Insulin index
The Insulin Index is a measure used to quantify the typical insulin response to various foods. The index is similar to the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, but rather than relying on blood glucose levels, the Insulin Index is based upon blood insulin levels. This measure can be more useful than either the Glycemic Index or the Glycemic Load because certain foods (e.g., lean meats and proteins) cause an insulin response despite there being no carbohydrates present, and some foods cause a disproportionate insulin response relative to their carbohydrate load.
Holt et al. have noted that the glucose and insulin scores of most foods are highly correlated,[1] but high-protein foods and bakery products that are rich in fat and refined carbohydrates "elicit insulin responses that were disproportionately higher than their glycemic responses." They also conclude that insulin indices may be useful for dietary management and avoidance of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.
Explanation of Index [edit]
The insulin index shows how much insulin is present in people's blood as a result of a particular food, the glucose index shows how much glucose is present in the blood as a result of a particular food, and the satiety index shows how much a particular food decreases one's propensity to eat more.
Glucose (glycemic) and insulin scores were determined by feeding 1000 kilojoules (239 kilocalories) of the food to the participants and recording the area under the glucose/insulin curve for 120 minutes then dividing by the area under the glucose/insulin curve for white bread. The result being that all scores are relative to white bread. The satiety score was determined by comparing how much food was eaten by participants at a buffet after being fed a fixed number of calories of a particular food while blindfolded (to ensure food appearance was not a factor), then dividing that number by the amount eaten by participants after eating white bread. White bread serves as the baseline of 100. In other words, foods scoring higher than 100 are more satisfying than white bread and those under 100 are less satisfying.
± indicate uncertainty in the data. For example 60 ± 12 means that there's a 95% chance the score is between 60-12 (48) and 60+12 (72), 60 being the highest probability assuming a bell curve. In practice this means that if two foods have large uncertainty and have values close together then you don't really know which score is the higher.
| Food | Food Type | Glucose score | Insulin score | Satiety score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Bran | Breakfast Cereal | 40 ± 7 | 32 ± 4 | 151 |
| Porridge | Breakfast Cereal | 60 ± 12 | 40 ± 4 | 209 |
| Muesli | Breakfast Cereal | 43 ± 7 | 46 ± 5 | 100 |
| Special K | Breakfast Cereal | 70 ± 9 | 66 ± 5 | 116 |
| Honeysmacks | Breakfast Cereal | 60 ± 7 | 67 ± 6 | 132 |
| Sustain | Breakfast Cereal | 66 ± 6 | 71 ± 6 | 112 |
| Cornflakes | Breakfast Cereal | 76 ± 11 | 75 ± 8 | 118 |
| Average: | Breakfast Cereal | 59 ± 3 | 57 ± 3 | 134 |
| White bread(baseline) | Carbohydrate-rich | 100 ± 0 | 100 ± 0 | 100 |
| White Pasta | Carbohydrate-rich | 46 ± 10 | 40 ± 5 | 119 |
| Brown pasta | Carbohydrate-rich | 68 ± 10 | 40 ± 5 | 188 |
| Grain bread[n 1] | Carbohydrate-rich | 60 ± 12 | 56 ± 6 | 154 |
| Brown rice | Carbohydrate-rich | 104 ± 18 | 62 ± 11 | 132 |
| French fries | Carbohydrate-rich | 71 ± 16 | 74 ± 12 | 116 |
| White rice | Carbohydrate-rich | 110 ± 15 | 79 ± 12 | 138 |
| Whole-meal bread[n 2] | Carbohydrate-rich | 97 ± 17 | 96 ± 12 | 157 |
| Potatoes | Carbohydrate-rich | 141 ± 35 | 121 ± 11 | 323 |
| Average: | Carbohydrate-rich | 88 ± 6 | 74 ± 8 | 158.556 |
| Eggs | Protein-rich | 42 ± 16 | 31 ± 6 | 150 |
| Cheese | Protein-rich | 55 ± 18 | 45 ± 13 | 146 |
| Beef | Protein-rich | 21 ± 8 | 51 ± 16 | 176 |
| Lentils | Protein-rich | 62 ± 22 | 58 ± 12 | 133 |
| Fish | Protein-rich | 28 ± 13 | 59 ± 18 | 225 |
| Baked beans | Protein-rich | 114 ± 18 | 120 ± 19 | 168 |
| Average: | Protein-rich | 54 ± 7 | 61 ± 7 | 166.333 |
| Apples | Fruit | 50 ± 6 | 59 ± 4 | 197 |
| Oranges | Fruit | 39 ± 7 | 60 ± 3 | 202 |
| Bananas | Fruit | 79 ± 10 | 81 ± 5 | 118 |
| Grapes | Fruit | 74 ± 9 | 82 ± 6 | 162 |
| Average: | Fruit | 61 ± 5 | 71 ± 3 | 169.75 |
| Peanuts | Snack/confectionery | 12 ± 4 | 20 ± 5 | 84 |
| Popcorn | Snack/confectionery | 62 ± 16 | 54 ± 9 | 154 |
| Potato chips | Snack/confectionery | 52 ± 9 | 61 ± 14 | 91 |
| Ice cream | Snack/confectionery | 70 ± 19 | 89 ± 13 | 96 |
| Yogurt | Snack/confectionery | 62 ± 15 | 115 ± 13 | 88 |
| Mars Bars | Snack/confectionery | 79 ± 13 | 122 ± 15 | 70 |
| Jellybeans | Snack/confectionery | 118 ± 18 | 160 ± 16 | 118[n 3] |
| Average: | Snack/confectionery | 65 ± 6 | 89 ± 7 | 100.142857 |
| Doughnuts | Bakery product | 63 ± 12 | 74 ± 9 | 68 |
| Croissants | Bakery product | 74 ± 9 | 79 ± 14 | 47 |
| Cake | Bakery product | 56 ± 14 | 82 ± 12 | 65 |
| Crackers | Bakery product | 118 ± 24 | 87 ± 12 | 127 |
| Cookies | Bakery product | 74 ± 11 | 92 ± 15 | 120 |
| Average: | Bakery product | 77 ± 7 | 83 ± 5 | 85.4 |
| Average: | Average | 67.333 ± 5.667 | 72.5 ± 5.5 | 135.696958 |
| Average: | ALL | 68.8421 ± 12.7105 | 72.263158 ± 9.5 | 136.052632 |
| Food | Food Type | Glucose score | Insulin score | Satiety score |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Cousens, Gabriel (2008). There Is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21-Day+ Program. North Atlantic Books. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-55643-691-8.
- ^ a b Holt, Susanne H.A.; Brand-Miller, Janette Cecile; Petocz, Peter (November 1997). "An insulin index of foods: the insulin demand generated by 1000-kJ portions of common foods" (PDF). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66 (5): 1264–76. PMID 9356547. Lay summary – Insulin Index (2009-10-14).
- ^ a b Holt, Susanne H.A.; Brand-Miller, Janette Cecile; Petocz, Peter; Farmakalidis, E. (September 1995). "A satiety index of common foods". European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 49 (9): 675–690. PMID 7498104. Lay summary – The Satiety Index — What Really Satisfies (2005-01-10).
- Mäkeläinen H, Anttila H, Sihvonen J, et al. (June 2007). "The effect of β-glucan on the glycemic and insulin index". Eur J Clin Nutr 61 (6): 779–85. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602561. PMID 17151593.
