Glycemic index of commonly consumed carbohydrate foods in the Philippines

The glycemic index (GI), is a classification of food based on the blood glucose response to a food relative to a standard glucose solution and has been proposed as a therapeutic principle for diabetes mellitus. The objective of the study is to determine the GI of some commonly consumed carbohydrate foods in the Philippines. Forty foods categorized into biscuits/bakery/rice products, noodles, starchy roots/tubers, nuts/beans, fruits/dried fruit, vegetables, sugar/syrup and the standard glucose drink were used in the study. Foods were fed in 10 apparently healthy humans. The control and test foods were fed in random order on separate occasions after an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected and read for glucose in a Clinical Chemistry Analyzer. Biscuits/bakery/rice products were considered high GI (⩾70) foods except for biscuit fortified with dietary fibre and mammon. Except for sotanghon considered medium GI (56-69), all noodles were classified as low GI foods (⩽55) similarly with starchy root crops, nuts and beans, vegetables, and coconut sap sugar/syrup. The GI of foods studied ranged from low to high. Dietary fibre/complex carbohydrates, form of food and starch structures are important determinants of low GI foods.