Utility of flash glucose monitoring to determine glycemic load induced by different doughs in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract Background It has been previously showed that sourdough bread, compared to commercial yeast bread, elicits a lower postprandial glycemic and insulinemic response patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT). Aims To evaluate in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM): 1) Glucose load (GL) to three different doughs: X = prepared with functional alkaline biocrystal water, Y = Sourdough leavened bread, and W = baker yeast bread; 2) the utility of flash glucose monitoring (FGM) to measure GL. Methods Ten T2DM on diet (6 Males, diabetes duration 10.8 ± 1.2 years with no complications, Hba1c < 7.0%), after 12 hours fasting, consumed 180 grams study bread leavened/matured for 48 (X),8 (Y), and 4 hours (W) at room temperature with 200 ml water, in random order, single-blind, in three different days. All patients had a FGM running for the entire period of the experiments. Insulin was determined by capillary blood obtained at basal and at the peak glucose concentration. Results Peak glucose and peak insulin concentration were significantly (p < 0.05) higher for W versus both X and Y, without significant differences between X and Y. Glucose Load over 240 minutes was significantly higher in W than X (p < 0.01) and Y (p < 0.05), without significant differences between X and Y. Conclusions 1) bread prepared with biocrystal water has the same lower GL of Sourdough Bread compared to baker yeast bread with an easier management of the leavening/maturation period; 2) FGM is a reliable method for determining the GL in response to a carbohydrate meal in type 2 diabetic patients.