Glycemic Indices and Glycemic Loads of Various Types of Pulses

Abstract

For preparation of diet for diabetics, glycemic indicies and glycemic loads of local pulses namely chickpea, chana dal, kidney bean, mash bean, mung bean and peas were determined. Forty two male students of Agricultural University were recruited and were divided into six groups, with seven students in each group. Glucose was fed as reference and pulses as test foods. The pulses were cooked (only boiled) in tape water before feeding to the individuals. Fifty grams glucose, dissolved in 300 mL of water, was given to each individual of all the groups on day first and amount of the boiled pulses containing 50 g carbohydrate were given to each individual of the assigned group on the next day. Blood samples were collected from each individual of the groups before (fasting) the ingestion of glucose and test foods and 30, 60 and 120 minutes after ingestion of glucose and test foods. Glycemic index was determined from the area under curves of glucose concentration for reference and test foods. Glycemic load was determined by taking the percentage of the food,s carbohydrate content in a typical serving and multipling by its glycemic index. The mean glycemic index for chick pea, chana dal, kidney bean, mash bean, mung bean and peas were 36, 13, 32, 43, 42 and 25 respectively. The mean glycemic loads for these pulses were 12, 4, 8, 10, 7 and 2 respectively. The results of the study indicated that local pulses have low glycemic indices and glycemic loads, hence could be safely use in the diet of diabetic patients.