Reference Number: 151
Year: 1996
Link: Link to original paper
Health: Diabetes | Glycemic response
Nutrition: Fibre
Inclusions: Oats
Summary
Summary
To determine whether increasing doses (amounts) of beta-glucan present in an extruded breakfast cereal affect the glycemic and insulinemic responses in eight NIDDM subjects, compared with the same responses after a continental breakfast (bread, milk, cheese, ham).
Breakfast cereals were produced using various proportions of oat bran enriched in fiber, which contain an unusually high amount of a viscous polysaccharide, called beta-glucan, and oat bran. The carbohydrate load was 35 g.
The maximum increases observed in plasma glucose after the breakfast cereal were 67% (P < 0.05), 42% (P < 0.001), and 38% (P < 0.001) with 4.0, 6.0, and 8.4 g beta-glucan, respectively, compared with the continental breakfast. There was a linear inverse relationship between dose of beta-glucan and plasma glucose peak or area under the glucose curve (R2 = 0.94, P < 0.05). Postprandial insulin increase was only 59-67% (P < 0.01) as high as the continental breakfast after all three levels of beta-glucan.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY:
A pilot study that showed that a 50% decrease in glycemic response was observed after the ingestion of 35 g carbohydrate which was estimated to occur with approximately 5 g beta-glucan. The use of foods enriched with beta-glucan, especially at breakfast, is of potential interest in several clinical conditions, including insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and Non (IDDM) patients, to reduce hyperglycemia and insulin need. Based on these findings, simply incorporating porridge sourdough loaves as part of your daily breakfast may be a good way to regulate your blood sugar levels.
