Milling & Baking News - June 25, 2013 - 28

Food Ingredient Solutions® 

Analyzing the
credibility of the
glycemic index

or those in the grain-based foods industry seeking to understand the credibility of the glycemic
index, they are not alone. Governments and scientists are investigating the issue, too.
On June 10, an international committee of nutrition scientists from 10 countries released a scientific consensus statement while meeting in Italy.
The committee recommended the inclusion of glycemic index and glycemic load in national dietary
guidelines and food composition tables and the
consideration of packaging labels and symbols on
low-G.I. foods. The committee, led by glycemic index advocates, concluded there is convincing evidence from a large body of research that low-glycemic index/glycemic load diets reduce the risk of
type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, help
control blood glucose in people with diabetes, and
may help with weight management.
Committee chairmen were David J.A. Jenkins,
M.D., a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at the University
of Toronto, and Walter C. Willett, M.D., a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of
Public Health in Boston. Dr. Jenkins was involved
in the origination of the glycemic index concept.
Health Canada will not include the glycemic
index in its dietary guidelines, according to an
article appearing on-line June 12 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Health Canada’s current position is that the
inclusion of the G.I. value on the label of eligible
food products would be misleading and would
not add value to nutrition labeling and dietary
guidelines in assisting consumers to make
healthier food choices,” Health Canada said in
the article.
Health Canada pointed to three areas of concern with G.I. labeling. For one, the G.I. measure
has poor accuracy and precision for labeling purposes. For the second concern, as a ratio, the G.I.
does not vary in response to how much food is
consumed. Finally, Health Canada is concerned
that an unintended focus on the G.I. for food selection may lead to food choices that are inconsistent with national dietary guidelines.
Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D., distinguished scholar
and professor emerita with St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn., said many factors may affect the glycemic index of a food product. She
mentioned milling as one factor and the amount
of cooking and cooling, fat, fructose and fiber as
others. The amount of chewing, whether a food
is eaten hot or cold and the baseline glucose of
the person consuming the food are other factors.
“There are millions of factors, which is another
reason why values in the tables are not appropriate,” Dr. Jones said. MBN
28 / June 25, 2013 Milling & Baking News

an extruder, may affect their glycemic
index negatively, Mr. Best said. Processing may make the nutrients in the
pulses more exposed to the human
digestive system, which means the
nutrients may digest quicker and increase the glycemic index.
Katherine Corbett, director of business development for the Glycemic Index Laboratories, Toronto, said, “The
more finely milled or ground the food
is, the more easily digested the food is
(and therefore, generally, the higher
the G.I.) That is why the seedy, whole
grain breads are generally lower G.I.
than the white breads, for example.”
Processing a grain may remove fiber,
said Don Verlhurst, M.D., chief science
officer for InBalance Health Corp., a
company based in Wayland, Minn., that
provides doctor-formulated food bar
and supplement solutions for people
who have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
“If you remove fiber, you automatically

compared to the maltodextrin group.
Sensus America, Inc., Lawrenceville,
N.J., offers Frutafit and Frutalose, which
are non-digestible carbohydrates featuring inulin sourced from chicory root
fiber.
“Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the term glycemic index
through various diet programs and
the prevalence of diabetes,” said Scott
Turowski, technical sales, East coast for
Sensus America. “However, it would
be fair to say that most consumers do
not truly understand it yet. The concept
of sustained energy seems to be an easier way to communicate the benefit of
low G.I. products to consumers.”
Cargill, another inulin supplier, offers
Oliggo-Fiber. Beneo offers Synergy1, an
inulin enriched with oligofructose.
Taiyo International, Inc., Minneapolis, offers Sunfiber, a partially hydrolyzed guar gum and source of soluble
fiber. Fibers in general lower blood

Glycemic index scores
A look at glycemic index scores for several foods and ingredients. The lower the glycemic index
for a food or ingredient, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels:
Food/ingredient
Glycemic Index
Glucose
100
White rice, average
89
Boiled white potato, average
82
Pizza, plain baked dough,
served with Parmesan cheese
and tomato sauce
80
Graham crackers
74
Bagel, white, frozen
72
Whole wheat bread, average
71
White bread
71
Sweet potato, average
70
Raisins
64
Hamburger bun
61
Honey, average
61
Ice cream, regular
57
Oatmeal, average
55
Microwave popcorn, plain, average 55
Quinoa
53

Food/ingredient
Glycemic Index
Corn tortilla
52
Potato chips, average
51
Green peas, average
51
Orange juice, unsweetened
50
Macaroni, average
47
Spaghetti, white, boiled, average 46
Corn chips, plain, salted, average 42
Milk, full fat
41
Apple, average
39
Carrots, average
35
Milk, skim
32
Wheat tortilla
30
Black beans
30
Lentils, average
29
Soybeans, average
15
Chickpeas, average
10
Peanuts, average
7

Source: “International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008” in the
December 2008 issue of Diabetes Care

increase glycemic index,” Dr. Verlhurst said.
Another fiber source, inulin, was
the focus of a study appearing on-line
April 16 of this year in Diabetes & Metabolism Journal. Researchers at the Tabris University of Medical Sciences in
Tabriz, Iran, divided 49 women with
type 2 diabetes into two groups. One
group received 10 grams of inulin a
day and one group received maltodextrin. After two months, the inulin
group saw significant decreases in
such areas as fasting plasma glucose
and glycosylated hemoglobin when

sugar levels, but the mechanism of
action is different between soluble and
insoluble fibers, according to Taiyo
International. Insoluble fibers exhibit
bulking effects and thereby act as an appetite suppressant to reduce the starch
intake and glucose absorption. Soluble
fibers dissolve and form a thin layer on
the starch to slow down its digestion.
Ingredion, Inc., Westchester, Ill., offers
Hi-Maize resistant starch, a form of dietary fiber. Twenty-one clinical studies
found at the www.resistantstarch.com
web site show how it reduces the postprandial glycemic response of foods
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.resistantstarch.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - June 25, 2013

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