July 3, 2009
Glycaemic Index Effects on Fuel Partitioning in Humans - Research Review
Title and Abstract
Diaz EO et. al. Glycaemic index effects on fuel partitioning in humans. Obes Rev. (2006) 7:219-26.
The purpose of this review was to examine the role of glycaemic index in fuel partitioning and body composition with emphasis on fat oxidation/storage in humans. This relationship is based on the hypothesis postulating that a higher serum glucose and insulin response induced by high-glycaemic carbohydrates promotes lower fat oxidation and higher fat storage in comparison with low-glycaemic carbohydrates. Thus, high-glycaemic index meals could contribute to the maintenance of excess weight in obese individuals and/or predispose obesity-prone subjects to weight gain. Several studies comparing the effects of meals with contrasting glycaemic carbohydrates for hours, days or weeks have failed to demonstrate any differential effect on fuel partitioning when either substrate oxidation or body composition measurements were performed. Apparently, the glycaemic index-induced serum insulin differences are not sufficient in magnitude and/or duration to modify fuel oxidation.
Background
The glycemic index (GI) of foods is yet another place where endless argument and debate exists in the world of nutrition, especially as it applies to body composition.
In the early days of nutrition, as many may recall, carbohydrates were rather simplistically divided into simple and complex sources with the even simpler belief that ’simple = bad’ and ‘complex = good’. While this was applied to general health and such, one of the major applications and concerns over carbohydrate intake had to do with diabetic meal planning.
When it became clear that simple vs. complex was insufficient, researchers went looking for more accurate methods of measuring the differences between carbohydrates. Sometime in the 80’s, the GI was born.
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