Weekly Diabetes Article from NOW Foods

[Guest guest]

DIABETES & BLOOD SUGAR - NEWS from NOW

July 16, 2004

FIBER MAY HELP TREAT DIABETES BUT NOT PREVENT IT

Printable Version

DIABETES & BLOOD SUGAR Article Archive

By Greg Arnold, June 22, 2004, Abstracted from " High-Fiber Cereal Reduces

Postprandial Insulin Responses in Hyperinsulemic but not Normoinsulinemic

Subjects " in Diabetes Care 2004; 27: 1281-1285

For type 2 Diabetics, nutritional adjustments are mandatory for effective

management. Adjunctive therapies from the prescription drug Glucophage1 to

nutritional supplements such as chromium2 and vanadium,3 the prognosis is

encouraging for Type 2 diabetics. Chromium has even shown promise as an

antioxidant,4

helping immune-suppressed type 2 diabetics ward off infection. As for fiber, a

new study has also shed more light on the role it can play in helping type 2

diabetics manage their blood sugar by controlling the carbohydrate hormone in

the body, insulin.

In a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers studied 77

subjects, 42 with high levels of insulin and 35 with normal levels of insulin

and had them fast for 10 to 14 hours. After the fast, they were given 25

grams of carbohydrate in either high-fiber or low-fiber cereal. The researchers

then measured their insulin levels every two hours after eating the

carbohydrate.

In all 77 subjects, glucose levels after the high-fiber cereal was

" significantly lower " than after the low-fiber cereal. However, only the

hyperinsulinemic subjects had " significantly lower " insulin levels after

consuming the

high-fiber versus the low-fiber cereal, whereas the normoinsulinemic subjects

had

comparable insulin levels. This study reinforces the problem of not having a

separate glycemic and insulinemic index,5 since lowering one parameter does not

always correlate with lowering the other.

But the important conclusion from this study is that fiber lowered high

insulin levels, which may be more important than lowering glucose levels.

Insulin,

being an anabolic hormone, has more wide-ranging effects in the body,

including influencing immune system function6 and skeletal muscle function,7

than

glucose levels do.

The only drawback concerning the aforementioned therapies above is some

treatments, including fiber and chromium, have proven inconclusive in helping

prevent type 2 diabetes.8 Although prevention is paramount, effective nutrition

treatment options for those with type 2 diabetes seems to be very encouraging.

References:

1 Setter SM. Metformin hydrochloride in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

mellitus: a clinical review with a focus on dual therapy. Clinical Therapeutics

2003; 25(12): 2991-3026

2 Ryna GJ. Chromium as adjunctive treatment for type 2 diabetes. ls of

Pharmacotherapy 2003; 37(6): 876-85

3 Sakurai H. A new concept: the use of vanadium complexes in the treatment of

diabetes mellitus. The Chemical Record 2002; 2(4): 237-48

4 RA. Potential antioxidant effects of zinc and chromium

supplementation in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of the American

College

of Nutrition 2001; 20(3): 212-8

5 F Xavier Pi-Sunyer. Glycemic index and disease. American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition 2002; 76: 290S - 298

6 Van Buul-Offers SC. The role of growth hormone and insulin-like growth

factors in the immune system. Cellular and Molecular Life Science 1998; 54(10):

1083-94. Review

7 Pereira LO. Effect of insulin and contraction up on glucose transport in

skeletal muscle. Prog Biophys Mol Biology 2004; 84(1): 1-27

8 Althuis MD. Glucose and insulin responses to dietary chromium supplements:

a meta-analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002 Jul; 76(1):

148-55.