Assessment of Different Commercially Available Breads and Its Effect on Blood Glucose Levels of Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Background: Bread is one of the most commonly used breakfast food in India. The consumption also increased tremendously among children and adolescents as well as to some extent among adults. It was found that white bread raises the blood glucose levels and is not considered to be a healthy breakfast option especially for those with diabetes mellitus and those at risk of increased or borderline glucose intolerance. Aim: To assess different commercially available bread and its effect on Blood Glucose Levels of Healthy Individuals. Study Design: 5 bread varieties were chosen (namely White, Brown, Multigrain, Oats and Tutty fruity bread). The samples were fed to 30 subjects and their effect on blood glucose was analysed. Place of Study: The study was conducted in BMN College of Home Science, Matunga, Mumbai, India. Methodology: A pilot study was conducted on 30 samples to assess the Blood Glucose Levels of each type of bread. The subjects were then given bread-butter and the blood glucose response was re-tested at gap of 1 hour and 2 hour respectively. Each subject was given 5 different varieties of bread for 5 consecutive days i.e. White bread, Brown bread, Multigrain bread, Tutty Fruity bread and Oats bread. White bread is a universal standard, was used as a standard in the study.  The average plasma glucose levels were analysed in the study. Results: The average plasma glucose spike of the standard (White bread) was found to be the highest i.e (131.63 mg/dl).  It was observed that oats bread was found to have the lowest spike post 1 hour (103.43mg/dl) while tutty fruity bread exhibited a very high blood glucose response (123.90mg/dl) following the standard white bread. Conclusion: Investigations proved that oats bread should be consumed by people to mitigate metabolic syndrome due to a stressful lifestyle. Also, a healthy diet and exercise regime to be followed by subjects in the study.