INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND AMYLOSE AMYLOPECTIN RATIO OF FOODS ON POSTPRANDIAL GLUCOSE AND INSULIN RESPONSES IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS/

Objective: To study the effect of amylose content on postprandial gluc ose and insulin responses in healthy subjects by serving fixed amounts of simple starchy foods with a varying but strictly controlled water, fat and guar um content. Design: A blind, randomised, balanced cross- over study. Setting: The kitchen of the Nutrition Research Unit in the Unilever Research Laboratorium. Subjects: Apparently healthy employee s of Unilever Research Laboratorium. Interventions: Subjects consumed, after an overnight fast, either a drink (12 men), a pudding (6 men an d 6 women), a roll without (5 men and 6 women) or a roll with guar gum (12 men) as breakfast and the same amount of the same food as mid-mor ning snack. Each subject consumed the experimental food prepared in fo ur ways: either with high- or normal-amylose starch, and with or witho ut added fat. At 30 and 90 min after consumption of the breakfast or t he snack a blood sample was taken for determination of glucose and ins ulin. Results: Raising the amount of amylose in starchy drinks and pud dings, but not in rolls, lowered postprandial glucose and insulin resp onses. Fat addition to starchy drinks, puddings and rolls attenuated p ostprandial glucose responses, irrespective of the amount of amylose o r guar gum present. Addition of guar gum to rolls reduced glucose and insulin responses. Glucose tolerance tended to be less after consumpti on of the experimentalfoods as mid-morning snack than after consumptio n as breakfast. Conclusion: The physico-chemical composition of foods does influence the effect of the amylose:amylopectin ratio in starchy foods on postprandial glucose and insulin responses.