Question
I heard that people with diabetes with diabetes are supposed to eat protein with their carbohydrate because it will help “balance out” or “stabilize” the blood sugar. Is that true?
Answer
The short answer is no. (And you were hoping that piece of chicken would cancel out the pasta, weren’t you?). Also, the concept of “balancing out” and stabilizing are pretty much vague terms that don't really do anything except maybe help us feel virtuous about our eating. I think what some people mean is that they hope that by eating protein that they will “prevent blood glucose from spiking” or “the chicken will actually cancel out the pasta somehow.”
Eating protein with carbohydrate does not “stop” or “slow down” the carbohydrate from spiking the blood sugar, and eating protein does not bring high blood sugar down. At one point in time I think people actually believed that protein at bedtime would somehow prevent low blood sugars from happening overnight or during the day, however, once we studied that it turned out not to be the case. Adding fat and fiber to the meal can slow down the emptying of the stomach and therefore slow the absorption of carbohydrate, but ultimately the blood sugar spike and any other fluctuations will be mostly determined by the amount of carbohydrate that someone eats.
Now, none of that should take away from the need to eat protein! Meals that contain protein often help you feel fuller faster and for longer periods of time; meaning that for some people eating protein might help you not eat as much at that meal and help you not eat as much in between meals. Indirectly, that helps keep the blood sugar levels from being elevated because you are just not eating as much carbohydrate. Protein also helps us maintain muscle mass and skin integrity (particularly when we are trying to lose extra body fat), and older people will absorb protein better (and be more likely to get enough) if they eat it at each meal instead of just once or twice per day. I had a co-worker also ask me about protein helping you “burn” more calories, each day, also known as the Thermic Effect of Food. Your resting metabolism might increase very slightly if you added more protein, but the minute you eat more than one or two Oreos cookies or a slice of bread, that effect is gone. So no, adding more protein doesn’t excuse your need to reduce carbohydrate or calories.
If you’ve heard “eat a portion of protein” about the size of your palm before, it’s because that size of chicken breast, etc. is going to be about 2-4 ounces of protein. Most adults will need about that much per meal—which also translates to 14-28 grams of protein. And guess what? Protein also contains calories too. If you are trying to lose extra body fat and maintain your lean muscle, you will still have to watch the amount of calories you eat.
So when you hear about a “balanced” meal, what that translates to is a meal that contains adequate/appropriate amounts of carb, protein, healthy fats, and vegetables. No magical prevention of blood glucose spikes, no magical prevention of low blood glucose, just earlier satisfaction with the meal and maybe eating fewer calories during the day.
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