Dose-dependency of the glycemic response to starch-rich meals in non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects: studies with varying amounts of white rice.

The study objective was to determine the dose-response relationships between postprandial blood glucose, insulin, and glucagon responses and the amount of starch ingested in non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) subjects. Three test meals were served in random order with a 7-day interval. Mixed meals of 23, 46, and 69 g (raw weight) parboiled white rice containing approximately 20, 40, and 60 g available carbohydrate were served cooked with 167 g meat sauce on 3 separate days. Patients ingested the meals after a 12-hour fast. Clear-cut dose-response relationships between the amount of starch ingested and postprandial peak blood glucose values (R = .99), glucose response areas (R = .99), and insulin response areas (R = .98) were found. Glucose response areas to meals of 20, 40, and 60 g carbohydrate as white rice differed significantly (P < .05) at 139 +/- 58, 285 +/- 86, and 453 +/- 113 mmol/L x 280 min, respectively. Insulin response areas to meals of 23 g rice (11.382 +/- 2,220 pmol/L x 240 min) were significantly lower compared with response areas to 46 g rice (18.138 +/- 3,522 pmol/L x 240 min) and 69 g rice (21.312 +/- 2,970 pmol/L x 240 min), with the latter two values being similar. Glucagon response areas showed an inverse pattern to glucose response areas, reaching 3,450 +/- 823, 2,715 +/- 651, and 2,168 +/- 553 pmol/L x 240 min, but differences did not reach statistical significance.