Pea protein, blood sugar and insulin after a sugary drink in people
What it found
Adding pea protein to a sugary drink lowered blood sugar rises and raised insulin levels in 31 healthy adults.
The effect was stronger with a larger amount of pea protein.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar response
Adding 25 g of pea protein lowered the overall blood sugar rise by 31% compared to sugar alone. Adding 50 g lowered it by 53%. The higher dose worked better than the lower one.
Insulin release
Insulin levels rose more when pea protein was added to the sugary drink. The 25 g dose raised insulin by 28% and the 50 g dose by 40% compared to sugar alone.
Gut hormone GIP
The gut hormone GIP showed no clear overall difference between the drinks. However, the highest peak level of GIP was lower after the 50 g pea protein drink than after sugar alone.
Gut hormone GLP-1
Overall levels of the gut hormone GLP-1 did not differ clearly between the drinks. But the highest peaks of GLP-1 were greater after both pea protein drinks than after sugar alone, and they happened later.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that adding pea protein to a sugary drink lowers blood sugar spikes and raises insulin release in healthy adults.
- Their results show a dose-response effect, meaning a larger amount of pea protein produces a bigger change.
- They suggest pea protein could be a useful ingredient for managing blood sugar levels when eaten with high-carbohydrate foods.
How it was done
Foods that cause smaller blood sugar spikes are linked to lower risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Earlier work suggested plant proteins might help control these responses, but results varied when different amounts were used.
Thirty-one healthy adults drank a sugary beverage on three separate days. One day it had just sugar, one day it had sugar plus 25 g of pea protein, and one day sugar plus 50 g of pea protein. Blood samples were taken over 180 minutes each time.
What it can’t tell you
- This trial only measured responses over 180 minutes after a single drink.
- It cannot show what happens when people eat pea protein regularly over weeks or months.
- The participants were all healthy adults, so the findings may not apply to people with conditions like diabetes.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Oxford Brookes University, UK; Imperial College London, UK
The paper
- Title
- Co-ingestion of NUTRALYS ® pea protein and a high-carbohydrate beverage influences the glycaemic, insulinaemic, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) responses: preliminary results of a randomised controlled trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Thondre PS, Achebe I, Sampson A, et al (2021). Co-ingestion of NUTRALYS ® pea protein and a high-carbohydrate beverage influences the glycaemic, insulinaemic, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) responses: preliminary results of a randomised controlled trial. European journal of nutrition. doi:10.1007/s00394-021-02481-8Free full textPubMed 33515092DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error