Glycemic responses to foods: possible differences between insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetics.

The effect on the blood glucose response of varying the amount (25 or 50 g) and type (bread or beans) of carbohydrate (CH2O) in test meals and of adding fat and protein was examined in a group of insulin dependent and noninsulin dependent diabetic volunteers. With noninsulin-dependent diabetics, the blood glucose area after a half bread portion was 48% that of the full bread meal (p less than 0.001). White pea beans (50 g CH2O) gave a blood glucose response of 41 +/- 5% (p less than 0.001) that of bread (50 g CH2O). A combined meal of bread (25 g CH2O) and beans (25 g CH2O) gave a blood glucose response of 60 +/- 8% of the full bread meal (p less than 0.005) and similar to that expected. Addition to bread of butter and skim milk cheese either singly or in combination had little effect on the glycemic response although a reduced rise was seen after addition of fat and protein as peanut butter. Insulin-dependent diabetics tended to respond similarly to noninsulin-dependent diabetics but their greater variability indicates that other factors in addition to the nature of the food may also be major determinants of their glycemic responses to foods.