Blood glucose response to pea fiber: comparisons with sugar beet fiber and wheat bran

Article Abstract:

The level of blood glucose is normally elevated in both diabetic and nondiabetic individuals who have just eaten. Similarly the normal physiologic response to increased blood glucose is an elevation of insulin levels in the blood. Diabetics are unable to fully and rapidly compensate for these changes in blood glucose levels. Viscous polysaccharides have been added to the diets of diabetics as a means of reducing the changes in blood glucose and the need for insulin that occur after meals. The current study investigates the ability of two newly developed plant fiber supplements to reduce postprandial (after meal) blood glucose and insulin levels. Fibers from the pea and sugar beet were compared to wheat fiber for their ability to influence postprandial blood glucose and insulin. The study also measured the time that it took for the meal to reach the large intestine (mouth-cecum transit time) as measured by elevation in secretion of breath hydrogen (H-sub2) concentration. The experiment used a standard meal consisting of 150 g (5 ounces) of beef mixed with 50 g glucose and 20 g of lactulose. Of the three fibers tested only pea fiber supplementation was able to effect the rate of glucose (area under a curve of blood glucose over time) entering the blood stream which it reduced by a significant 65 percent. The postprandial insulin secretion rate as assessed by blood insulin level was unaffected by all three fibers. Although both beet and wheat fiber were able to increase the transit time of the meal from mouth to cecum, pea fiber had no effect on this parameter. Pea fiber is white, almost tasteless, and granulated. This product could easily be combined in breads and included in the diet of diabetics as a palatable and potentially beneficial fiber supplement.

Care and treatment, Research, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Diet, Diet in disease, Fiber in human nutrition, Dietary fiber

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Carbohydrate feedings 1 h before exercise improves cycling performance

Article Abstract:

Many studies have been performed to determine if eating carbohydrate snacks prior to an athletic event improves athletic performance. The results of some of the first studies performed suggested that eating carbohydrates prior to an athletic event impairs athletic performance because it lowers blood glucose levels, raises insulin levels and increases the breakdown of glucose in muscle tissue. However, one study reported that eating 4.5 grams of carbohydrate/kilogram of body weight four hours before competition improved time performance by 15 percent, and another study reported that eating 1.0 grams of carbohydrate/kilogram body weight 1 hour prior to competition improved endurance by 13 percent. Therefore, a study was performed to determine if ingesting a liquid carbohydrate drink prior to competition could improve athletic performance. The study included nine college-aged men who could ride exercise bicycles at 70 percent of their maximal ability for 90 minutes without stopping. Each subject fasted for 10 hours and then was given a beverage one hour before exercise that contained either no carbohydrate (placebo), 1.1 grams of carbohydrate/kilogram body weight of carbohydrate, or 2.2 grams of carbohydrate/kilogram body weight. The carbohydrate beverages increased blood insulin levels at the beginning and during exercise, and decreased glucose levels at the beginning of exercise. Even so, the carbohydrate beverages improved cycling performance. It is concluded that drinking a carbohydrate beverage containing between 1.1 and 2.2 grams/kilogram body weight one hour before intense, prolonged exercise can improve athletic performance. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Athletic ability, Carbohydrate metabolism, High-carbohydrate diet, High carbohydrate diet

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Fructans of Jerusalem artichokes: intestinal transport, absorption, fermentation, and influence on blood glucose, insulin, and C-peptide responses in healthy subjects

Article Abstract:

Fructose polymers, also called fructans, consist of a chain of glucose molecules and are present in various plants, including artichokes and asparagus. These glucose compounds may have potential nutritional benefits and may be used as a sweetening agent for diabetics. The absorption, transit time (duration of movement through the digestive system), and fermentation of fructans derived from Jerusalem artichokes were assessed in eight healthy subjects. The effects of the fructans on blood glucose, insulin, and C-peptide (a molecule used to assess insulin secretion) were also examined. The properties of these fructans were compared to those of fructose, another type of sugar that is not absorbed completely and is used as a sweetener. Studies show that incompletely absorbed substances may lower blood glucose and insulin responses to a meal. In addition, it is reported that dietary fiber increases the inability of starch to be absorbed. Hence, the effects of fructans on the absorption and metabolism of a 50 gram (g) wheat-starch meal were also studied. The fructans were not completely absorbed and traces of fructans in the urine were detected in only one subject 24 hours after fructan ingestion. The duration of transit through the digestive system was longer for fructans than for other sugars, such as fructose and lactulose. Fructan ingestion was associated with very low increases in blood glucose and insulin responses to a meal and greater hydrogen production, compared with fructose. Ten g of fructans did not alter the absorption of starch. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Oligosaccharides, Starch, Nutritional aspects, Fructose, Fructose in human nutrition, Jerusalem artichoke

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