A recent study was conducted to investigate the effects of a conventional and an unconventional fast-food meal on postprandial (period after eating a meal) metabolism in normal and overweight subjects. Twenty-five healthy normal and overweight volunteers participated in this randomized, dietary cross-over study and received two test meals (matched in calories and calorie giving nutrients) after fasting overnight with 1 week between test days.
The conventional fast-food meal was a hamburger with bacon and a cola drink. The unconventional fast food was a salmon burger meal served on fiber rich bread, a salad with vinegar, and orange juice. Blood samples were taken before and after the meal and analyzed for glucose and insulin.
Postprandial increases in glucose and insulin were 44% lower after the unconventional meal. The difference between meals in insulin response (that is, conventional meal higher than unconventional) correlated with body mass index.
The study concluded that unconventional fast food can have less effect on blood insulin and glucose postprandial compared with conventional fast food matched in energy and energy giving nutrients. The difference between meals in insulin response is associated with higher BMI. Thus, improvement in food quality might help to control postprandial increases in blood glucose and blood insulin.
The findings of this study further support the idea that eating healthy well rounded meals can help keep blood sugars stabilized which is very important for diabetics but also for the general population. At Heal n Cure we promote a low glycemic diet. Glycemic index ranks different foods on their ability to raise blood glucose levels. This study is another example of the importance of considering the Glycemic Index of foods. A high glycemic meal (or the conventional meal tested in the study) will raise blood sugar levels more than a low glycemic meal (or the unconventional meal) even if both meals contains a similar amount of carbohydrates. Heal n Cure believes that to achieve health one must be aware of the connection between diet and blood sugar control and the implication they have on one’s well-being.
Read more at – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=22968100
