EVALUATION OF A SNACK BAR CONTAINING UNCOOKED CORNSTARCH IN SUBJECTS WITH DIABETES

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a snack bar containing uncooked cornstarch, equivalent to 1 1/2 starch/bread exch anges (bar 1), compared to a central bar (bar 2), on the incidence of nocturnal and morning hypoglycemia in subjects with diabetes. Adolesce nt campers and counselors with diabetes (n = 79) were randomly assigne d to Group A (5 nights of snack bar 1 as the evening snack, followed b y 5 nights of snack bar 2) or Group B (5 nights of snack bar 2 as the evening snack, followed by 5 nights of snack bar 1). Midnight and morn ing finger stick blood glucose levels were compared to determine the i ncidence of hypoglycemia (< 60 mg/dl) and hyperglycemia (>250 mg/dl), and events were analyzed for the total cohort, Group A; and Group B an d by glycated hemoglobin quartile to determine the effect of each bar on glycemia. For subjects with diabetes there was a significant decrea se in the number of hypoglycemic episodes with bar 1 compared to bar 2 at midnight (total cohort and Groups A and B) and in the morning (tot al cohort and Group A). There was a significant decrease in the number of subjects to ever experience hypoglycemia with snack bar 1 compared to snack bar 2, a significantly lower incidence oi hyperglycemic epis odes at midnight with snack bar 1, and no difference in the incidende of hypoglycemia by glycated hemoglobin quartile. These data suggest th at the snack bar containing uncooked cornstarch can diminish night tim e and morning hypoglycemia in subjects with diabetes, without causing hyperglycemia. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.