Better Cognitive Performance Following A Low-Glycemic-Index Meal Vs A High-Glyce

Better Cognitive Performance Following A Low-Glycemic-Index Meal Vs A High-Glycemic Index Meal in Adults With Type 2 Keeping blood sugars as close to normal after a meal improves cognitive performance. Transient hyperglycemia, consistent with that observed with normal meal ingestion, may be detrimental to cognitive performance in adults with type 2 diabetes. This study determined whether minimising the postprandial increase in blood glucose through the ingestion of low- rather than high-glycemic-index (GI) carbohydrate meals differentially affected cognitive performance in the postprandial period.

Using a within-individual design, 21 free-living subjects (65±7.29 years) with type 2 diabetes consumed 50 g carbohydrate as a meal with either a low GI (pasta) or a high GI (white bread), or water on three separate mornings following an overnight fast. Neuropsychological tests were administered and plasma glucose concentrations measured.

The results showed a higher postprandial blood glucose AUC (gAUC) was associated with poorer verbal memory (paragraph recall, p=0.01; word list recall, p=0.012). Both the GI of the carbohydrate meal and individual differences in response to meal ingestion contributed to the variation in gAUC and consequent memory recall. Bread consumption, relative to pasta, resulted in both a higher gAUC (p<0.05) and worse delayed verbal memory performance (paragraph recall, p=0.042; wordlist recall, p=0.035). Additionally, performance following bread consumption was poorer than that following pasta on measures of working memory, executive function and auditory selective attention, while sustained attention showed no sensitivity to type of carbohydrate food consumed.

From the results it was concluded that consuming 50 g of a low-GI carbohydrate meal, relative to a high-GI carbohydrate meal, generally results in better cognitive performance in the postprandial period in adults with type 2 diabetes, particularly in those individuals who experience the greatest food-induced elevations in blood glucose levels.

Published online: 1 March 2006 Diabetologia

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DID YOU KNOW:
Every two hours a day of inactivity is linked to a 14 percent increase in the risk of diabetes: Diabetes. Insulin sensitivity appears to deteriorate when we are inactive, but it responds positively when we get back to regular training. The most common type of diabetes, type 2, actually occurs when the body becomes insensitive, or resistant, to insulin in the blood. As the insulin stops working, the blood sugar level rises, and diabetes sets in. Regular exercise can actually reverse the damage because it increases insulin sensitivity and makes the cells better at taking in glucose and processing it. If you love TV, remember that every two hours a day of inactivity is linked to a 14 percent increase in the risk of diabetes, as opposed to one hour of brisk walking, which is linked to a 34 percent lower risk. This makes diabetes most often a "sedentary disease."