DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF UNSATURATED OILS AND BUTTER ON BLOOD-GLUCOSE AND INSULIN-RESPONSE TO CARBOHYDRATE IN NORMAL VOLUNTEERS

Plasma glucose and insulin responses were monitored in normal voluntee rs after a standard carbohydrate meal with unsaturated oils (olive and corn oil, in identical volumes) or butter. Both unsaturated oils almo st totally blunted the glycaemic response; butter, instead, only delay ed the plasma glucose rise, without significantly changing the area un der the curve. The insulin rise was essentially unaffected by the thre e experimental meals, only a slight delay in the peak being observed w ith no differences between unsaturated oils and butter. These findings support previous data indicating reduced glucose levels after prolong ed administration of olive oil, and reduced glycaemic response, in the absence of clear-cut insulin changes, differentiates unsaturated oils from indigestible fibres; it may be linked to an altered polysacchari de handling at the intestinal level.