Determination of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Indigenous Cereal Products of Pakistan.

Background: Glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are important dietary gears for managing diabetes and reducing chronic disease risk.

Objective: The objective of study was to prepare glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) table, for the first time, of 50 indigenous cereal-based products of Pakistan.

Methodology: Test foods were categorized into 6 categories: bread, rice, porridges, biscuits, snacks, and desserts. Every food product, 50 g of available carbohydrates, was tested on at least 10 healthy participants and blood glucose level was determined at set intervals through the finger-prick method. Glucose and white bread were used as reference foods. The GI and GL values were calculated from the incremental area under the curve (IAUC) of each test food as a percentage of every participant's average IAUC for the reference food. GL was calculated as the product of the test food's GI and the amount of available carbohydrate in a reference serving size.

Results: Results indicated that only seven test foods had low GI (55 or less), sixteen were classified as medium (56-69) and twenty-seven showed high GI values (>70).

Conclusion: The study concludes that majority of cereal based traditional foods/recipes have medium to high GI and GL.