Insulin index

The structure of insulin, a peptide hormone produced by the pancreas.

The Insulin Index is a tool used to quantify the typical insulin response elicited by different foods. It is akin to the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, both of which depend on blood glucose levels. However, the Insulin Index distinguishes itself by using blood insulin levels as its benchmark. This distinction makes the Insulin Index potentially more instructive for certain dietary considerations than either of its glycemic counterparts.

Significance of the Insulin Index

Certain foods, particularly lean meats and other protein sources, can prompt an insulin response even in the absence of carbohydrates. Moreover, some foods may cause an insulin response that is out of proportion with their carbohydrate content. As such, the Insulin Index offers a more comprehensive perspective on how various foods impact insulin levels, which is crucial for individuals concerned about diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Correlation with the Glycemic Index

Holt et al. have observed that the glucose and insulin scores of the majority of foods show a significant correlation. Nevertheless, foods rich in protein, as well as bakery items laden with fats and refined carbohydrates, may result in insulin responses that are disproportionately higher than what their glycemic scores might suggest.

Disproportionate Responses

High-protein foods and certain bakery products exemplify items that may produce exaggerated insulin responses compared to their glycemic impact. Such responses can be especially significant for individuals looking to manage or prevent conditions such as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.

Potential Applications

Holt and colleagues concluded that insulin indices could provide invaluable insights for dietary strategies, especially when it comes to the prevention and management of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.

Explanation of Index

The Insulin Index is not the same as a glycemic index, which is all relative to eating 100% glucose, as this index is relative to eating white bread (glycemic index of ~70 to 75). In the chart below, Glycemic Index and Insulin Index scores show the increase in the blood concentration of each. While a higher satiety score indicates how much less was eaten from a buffet after participants ate the listed food.

The Insulin Index is based on the consumption of 1,000kJ of the given food.

Glucose (glycemic) and insulin scores were determined by feeding 1000 kilojoules (239 kilocalories) of the food to the participants and recording the area under the glucose/insulin curve for 120 minutes then dividing by the area under the glucose/insulin curve for white bread. The result being that all scores are relative to white bread. The satiety score was determined by comparing how satiated participants felt within two hours after being fed a fixed number of calories of a particular food while blindfolded (to ensure food appearance was not a factor), then dividing that number by how satiated the participants felt after eating white bread. White bread serves as the baseline of 100. In other words, foods scoring higher than 100 are more satisfying than white bread and those under 100 are less satisfying. The satiety score was negatively correlated to the amount eaten by participants at a subsequent buffet.

± indicate uncertainty in the data. For example 60 ± 12 means that there's a 95% chance the score is between 60-12 (48) and 60+12 (72), 60 being the highest probability assuming a bell curve. In practice this means that if two foods have large uncertainty and have values close together then you don't really know which score is the higher.

External links

• Glycemic index

See also

• Glycemic index
• Glycemic load
• Insulin oscillations
• Diabetes mellitus
• Metabolic syndrome