THE GLYCEMIC INDEX OF SPAGHETTI AND GASTRIC-EMPTYING IN NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETIC-PATIENTS

Objective: In the dietary treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) great interest has been focused on foods with low gly caemic indices. Spaghetti has a low glycaemic index, but in NIDDM the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. We investigated whether the low glycaemic index in spaghetti was the result of a retarded gast ric emptying. Design: Randomized study. Setting: Department of Endocri nology & Metabolism, Aarhus County Hospital. Subjects: Eight NIDDM in- patients participated without drop-outs. Interventions: Paracetamol wa s used as a marker of the gastric emptying. On three different occasio ns the patients ingested 40 g of carbohydrate as: (1) spaghetti withou t paracetamol, (2) spaghetti containing 1.5 g paracetamol, and (3) mas hed potatoes with 1.5 g paracetamol added. During the 4 h observation periods blood samples were drawn frequently. The spaghettis were indus trially manufactured. Results: The spaghetti meals induced similar glu cose and insulin responses. The potatoe meal induced significantly hig her glucose and paracetamol areas [607 +/- 108 vs 284 +/- 54 mmol/l24 0 min (P = 0.02), and 18 668 +/- 999 vs 4979 +/- 369 mumol/1240 min ( P < 0.02)] as well as lower emptying index (time(peak)/peak concentrat ion ratio of paracetamol) [2.1 +/- 0.3 vs 0.4 +/- 0.1 (P = 0.001)], as compared with the spaghetti meal. Conclusions: This study shows that the ingestion of spaghetti was associated with a slower gastrointestin al accessibility of the carbohydrates, which accounts for the low glyc aemic index of spaghetti in NIDDM subjects.