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Health News Archive 490 - Diabetes
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Beta-Glucan Reduces Insulin Response After Eating

Consuming foods containing beta-glucan reduces the insulin and glucose response after a meal, thereby easing a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, says a new study.  Lead researcher Dr. Kevin Maki said that such a reduced response may translate into the blood pressure reduction observed in the obese/ high-BMI people participating in the study.

Dr. Maki, wrote in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: “The results of the present trial suggest beneficial effects of foods containing beta-glucan from oats on carbohydrate metabolism, and on blood pressure in obese subjects.”

Beta-glucan, a non-starch polysaccharide found in oats, has been the subject of increasing attention with some reports showing the soluble fiber can decrease LDL-C levels.

The new study, funded by the Quaker Oats Company, focused on 97 men and women with systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure of 130–179 mmHg and 85–109 mmHg, respectively. The average age of the subjects was 60 and the average BMI was 32.4 kg per sq. m.  The subjects were randomly assigned to eat foods containing 8 gm/day oat beta-glucan or control foods (maltodextrin) for 12 weeks in a double-blind, controlled design.

The researchers found that by the end of 12 weeks, insulin levels after eating decreased by as much as 10% in the beta-glucan group, and increased an average of 5% in the control group. Blood pressure was not changed significantly for the study population, they added. “However, in subjects with body mass index above the median (31.5 kg/m2), both systolic (8.3 mmHg) and diastolic (3.9 mmHg) blood pressures were lowered in the beta-glucan group compared to controls,” they said.

This is not the first time that blood pressure reductions have been reported following consumption of beta-glucan-containing foods. A pilot study from 2002 by Joseph Keenan at the University of Minnesota reported that daily consumption of an oat cereal containing 5.5 grams per day of beta-glucan led to systolic and diastolic blood pressure reduction of 7.5 and 5.5 mmHg, respectively in moderately hypertensive men and women with high insulin levels (Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 51, p. 369).

“Additional research is needed to test [that alterations in carbohydrate homeostasis may have played a role] and define the mechansisms by which repeated consumption of viscous soluble fiber enhances the blunting of postprandial insulin response,” concluded the researchers.

Dr. Maki confirmed that research was continuing in this area with future focus likely to be on longer-term studies with people with documented insulin resistance.

Source: K.C. Maki, R. Galant, P. Samuel, J. Tesser, M.S. Witchger, J.D. Ribaya-Mercado, J.B. Blumberg and J. Geohas. Effects of consuming foods containing oat beta-glucan on blood pressure, carbohydrate metabolism and biomarkers of oxidative stress in men and women with elevated blood pressure. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Published on-line ahead of print, doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602562

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