| High-fiber cereal cuts excess insulin
production
NEW YORK (Reuter Health) - People in danger of developing type
2 diabetes often have high levels of insulin; because they are "insulin
resistant," glucose is not processed properly and the pancreas
compensates by producing more insulin.
Now, a study in the medical journal Diabetes Care suggests that
dietary fiber might prevent so-called hyperinsulinemia -- and perhaps
help ward off full-blown diabetes.
Dr. Thomas M. S. Wolever, of the University of Toronto, Canada,
and colleagues compared the effect of high-fiber cereal versus low-fiber
cereal on glucose and insulin in 77 non-diabetic men, of whom 35
had normal fasting insulin levels while 42 had high levels.
Those with hyperinsulinemia were significantly heavier and had
large waist circumferences than the normal-insulin group. Hyperinsulinemic
men also had lower HDL ("good") cholesterol and a trend
toward higher triglyceride levels.
The participants were studied on two occasions after 10- to 14-hour
overnight fasts. The two test cereals contained the same amount
of carbohydrate but different amounts of fiber.
In both groups of men, blood glucose levels rose less after they
ate the high-fiber cereal than after the low-fiber cereal, Wolever
and colleagues report.
Also, in the hyperinsulinemic men, the high-fiber intake reduced
the rise in peak insulin compared with that seen after the low fiber
meal. In the normal insulin men, the rise in insulin after eating
was the same with both types of cereal.
While the results suggest dietary fiber helps control insulin responses,
the team concludes that longer studies "are required before
conclusions can be drawn as to whether a high-fiber breakfast cereal
has any long-term benefits for the management of insulin resistance
or obesity."
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, June 2004.
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