Glycemic response to pasta: effect of surface area, degree of cooking, and protein enrichment.

To see whether food form, the degree of cooking, or protein enrichment affected the glycemic response to pasta, we gave test-meal breakfasts to 13 diabetic patients. Macaroni had a significantly greater glycemic index (GI) (68 +/- 8) than spaghetti (45 +/- 6, P less than .01); the GI of star pastina was intermediate (54 +/- 6). The GI of spaghetti was not significantly affected by cooking for 5 or 15 min (45 +/- 6 and 46 +/- 5, respectively), or by protein enrichment (38 +/- 4). The GI of spaghetti was similar in 11 non-insulin-dependent and 6 insulin-dependent diabetic patients (49 +/- 7 compared with 57 +/- 8). We conclude that different types of pasta may produce different glycemic responses but that these are not necessarily related to differences in cooking or surface area.