Olive oil first softened glucose surges in mouse study
The response involved delayed stomach transit, digestive hormones and communication along the vagus nerve.
In experiments involving mice, receiving olive oil ahead of glucose led to a milder initial blood-sugar rise than getting the oil afterward. Stomach contents also moved onward more slowly, delaying glucose delivery to the intestine. The study establishes these effects in animals, not humans.
Following an overnight fast, researchers compared water before glucose, olive oil 15 minutes before glucose, and glucose 15 minutes before olive oil. They monitored blood sugar and several hormones. Acetaminophen levels in the bloodstream served as a measure of how rapidly the stomach emptied.
The earlier oil dose prompted quick increases in glucagon, GIP and GLP-1. Disabling either glucagon or GLP-1 activity on its own did not erase the effect, but interfering with both weakened it. Experiments involving severed vagus nerves also indicated that brain-digestive communication plays a part. The pattern remained present in animals modeling type 2 diabetes, even when insulin production was profoundly limited. Together, the results suggest that several hormonal, digestive and nerve pathways cooperate when fat comes before carbohydrate.
- Each food sequence used a 15-minute interval.
- Scientists also measured insulin during the experiments.
- Additional tests examined mice unable to respond to GLP-1.
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