INFLUENCE OF PROCESSING AND COOKING OF CARROTS IN MIXED MEALS ON SATIETY, GLUCOSE AND HORMONAL RESPONSE

The influence of processing and cooking on the metabolic response to c arrots in mixed meals was explored in two consecutive harvest years. T he contribution of dietary fibre (4.4g 1989 and 6.6g 1990) from carrot s was chosen to be different in order to compare effects with varying doses. The meals, composed of carrots, creamed potatoes, meat balls, l ingonberry jam, white bread and light beer, were served in the morning after an overnight fast to 10 healthy male volunteers. Carrots were i nvestigated raw, processed (blanched and frozen) and variously cooked (thawed, boiled and microwaved). The amount of dietary fibre from the vegetable, and the content of energy, digestible carbohydrates, fat an d protein were similar in the meals compared. Significantly lower gluc ose, insulin and C-peptide responses and higher satiety scores were el icited with raw carrots than with microwaved ones, harvest year 1989. The next year, with a higher dietary fibre intake from carrots, there were significant effects of processing only on the glucose response. P lasma beta-carotene levels tended to be higher postprandially with raw carrots than with microwaved ones. Hence, ordinary processing and coo king of vegetables can affect the metabolic response to a mixed meal. However, the influence seems to be varying and of minor importance in ordinary meals. Increasing vegetable portions entailing a higher solub le fibre content and a higher viscosity could further reduce the influ ence of processing.