Mikael Nilsson

Glucose and insulin responses to porridge and gruel meals intended for infants

Objective:The objective was to determine the glycaemic index (GI) and insulinaemic index (II) of some common products intended for infants; that is, three commercial porridges and one gruel. Also, the influence of added fruit components to porridge on postprandial metabolic responses was studied by comparing corresponding data with a matched model product without fruit.Design:The volunteers were served the test products in random order following an overnight fast. A white bread was included as a reference product. Capillary blood samples were collected before and during 3 h after the meals.Setting:The study was performed at the Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University, Sweden.Subjects:A total of 10 healthy volunteers, six men and four women, aged 24–41 y, with normal body mass indices, were recruited.Results:The GIs (67–75) of the commercial porridges and gruel were significantly lower than for the white bread reference (P<0.05). In contrast, the GI (79) of the model product (porridge without fruit) could not be distinguished from the reference. The IIs (112–149) for the commercial products and model products, respectively, were not significantly different from the reference.Conclusions:The commercial porridges and gruel gave unexpectedly low GIs. In contrast, high IIs were noted. The inconsistency between GI and II could probably be explained by the insulinotrophic effect of the milk component in the products. The fruit and fruit juice added to some of the products had only minor effect on postprandial glycaemia.Sponsorship:The Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research.