Palm oil and glutamine effects on gut hormones in diabetes
What it found
In 11 people with type 2 diabetes who had metabolic surgery, blood sugar fell two hours after taking palm oil or glutamine.
Hormone changes were mostly small and not statistically significant.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar after palm oil
Blood sugar fell from a median of 112.4 mg/dl before taking palm oil to 99.8 mg/dl two hours later. The authors call this fall significant.
PYY after palm oil
PYY levels fell from a median of 480 pg/mL before palm oil to 310 pg/mL two hours later. The authors call this fall significant.
GLP-1 after palm oil
GLP-1 levels fell from a median of 8.6 pM before palm oil to 8.4 pM one hour later. The authors call this fall significant.
Blood sugar after glutamine
Blood sugar fell from a median of 148.6 mg/dL before glutamine to 133.5 mg/dL two hours later. The authors call this fall significant.
GLP-1 after glutamine
GLP-1 levels rose from a median of 33.5 pM before glutamine to 46 pM one hour later. The authors say this rise was not significant.
PYY after glutamine
PYY levels rose from a median of 310 pg/mL before glutamine to 445 pg/mL one hour later. The authors say this rise was not significant.
What the authors conclude
“The present results suggest that palm oil and glutamine influence intestinal peptides and glycemia.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that palm oil and glutamine can influence intestinal peptides and glucose.
- They suggest that palm oil may be an alternative for glycemic control in diabetic patients.
- They note that glutamine is a promising compound for short-term glycemic control.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if palm oil and glutamine could affect blood sugar and gut hormones in people with type 2 diabetes who had a specific metabolic surgery. They note that both substances have been reported to influence these hormones.
They studied 11 patients with type 2 diabetes who had surgery called duodenojejunal bypass with ileal interposition without gastrectomy. Patients fasted for 8 to 12 hours and then took 9 g of palm oil on one day and 30 g of glutamine on another day. Blood was collected before and 1 and 2 hours after each substance.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study with only 11 patients, so the results may not apply to everyone.
- The study did not include a control group, so it cannot prove that palm oil or glutamine caused the changes seen.
- The patients had a specific type of metabolic surgery, so the findings may not apply to people who have not had this surgery.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Conflicts of interest: none
The paper
- Title
- Effect of the ingestion of the palm oil and glutamine in serum levels of GLP-1, PYY and glycemia in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients submitted to metabolic surgery
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Takeuti TD, Terra GA, da Silva AA, Terra JA, da Silva LM, Crema E (2014). Effect of the ingestion of the palm oil and glutamine in serum levels of GLP-1, PYY and glycemia in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients submitted to metabolic surgery. Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva. doi:10.1590/s0102-6720201400s100013Free full textPubMed 25409967DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error