Differential Serving Sizes of High β Glucan Oatmeal Elicit Lower Glycemic Response than Rice Cereal

Abstract

To determine impact of serving size and cereal type along with addition of sugar on the glycemic response (GLR) elicited by oatmeal, we compared the GLR over 2 hr elicited by 30, 40 and 60g high β glucan (5.2%) Classic Quaker Quick Oats (18, 24 and 36g available carbohydrate (CHO), respectively) and by 30g Oats plus 9g sugar (sucrose) with those after available CHO matched portions (22, 29, 44 and 33g, respectively) of Cream of Rice cereal (Control) in 38 healthy subjects (mean±SD age 40±12 yr, BMI 26.4±3.6 kg/m²).As serving size increased, incremental area under the curve (AUC), peak rise (PR), rate of decline (RD) and time to baseline (Tb) for blood glucose increased significantly for both cereals.Time to peak (Tp) tended to increase with serving size (significant only for Oats).Overall mean AUC, PR and RD, respectively for oats without sugar were 24%, 25%and 24% less than those after Control (all p<0.05). The GLR after Oats plus sugar was compared to that after 33g Control without sugar (both test meals contained 27g available CHO). After Oats plus sugar AUC, PR and RD were significantly lower than after 33g Control without sugar by 29%, 15% and 23%, respectively.It is concluded that high β glucan Oatmeal elicits a lower glycemic response than Cream of Rice cereal. Measures of GLR tended to increase with increased serving size but the rate of change of some of the measures varied for the different cereals. Adding sugar to Oatmeal elicits a significantly lower GLR than a serving of Cream of Rice cereal containing the same amount of available carbohydrate.