Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels resulting from a defect in insulin production, insulin activity or both. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, what you eat becomes an important factor in controlling your blood sugar. Trehalose is a sugar that scientists think may not cause the large increase in blood glucose usually associated with sugar consumption, making it of interest to diabetes patients across the globe.
Diabetes and Blood Glucose
The body needs glucose for energy, and extracts it from foods such as fruit, milk, some vegetables, starchy foods and sugar. Diabetics cannot properly store or use glucose; therefore, the more sugar they eat, the higher their blood glucose will be. The Canadian Diabetes Association suggests limiting sugar intake, using artificial sweeteners as an alternative and maintaining a healthy diet. Trehalose is a sugar with potential as a sweetening alternative.
What is Trehalose?
Trehalose is made up of two linked glucose molecules, and is rapidly broken down into glucose by the enzyme trehalase on ingestion. Sucrose -- table sugar -- is digested through a similar process, but trehalose is only about 45 percent as sweet as sucrose. It is used as a sweetener in the food industry, added to baked goods, beverages, candies, fruit jam and breakfast cereals, according to the World Health Organization.
Trehalose vs. Glucose for Diabetics
A 2003 study published in "The European Journal of Applied Physiology" tested the effect of trehalose on insulin response and blood glucose levels. Male cyclists were given 500 ml of a beverage containing 75 g of either glucose or trehalose before exercising. It was found that blood glucose concentration was significantly higher in those who had taken glucose. The insulin response was almost twofold higher in those who had taken glucose compared to trehalose. This may prove useful for athletes who need to be concerned with blood sugar regulation.
Trehalose in Cell Preservation
Trehalose also has the ability to protect organisms against stresses such as freezing, a characteristic that has been helpful in diabetic transplant tissues. The American Diabetes Association reported the addition of trehalose as a protectant to endocrine cells in cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is the process of storing living organisms at ultralow temperatures so that they can be restored to pre-freezing state. Cells were found to have over 90 percent recovery from cryopreservation when trehalose was added. Without trehalose, the recovery was 42 to 58 percent. The researchers concluded that using trehalose in the cryopreservation protocol allowed for increased survival of human pancreatic endocrine tissue. Pancreatic cells are responsible for insulin production.
Warning
Trehalose is found naturally in some plants, fungi, invertebrates and micro-organisms, and is therefore present in some foods. Diabetics should be aware that, like any sugar, trehalose has calories and should be used with caution. A small percentage of people may lack the enzyme trehalase and would not be able to digest trehalose.
References
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: National Diabetes Fact Sheet 2007
- Canadian Diabetes Association: Tips For Healthy Eating, Diabetes Management and Prevention
- Pubmed.Gov: Effects of Pre-Exercise Ingestion of Trehalose, Galactose and Glucose on Metabolism
- Health Canada: Novel Food Information: Trehalose
- Inchem: WHO Food Additive Series 46: Trehalose
