Twelve men consumed a diet containing 34% of calories as 70% amylose or amylopectin starch to determine if the structure of starch could influence metabolic factors associated with abnormal states. Each starch was fed to subjects for 5 wk in a crossover design. No significant differences were observed in glucose or insulin levels when a glucose tolerance was given after 4 wk on each starch. However, glucose and insulin responses were significantly lower when a meal containing amylose compared with amylopectin was consumed after 5 wk on each starch. Summation of 0.5 through 2-h levels of insulin but not glucose were significantly lower after amylose compared with levels after amylopectin. Mean fasting triglyceride and cholesterol levels were significantly lower during the period when amylose was consumed. Long-term intake of dietary amylose may be valuable in decreasing insulin response while maintaining proper control of glucose tolerance and low levels of blood lipids.
Twelve women and 13 men were given meals containing cornstarch with 70% of the starch in the form of amylopectin or amylose to determine if differences in glycemic response result from different chemical structure. Blood was drawn before and 30, 60, 120, and 180 min after each meal. The meals consisted of starch crackers fed at the rate of 1 g carbohydrate from starch per kilogram body weight. The amylose meal resulted in a significantly lower glucose peak at 30 min than did the amylopectin meal. Plasma insulin response was significantly lower 30 and 60 min after amylose than after the amylopectin meal. Summed insulin above fasting was significantly lower after amylose while summed glucose was not significantly different between the two meals. The sustained plasma glucose levels after the amylose meal with reduced insulin requirement suggest amylose starch may be of potential benefit to carbohydrate-sensitive or diabetic individuals.
Twenty-four male subjects originally participated in a study to determine the effects of feeding diets comparatively low in copper (1.03 mg/day/2850 kcal) and containing either 20% fructose or starch on indices of copper status. During the course of feeding the diets for 11 wk, four of the subjects exhibited heart-related abnormalities and were removed from the study. Fructose ingestion had no effect on serum ceruloplasmin activity or serum copper concentration but did significantly reduce cuprozinc superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of erythrocytes as compared to starch. Repletion of the subjects with 3 mg copper/day for 3 wk significantly increased SOD levels in subjects previously fed fructose but not starch. Apparent copper balance was significantly greater when the subjects consumed the fructose as compared to the starch diet. These results suggest that the type of dietary carbohydrate fed can differentially affect indices of copper status in humans.
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