Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of a Carbohydrate-Rich and Protein-Rich Formula Diet

Abstract

Obesity is well associated in various chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. Thus, for persons with obesity and diabetes, food with low GI are recommended in order to lower the glycemic response. The aim of this study was to examine the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of two formula diets, which are carbohydrate-rich (HC) or protein-rich (HP). Twenty healthy volunteers aged 25.8 ± 5.8 years (body mass index: weight/height2 =23.8 ± 2.4 kg/m2) randomly received either a reference food or amounts of the test food with equal carbohydrate content (45.9 g glucose / Portion) in three visits with at least 6 days between each intervention; resulted in a portion size of 76.2 g HC and 147.1 g HP. In order to determine plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, seven blood samples were collected (basal, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after intake of the test foods). Satiety was reported on a visual analog scale during the test phase of two hours. In relation to glucose, a GI of 66.9 ± 41.8 was measured for HC formula diet and 7.1 ± 7.2 for HP formula diet. The GL of the HC serving portion was found to be 22.8 ± 14.3 and for HP 1.8 ± 1.9. This result indicates that HC can be classified as a medium GI food (55 - 69) and HP as low GI food (<55). In addition, self-reported hunger and satiety levels were more pronounced with HP compared to glucose (p<0.05). The GI and GL of the HP formula diet seemed to be more favorable and achieved good effects in view of a low glycemic response.