Relationship between rate of digestion of foods and post-prandial glycaemia.

The amount of carbohydrate released at 1 and 5 h by digestion in vitro of 2 g carbohydrate portions of 14 foods by human digestive juices was compared with the area under the 2-h blood glucose response curve when 50 g carbohydrate portions were fed to groups of five to ten healthy volunteers. A significant relationship was found between the amounts of sugars and oligosaccharides liberated at 1 and 5 h and the food blood glucose area expressed as a percentage of the blood glucose area for 50 g glucose (r = 0.8627 and 0.8618, p less than 0.001). A significant relationship was also found between the glycaemic index and the food fibre content (p less than 0.02) and between the glycaemic index and the glucose trapping capacity of the foods (p less than 0.05). Legumes as a group liberated 56% less sugars and oligosaccharides (p less than 0.01) than the eight cereal foods over 5 h. It is suggested that such studies in vitro may help to identify food of use for diabetic patients, and at the same time throw further light on factors which affect post-prandial glycaemia.