Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the blood glucose response and glycemic index of food for diabetics and non-diabetics. The subjects comprised of 10 diabetics and 7 non-diabetics. The results of the physical characteristics showed that the diabetic subjects were on the average older (age bracket between 51 and 70years) than the non-diabetics (18 and 23years). The Body mass index (BMI) values indicated that over 90% of the diabetics were obese while the non-diabetics were on the average normal. Results also showed that the blood glucose response of the diabetics were significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of the non- diabetics. When fed on the test diets (“okpa” and “moin–moin”), the blood glucose response was significantly reduced when compared to bread diet for both diabetics and non-diabetics. The results further indicated that the blood glucose response was better with “okpa” than with “moin–moin”, suggesting that “okpa” is a better diet for diabetic patients. The glycemic index values for “okpa” and “moin–moin” were 78 and 38 respectively for the non-diabetics while the values were 59 and 66 respectively, for the diabetics indicating that “okpa” is a better diet for the diabetics.

Key words: Glycemic index, diabetics, blood glucose response, bread, okpa and moin - moin.