitated its mass production, renewing interest in investigating its metabolic properties (Takeshita, Suga, Takada, and Izumori, 2000).
In controlled human studies, consumption of allulose alone does not appear to elevate postprandial glucose or insulin levels (Iida et al., 2008).
Moreover, 14 comparisons across 6 studies suggest that adding 2.5–15g of allulose to carbohydrates from 50–85g of glucose, maltodextrin, sucrose, or a mixed meal reduces the glucose response incremental area under the curve (iAUC) by 8.9 ± 2.6% in non-diabetic individuals, as well as in those with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
However, in these studies, the amount of allulose ranged from only 0.03 to 0.20 g/g carbohydrate, and no significant dose-response relationship was demonstrated.
Thus, it is unclear whether a greater effect can be achieved with higher doses of allulose.
Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the postprandial glucose and insulin responses induced by 15g of commercially available allulose, allSWEET®, in non-diabetic individuals when consumed alone or with 30g of sucrose, resulting in a 0.5 g/g allulose/carbohydrate ratio.
2. Materials and Methods
See source.
3. Results
These two graphs illustrate how allulose affects the body's blood glucose and insulin response compared to plain table sugar (sucrose).
A) Change in Blood Glucose Level
- Sucrose (blue line)
Causes a rapid and significant increase, peaking at 30 minutes (~3.0 mmol/L), then dropping below baseline after 90 minutes.
- Allulose + Sucrose (green line)
The addition of allulose significantly moderates the increase in blood glucose.
The peak here is also at 30 minutes, but it is only half as high (~1.6 mmol/L) as with pure sugar.
- Allulose (purple line)
Consumed alone, it has virtually no effect on blood glucose, and may even show a slight decrease.
B) Change in Insulin Level
- Sucrose (blue line)
Elicits a strong insulin response, also peaking at 30 minutes (~260 pmol/L).
- Allulose + Sucrose (green line)
The presence of allulose roughly halves the body's insulin response compared to sugar.
- Allulose (purple line)
Does not elicit a significant insulin response.
5. Conclusions
We demonstrated that 15g of commercially available allulose, significantly reduced the overall glycemic and insulin responses when added to a beverage containing 30g of sucrose.
When consumed alone, 15g of allulose did not increase postprandial glucose or insulin levels, and all beverages were well tolerated.
Our results suggest that allulose may play a potentially beneficial role as a sugar substitute in acute glycemic control, but further studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of allulose on glycemic control in various populations.
Summary
- Research shows that allulose can "brake" the effect of traditional sugar on the body.
- Allulose added to sucrose elicits a lower postprandial glucose and insulin response than sucrose alone.
- Not only does it not raise blood sugar, but it also inhibits the absorption of sugar consumed with it and the insulin surge it causes.
- Allulose may have a beneficial role as a sugar substitute in acute glycemic control.
