Metabolic effects of glucose in brief and prolonged fasted man.

The protein-sparing capability of glucose was investigated in overweight subjects prior to and during the performance of prolonged therapeutic fasts. Blood (for hormones and substrates) and urine (for nitrogen and ketoacids) specimens were collected prior to, during, and subsequent to the performance of the following studies. Three subjects ingested, as their only source of calories, 37.5 g of glucose every 6 hours for 7 days (glucose I). The same group of subjects was then fasted for 3 weeks following which the above glucose protocol was repeated (glucose II). In both groups, glucose administration diminished nitrogen excretion, urea being decreased in the first group and ammonia in the second.