Postprandila glycaemia and rise in serum insulin after carbohydrate-containing meals were reduced by the addition of guar flour or pectin, or both. After a liquid test meal (four subjects) the 30-min blood glucose was reduced from 6.33 +/- 0.19 mmol/litre (114 +/- mg/dl), mean +/- SEM, in the control subjects of 4.77 +/- 0.17 mmol/litre (86 +/- 3 mg/dl) by addition of guar gum (P less than 0.05). The mean insulin level was also significantly lower at 15 min. A breakfast test meal (bread, butter, marmalade, and tea) resulted in a mean 15-min blood glucose of 6.18 +/- 0.21 mmol/litre (111 +/- 4 mg/dl) in eight subjects; 10 g of pectin added to the marmalade reduced this level to 5.64 +/- 0.17 mmol/litre (102 +/- 3 mg/dl) (P less than 0.01). The insulin levels were significantly lower at 15, 30, and 45 min. A similar meal in which guar was added to the bread and pectin to the marmalade resulted in significant reductions of blood glucose at 15 min (P less than 0.002) and 30 min (P less than 0.01). The insulin values were also significantly lower throughout the first 90 min of the test. This action of unavailable carbohydrate may prove useful in the dietary control of diabetes.
Intestinal calcium absorption from milk containing lactose (+) and from another containing glucose (-) was studied in eight patients with normal lactase (NL) and seven lactase-deficient (LD) subjects to determine if lactase deficiency is implicated in Ca absorption. The results were compared with data obtained from Ca ingestion in a water solution. Ca absorption was measured by a double-isotope technique and the kinetic indices were obtained by a deconvolution method. With (-), Ca absorption was identical in NL and LD subjects and slightly higher than with water solution (15%, NS). With (+), Ca absorption in NL subjects was identical with that from water solution; in LD subjects it increased (23%, p less than 0.02). These data indicate that: Ca is absorbed equally well from milk as from water solution; (+) favors Ca absorption in LD subjects, which suggests that milk ingestion might be encouraged in LD subjects to avoid Ca deficiency; and (-) should be a valuable alternative for lactose-intolerant patients.
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