Blog

6

1

I know milk is highly insulinogenic, and for some reason I want to say I heard cheese was as well from a Robb Wolf podcast. (Could have misheard that.)

So I would like to know on what level cheese is insulinogenic, and would butter be somewhat insulinogenic as well?

flag

9 Answers

6

It's two things

Lactose and Casein. Casein is more insulinogenic than other kinds of protein, but not more so than glucose or lactose AFAIK.

The GI could be zero but if it is full of casein (like cheese) there is an insulin response.

link|flag
5

http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2010/1/11/insulinogenic-is-not-hyperglycemic.html

link|flag
you beat me to it! I was going to post this link too: books.google.com/… – Mady Mar 17 2010 at 20:39
Thank you for the link, but I have read Dr. Kurt's numerous articles multiple times each, including this one. – TheSethAffect Mar 18 2010 at 16:02
yes but insulinogenic means the body reads dairy as a sign for fuel storage and anabolism. thats why its raising insulin levels (an important part of anabolism, to get fuel inside cells) despite lack of blood glucose spike from dairy products – DH Feb 18 at 9:34
4

I never trust those GL response numbers. I´m very insulin sensitive and can´t eat any kind of dairy - except ghee. It would end in a carblike binge even with butter. One can´t imagine how much hard cheese someone can swallow. In my experience binge eating without hunger is always insulinogenic.

link|flag
4

The casein, being a protein will be somewhat insulinemic, but the real worry on that front is the whey, which is substantially more insulinemic. The lactose, being a sugar, is obviously also a worry.

Milk (the lower fat the worse), whey protein or whey products (like ricotta) would be the worse. Fermented milk like yoghurt is better because the lactose is broken down. Cheese would have the lactose and whey removed so that would be better. Butter and cream have the lactose, whey and (most of the) casein removed so they'll be about as non-insulinemic a calorie source as you can get. Greek yoghurt (such as Fage) has the whey strained off, so that will be better than standard yoghurt.

Butter/cream and insulin specifically have been discussed recently by Dr Davis. While his line of reasoning certainly applies to dairy in general, I don't think the study he cites bears out the argument that there's anything especially harmful in cream or butter, since the increase in insulin, compared to olive oil is miniscule (and it's far, far less than for casein). If one weren't trying to find a reason to explain why butter/atkins = suboptimal, I don't think any-one would be moved by the slightly more insulinemic nature of butter shown. Peter at hyperlip gives a good breakdown: long story short, butter is far less insulinemic than dairy protein and superior even to other fats.

link|flag
3

Looking on the Nutrition Data site and if the glycemic load really does indicate how much insulin a food produces in the body then you are right about the milk, but the same amount of cheese is less so:

100 grams of whole milk (3.25% milk fat) has an estimated glycemic load of 4.

100 grams of cream (half and half) has an estimated glycemic load of 3.

100 grams of cheddar cheese (hard) has an estimated glycemic load of 1.

100 grams of goats cheese (soft) has an estimated glycemic load of 1.

100 grams of butter (with or without salt) has an estimated glycemic load of 0.

ADDITION: 100 grams of heavy whipping cream has an estimated glycemic load of 0.

100 grams of soured, cultured cream (a.k.a. creme fraiche) cream has an estimated glycemic load of 2.

edit: but judging from the other answers and comments here, the GL of food is not the best thing to refer to in the case of insulinogenic factors.

link|flag
Happy as a pig in sh*t about the butter Louisa! – henny Mar 18 2010 at 1:36
Why does cream have a higher GL than cheese? – archaea Mar 18 2010 at 18:51
@archaea That is an interesting question - I really do not know enough about the cheesemaking process to be able to say, I would assume that somewhere down the line most of the carbs are lost, perhaps the cheese culture eats them? @Anna and ice cream (rich vanilla) has a glycemic load of 11! Let's stick with the butter..... – Louisa Mar 18 2010 at 19:16
Well, half and half is not cream. It is half cream and half milk. So what is the glycemic load of 100% cream? I'll go look it up. – Suzan Mar 19 2010 at 0:28
The Glycemic load of heavy whipping cream is 0. – Suzan Mar 19 2010 at 0:31
show 4 more comments
2

Butter and cheese are insulinogenic, as is anything that contains significant protein. See Dr Davis' recent post:

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/butter-and-insulin.html

Peter at Hyperlipid's response is equally enlightening:

http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2010/03/butter-insulin-and-dr-davis.html

link|flag
1 
 Peter's rebut to Dr Davis is sound. Peter says butter for him.If you follow Dr Davis'recent posts, there is really nothing you can eat that does not trigger an insulin spike...be it butter or some other fat, protein, and carb. But the spike is not the same for everyone. Dr Davis does encourage us to buy a glucose meter to measure the after eating affects of eating various foods. If prior to eating, your glucose level is 100 and you spike to 130-150 or more, that food for you is insulinogenic.It varies by BMI, age and history of SAD. Food is insulinogenic but is different for each of us. – Dexter Mar 23 2010 at 2:36
1 
 The butter's effect has nothing to do with anything other than the palmitic acid added to the carbohydrate bolus. A dose of palmitic without any butter at all would do the same thing via the effects on peripheral insulin sensitivity. Butter or cream by themselves or on non-starchy veggies as part of a typical VLC meal have trivial insulin response. – Kurt Harris Mar 23 2010 at 4:23
1

Can anybody here provide any evidence that insulinogenic foods when consumed by healthy people lead to disease?

link|flag
didn't we all start out healthy? – vmary Mar 18 2010 at 22:07
1 
 The point is that insulinogenic foods, consumed in quantity over time, won't keep you healthy. There's tons of evidence showing that a "healthy" person who chronically overconsumes insulinogenic foods is at high risk for the so-called diseases of civilization. Read Taubes! But that said, will one glass of milk give you heart disease? Of course not. – John R Mar 19 2010 at 11:59
1 
 There is a ton of evidence... Read Taubes... Punt on answering question... :) I actually have read Taubes and a great deal on the subject of nutrition. I asked the question because I already know the answer - there is NO evidence that insulinogenic foods or high glycemic foods cause disease in healthy people. Diabetes is not an overuse disorder! It is caused by damage to the liver and pancreas, probably medidaed by excess n-6 PUFA consumption and excess fructose consumption. Think Kitava... Think Asia, Peru, etc. Glucose and insulinogenic proteins do not break metabolisms. – Jay Mar 19 2010 at 18:03
1 
 That said, if you already have impaired glucose tolerance, carbs may do some damage. If you are healthy now (eat a boiled potato and check your blood sugar a bit later; if it's less than 100, you're very healthy), I don't think you will get unhealthy eating starch or insulinogenic protein. You can disagree but you will have to provide actual evidence... – Jay Mar 19 2010 at 18:09
0

Anybody have any insight on the insulin effect of greek yogurt? I am assuming it is in the vicinity of soft goat's cheese...

link|flag
0

also, this previous post reaffirms that cheese is insulinogenic.

link|flag

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.