Guar Sprinkled on Food: Effect on Glycaemic Control, Plasma Lipids and Gut Hormones in Non‐insulin Dependent Diabetic Patients

Abstract

The effects of guar granules sprinkled over food on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were studied in a double-blind cross-over trial in 18 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (mean +/- SEM age 61.3 +/- 2.5 years). Five-gram guar granules (Guarem, Rybar Laboratories, Amersham, Bucks) were sprinkled over food at each main meal for 4 weeks, and during a 4-week placebo period (separated by a 2-week 'wash-out' period), 5 g wheat bran was taken in the same way. Diabetic treatment was not changed during the study. Mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1) concentration after treatment were significantly lower than after the placebo period (FPG 8.29 +/- 0.47 vs 8.78 +/- 0.53 mmol/l, p less than 0.05; HbA1: 8.70 +/- 0.39 vs 9.09 +/- 0.39%, p less than 0.05). There was a 50% reduction in the incremental area under the postprandial glycaemic curve when guar was eaten with a standardized test meal. Total plasma cholesterol decreased from 5.79 +/- 0.29 to 5.19 +/- 0.22 mmol/l (p less than 0.05) after the guar treatment period. Guar ingestion reduced postprandial insulin and enteroglucagon responses, the latter significantly so, but had no apparent effect on gastric inhibitory polypeptide, pancreatic glucagon, gastrin, and pancreatic polypeptide.

Impact of sugar beet pectin and polydextrose on fasting and postprandial glycemia and fasting concentrations of serum total and lipoprotein lipids in middle-aged subjects with abnormal glucose metabolism

“…In previous studies, guar gum (Aro et al, 1981;Fuessl et al, 1987;Groop et al, 1993) as well as other sources of soluble fiber (Vuksan et al, 1999;Chandalia et al, 2000;Pins et al, 2002) have been reported to result in either a significant or a nonsignificant decrease in blood or plasma glucose concentrations. There were no significant differences in GHbA1c between the groups.…”

“…Increased intake of soluble fiber has been found to improve glucose homeostasis and postprandial glucose metabolism (Fuessl et al, 1987;Groop et al, 1993). Guar gum is the most widely studied form of soluble fiber.…”

“…Intake of soluble fiber has been shown to improve postprandial glucose metabolism, and guar gum, a soluble fiber, has been shown to improve glucose concentrations in DM2 patients (Aro et al, 1981;Fuessl et al, 1987;Groop et al, 1993).…”

Therapeutic effects of psyllium in type 2 diabetic patients

“…Several authors report no modifications in glycaemia or a modest improvement of glycaemic control (Botha et al, 1981;Carroll et al, 1981;Lim et al, 1990;Stahl & Berger, 1990), while others indicate significant decreases (Smith & Holm, 1982;Fuessl et al, 1987;Chuang et al, 1992;Fairchild et al, 1996;Gatenby et al, 1996;Brenelli et al, 1997), some of them similar to the value indicated in this paper (10.1%, Chuang et al, 1992a, b) and others higher (50%, Fuessl et al, 1987;35%, Brenelli et al, 1997).…”

Guar Gum in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Double-Blind Crossover, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Saudi Arabian Patients

“…Several later studies showed that guar gum improves both glycemic and blood lipid levels in diabetes. 10,11,[13][14][15][16] Guar is a non-cellulose, soluble dietary fiber that is extracted from the cluster bean. The most effective mode of guar administration is to mix it with food.…”