Posted on 12/16/2008 6:22:00 PM PST by neverdem
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For people who have type 2 diabetes, a low-glycemic index diet is significantly better than a high-fiber diet for keeping blood glucose levels down, researchers report
Glycemic index, or GI, refers to how rapidly a food causes blood sugar to rise. High-GI foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to spur a quick surge in blood sugar, while low-GI foods, such as lentils, soybeans, yogurt and many high-fiber grains, produce a more gradual increase in blood sugar.
The current study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association involved 210 individuals with type 2 diabetes treated with anti-diabetes medications who were randomly allocated to go on to either a low-GI diet or a high-fiber diet for 6 months. The main outcome measured was the change in (hemoglobin)A1C in the blood, which reflects glucose levels over the long term.
(Hemoglobin)A1C fell 0.50 percent on the low-GI diet compared with only 0.18 percent on the high-fiber diet, Dr. David J. A. Jenkins, from the University of Toronto, and co-researchers report.
Furthermore, levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol levels rose with the low-GI diet but they fell with the high-fiber diet...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Dietary Interventions
General dietary advice conformed to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III26 and the American Diabetes Association27 guidelines to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol intakes. Most of the participants were overweight (179/210 [85.2%], with body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared] of 25) or obese (113/210 [53.8%], BMI 30) and wished to lose weight. They were informed that this was not a weight-loss study but appropriate advice was given on portion size and fat intake to help them meet their body weight objectives. Participants were also provided with a checklist with either low–glycemic index or high–cereal fiber food options from different categories (breakfast cereals, breads, vegetables, fruit) as approximately 15-g carbohydrate servings. The number of carbohydrate servings prescribed covered 42% to 43% of total dietary calories.
In the low–glycemic index diet, the following foods were emphasized: low–glycemic index breads (including pumpernickel, rye pita, and quinoa and flaxseed) and breakfast cereals (including Red River Cereal [hot cereal made of bulgur and flax], large flake oatmeal, oat bran, and Bran Buds [ready-to-eat cereal made of wheat bran and psyllium fiber]), pasta, parboiled rice, beans, peas, lentils, and nuts (Table 1). In the high–cereal fiber diet, participants were advised to take the "brown" option (whole grain breads; whole grain breakfast cereals; brown rice; potatoes with skins; and whole wheat bread, crackers, and breakfast cereals) (Table 1). Six servings were prescribed for a 1500-kcal diet, 8 servings for a 2000-kcal diet, and 10 servings for a 2500-kcal diet. Detailed advice was also given to avoid starchy foods not directly recommended as part of the treatment, including those foods advised in the alternative treatment.
In both diets, participants were specifically advised to avoid foods such as pancakes, muffins, donuts, white buns, bagels, rolls, cookies, cakes, popcorn, french fries, and chips. Three servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables were encouraged on both treatments. In the low–glycemic index diet, temperate fruit was the focus, including apples, pears, oranges, peaches, cherries, and berries; and in the high–cereal fiber diet, tropical fruit, such as bananas, mangos, guavas, grapes, raisins, watermelon, and cantaloupe, were emphasized. Participants were also advised against eating fruit recommended in the alternative treatment.
Checklists were completed by participants on a daily basis throughout the study and 7-day diet records were completed before each visit. Participants were instructed on how to record using food models as examples of portion size and were asked to give actual weights or to express the amounts in terms of common measures, including cups, teaspoons, and dessert spoons. Adherence was assessed from the 7-day diet records. The daily checklists were of value in alerting the dietitian to problems with adherence to the diet plan over the month before center attendance. The overall goal was to achieve a 10% to 20% reduction in glycemic index on the low–glycemic index diet while keeping dietary fiber similar between treatments.
Table 1. Example Diets Based on 2000 Kilocalories
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I got a question for those who are familiar with Diabetes... is Stevia ok for those with Diabetes? I don’t have it but I use it for sweetening my dishes instead of using refined sugars or artificial sweeteners...
If you get overwhelmed with urges go to a nearby doughnut factory and stand down-wind. You'll get over it.
Eventually things you never thought of as sweet will taste sweet and you will find your world filled with sweetness, and all without sugar or fruit or candy or sugar beats or.... lots of stuff.
Doing this is kind of like quitting cigarettes cold turkey 25 or 30 times.
“If you get overwhelmed with urges go to a nearby doughnut factory and stand down-wind. You’ll get over it.”
LOL.... I am a retired LEO, there is no way I could subject myself to such torture.
I hear it both ways... but I’m a little suspicious of the sugar and artificial sugar industry... they have most to lose...
Please put me on the ping list as I have recently been diagnosed with diabetes.
I use Stevia with (almost) no problems. It is VERY VERY SWEET. It also has a very slight “off” taste, but that is not a big deal. To give you an idea of the sweetness, with the liquid extract 1 drop = 1 teaspoon sugar.
As a type 2 diabetic, stevia has no effect on my blood glucose levels at all.
Your mileage may vary
batteries not included
Just a bit embarassed here. Having been in FR for as long or longer than most I still don’t have a clue what being on a ping list means. Asked once and got a meaningless answer.
Can I try one more time? What does being on a ping list mean?
Oh, and I’d like to be on your diabetes ping list if it doesn’t mean that my machine won’t explode or some such. I was diagnosed 3/06. Had my A1G (or whatever) tested yesterday and it was 6.3. Thought it was high but they said fine.
When I stay on my diet, my blood sugar is very good. My basic diet is Eggs and oatmeal in the morning (no milk or sugar, just cranberries), Meat and salad plus fruit for lunch, and meat and salad and veggies for dinner. When I am on this, my wake up BL is at 90-110 every morning and it rarely goes above 160 after eating. If I go off the diet, well, it’s not pretty. I’ve lost 15 pounds in the last 4 months on this diet.
I use Glipicide and Metforman.
A ping list is where you will be notified whenever something of this nature comes up.
A1c of 6.3 is good. Mine was 7.3 when last tested.
I’ve been using Splenda for some time. I wonder what the difference in Stevia and Splenda might be. I’ve heard that Splenda had some thing in it that wasn’t too good for us. I border on sweets addiction.
I think my blood sugar may get low at times and my body is telling me I need sugar. Is that possible?
I guess I should get on the list, also. I was just diagnosed with type II last month. A1C was 9.5%. I have a lot to learn.
What’s supposed to be wrong with Splenda? I just started using it in coffee instead of sugar.
It's a list of screen names of FReepers who are interested in various topics. See my homepage. Theres's a bunch. Some are for states, others for various categories. I'll add you to the diabetes list.
I was hoping someone could tell me.
That was all I was told by a friend. She couldn’t remember where she got the info or just what the info was. I’m still looking.
Probably something the sugar people (or Stevia people) put out. Who knows?
I’m not diabetic but I like to follow the diabetic diet.
How could one go wrong in that?
P.S. I’ve been using Splenda for a very long time and have no problems so I wouldn’t worry.
Look up symptoms of hypoglycemia, i.e. low blood glucose. You'll remember it better.
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