Health · Medical Research · 16 hrs ago
Matched Meals Produced Different Insulin Responses in a Small Study
Researchers compared how people’s bodies responded to two meals that each contained 300 calories and nearly identical amounts of nutrients.
The meals were eaten on separate days in a randomized order by 32 healthy-weight adults, whose average age was 26.
One meal contained ultra-processed foods, while the other included minimally processed foods such as an egg, banana and cheese.
Blood tests over the next three hours showed that insulin rose higher after the ultra-processed meal and stayed elevated for about two hours.
Blood sugar responses were generally similar, but glucose remained elevated longer after the ultra-processed meal.
The study also found differences in how participants burned fat and carbohydrates, though researchers do not know what caused the changes.
The findings suggest food processing may affect the body’s response beyond the nutrients and calories in a meal, but the small experiment does not explain why or establish what this means for long-term health.
A small study found that an ultra-processed meal triggered a higher insulin response than a minimally processed meal with nearly identical nutritional content and calories.
The meals each contained 300 calories and were matched within 1 percent for carbohydrates, fat, protein, calories, water and salt.
Blood glucose responses were generally similar, but glucose stayed elevated longer after the ultra-processed meal.
The study involved 57 healthy-weight adults, with 32 taking part in the meal experiment.
Researchers said they do not know for sure why the meals produced different metabolic responses.
- Who
- Researchers led by neuroscientist Alex DiFeliceantonio at Virginia Tech studied healthy-weight adults.
- What
- A small study found that a matched ultra-processed meal produced a higher insulin response than a minimally processed meal.
- When
- Published on 2026-10-11. The date of the experiment is not stated.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Researchers compared the meals to investigate whether processing could affect metabolic responses when nutrients and calories were held nearly constant.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
If these meals had a nutritional label, they would be practically identical.
We were shocked when every single metabolic metric differed.
But if we artificially hold all of those things constant, is there something about the processing that leads to a different outcome?
Researchers recruited 57 healthy-weight adults, and 32 took part in the meal experiment.
The 32 participants ate the ultra-processed and minimally processed meals in randomized order.
Researchers took blood samples and compared participants’ metabolic responses.
- Participants recruited
- 57 healthy-weight adults
- Meal experiment
- 32 participants
- Meals
- 300 calories each
- Nutritional match
- Within 1 percent for carbohydrates, fat, protein, calories, water and salt
- Observation window
- Three hours after each meal
Sources
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