Arla Foods Ingredients’ clear whey protein helps manage glucose during gestational diabetes

New clinical research supports that consuming Arla Foods Ingredients’ Lacprodan ISO.WaterShake before meals can help control blood sugar in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The ingredient is a 100% whey protein isolate for clear beverages, which is formulated to remove unpleasant aftertastes in hydrating sports drinks and flavored waters. 

Arla Foods Ingredients partnered with the Danish Aarhus University and the Steno Diabetes Center to investigate the effects of whey protein on GDM.

The study supports that 20 g of Lacprodan ISO.WaterShake before a meal reduces post-meal blood glucose peaks by -1 mmol/L (-18 mg/dl) in those with GDM and by -0.7 mmol/L (-12.6mg/dl) in those without.

GDM typically results from a lack of insulin production or when a pregnant woman’s body cannot use it to maintain blood sugar levels effectively. Elevated blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, raise the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes — including neurological disorders — for both infants and mothers.

“These findings suggest that whey protein may be a safe, effective, and promising nutritional strategy to support blood glucose management in women with GDM,” says Lise Høj Brunsgaard, research scientist at Arla Foods Ingredients.

“For this study, our Lacprodan ISO.WaterShake whey protein isolate was selected due to its high purity and rapid absorption profile, which made it suitable for investigating its potential role in maternal nutrition during pregnancy.”

Whey protein for glucose management

The clinical study, published in Diabetes Care, examined how consuming Lacprodan ISO.WaterShake before eating influences blood glucose rises in the three hours after meals.

The randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blinded crossover trial involved 12 women with GDM and 12 with normal glucose tolerance.

At home, participants consumed either whey protein or a placebo 30 minutes before a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. This is the standard diagnostic tool for GDM.

The findings reveal that pre-meal doses of 15–30 g of the whey protein consistently lowered post-meal blood glucose levels and reduced fluctuations in the women with GDM.

Arla Foods Ingredients flags that hyperglycemia in pregnancies impacts an estimated 19.6% of live births. Among these cases, 79.2% are related to GDM, while the remainder are from type 1, type 2, and other forms of diabetes.

The new study builds on previous research demonstrating whey protein’s benefits for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. Mechanistic studies link this effect to improved beta-cell function and reduced insulin clearance.

Next to hyperglycemia, a recent study involving more than 4.7 million women found that women with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) before conceiving a child are more likely to have certain adverse pregnancy outcomes. These effects included preterm births or low infant birth weight.

Science-backed intervention advancements

Health care practitioners generally advise mothers with GDM to control their blood glucose levels through diet, weight management, and moderate exercise.

Screening methods have improved over the last year, as in one recent paper that identified specific gut microbiome markers for its diagnosis. Digital tools to manage the condition have also improved, including AI smartphone photo meal scanning for instant personalized dietary guidance.

LactoSens, a technology specialist developing lactose detection systems in the food and beverage industry, created the biosensor XPressGT for the early detection of diabetes and GDM by measuring 2-hydroxybutyrate, a diabetes biomarker.