The glycaemic 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 glycaemic 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 gastric emptying.

METHODS

Randomized study.

METHODS

Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Aarhus County Hospital.

METHODS

Eight NIDDM in-patients participated without drop-outs.

METHODS

Paracetamol was used as a marker of the gastric emptying. On three different occasions the patients ingested 40 g of carbohydrate as: (1) spaghetti without paracetamol, (2) spaghetti containing 1.5 g paracetamol, and (3) mashed potatoes with 1.5 g paracetamol added. During the 4 h observation periods blood samples were drawn frequently. The spaghettis were industrially manufactured.

RESULTS

The spaghetti meals induced similar glucose and insulin responses. The potato meal induced significantly higher glucose and paracetamol areas [607 +/- 108 vs 284 +/- 54 mmol/l*240 min (P = 0.02), and 18,668 +/- 999 vs 4979 +/- 369 mumol/l*240 min (P < 0.02)] as well as lower emptying index (time(peak)/peak concentration 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 gastrointestinal accessibility of the carbohydrates, which accounts for the low glycaemic index of spaghetti in NIDDM subjects.