Determination of the glycaemic index of various staple

carbohydrate-rich foods in the UK diet

Louise M. Aston, Joanna M. Gambell, David M. Lee, Susan P. Bryant, and Susan A. Jebb
MRC Human Nutrition Research Elsie Widdowson Laboratory 120 Fulbourn Road Cambridge
CB1 9NL
Abstract
ObjectiveTo determine the glycaemic index (GI) of various staple carbohydrate-rich foods in
the UK diet, and to consider the factors influencing the GI of foods.
DesignSubjects were served with 25 or 50 g portions of glucose on three occasions, followed
by a selection of test foods providing an equal amount of available carbohydrate, in random order.
Each test food was consumed by 10 subjects. Capillary blood glucose levels were measured in the
fasted state and over the 120 minutes following commencement consumption of the foods.
SettingThe study was carried out in a research institute (MRC Human Nutrition Research,
Cambridge, UK).
Subjects42 healthy adult volunteers were studied.
MethodsThe GI values of 33 foods were measured according to the WHO/FAO recommended
methodology. These foods included various breads, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes, all
of which were commercially available in the UK.
ConclusionsThe results illustrate a number of factors which are important in influencing the
GI of a food, highlighting the importance of measuring the GI of a food, rather than assuming a
previously published value for a similar food. This is useful both to researchers analysing dietary
surveys or planning intervention studies, and also to health professionals advising individuals on
their diets.
Keywords
Glycaemic index; Carbohydrate; UK diet
Introduction
There is currently much scientific and popular interest in the role of low glycaemic index
(GI) foods in the management of weight and metabolic disease risk. However, both
observational and intervention studies are hampered by a lack of knowledge of GI values for
many foods. The wide-ranging and often subtle factors which can influence the GI of a food
make it impossible to predict the GI of a particular food with any certainty from a published
value for a food of similar description. There is also frequently a wide variation in published
GI values for foods with the same description (Foster-Powell et al., 2002). Most of the
published GI data is based upon analysis carried out in countries other than the UK, and at
present, many of the brands and foods in the published tables are unobtainable in the UK.
The aim of this study was to measure the GI of a number of key staple carbohydrate-rich
foods (breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes) in the UK diet. This is important
both for researchers seeking to quantify GI from UK dietary surveys or planning
Europe PMC Funders Group
Author Manuscript
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.
Published in final edited form as:
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 February ; 62(2): 279285. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602723.

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intervention studies, and for advising consumers. The study also enabled detailed
investigation of various factors influencing the GI of a food.
Methods
42 healthy subjects were recruited. Subjects were excluded if they reported a history of
gastrointestinal disorders, suffered from diabetes, were taking medication for any chronic
disease conditions, or were pregnant, breastfeeding, or intolerant or allergic to any of the
foods.
The method used for measuring and calculating the GI of the foods was in accordance with
WHO/FAO recommendations (FAO/WHO, 1998). Subjects attended each testing session
after a 10 hour overnight fast, having been instructed not to consume unusually large meals,
drink alcohol or exercise vigorously on the previous day, and to avoid cycling or walking to
the laboratory. On the first three visits, subjects were given the standard reference food of
glucose (dextrose monohydrate; Unichem Limited, Chessington, UK). Thereafter, they
tested foods which were randomly assigned to them, being requested to consume the foods
within 15 minutes. Each food was consumed by 10 different subjects. Blood glucose level
was measured in capillary whole blood obtained by finger prick (Accu-Chek Advantage
System, Roche Diagnostics Limited, Lewes, UK) in the fasted state and at 15, 30 45, 60, 90
and 120 minutes after commencement of consumption of the food.
33 different foods were tested, comprising various breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pastas and
potatoes. Portion sizes were calculated to provide 50 g available carbohydrate, according to
manufacturers nutrition information (FAO/WHO, 1998; Wolever et al., 2003). The 50 g
glucose reference was made up with 250 ml water, and subjects were given 250 ml glass of
water to drink with test foods. For some of the breads, portion sizes providing 50 g available
carbohydrate were found to be too large for subjects to consume comfortably within 15
minutes. Therefore, portions tested provided 25 g available carbohydrate, and the reference
used for comparison was 25 g glucose, made up with 125 ml water. Portions of two breads
providing 50 g available carbohydrate were also tested in order to enable comparison of the
resulting GI values, and to determine whether the different portion sizes gave the same
result.
Foods were tested as they would typically be consumed, with the addition of milk or
margarine to improve palatability. Breakfast cereals were served with 150 ml semi-skimmed
milk, which provided 7.5 g available carbohydrate. Portions of the breakfast cereals were
therefore calculated to provide 42.5 g available carbohydrate. Breads, potatoes, rice and
pasta were tested with the addition of 10 g margarine per 50 g available carbohydrate. All
foods requiring cooking were prepared according to manufacturers instructions.
Data analysis and statistical methods
Data was analysed according to the method recommended by FAO/WHO (FAO/WHO,
1998). The incremental area under the blood glucose response curves (IAUC
G
) to test and
reference foods were calculated geometrically using the trapezoid rule, ignoring the area
below the fasting baseline. For each test food, the IAUC
G
was expressed as a percentage of
the mean IAUC
G
for the three repeats of the iso-carbohydrate reference food consumed by
the same subject. The GI of each food was then calculated as the mean value across all
subjects consuming that food. IAUC
G
and GI were calculated using SPSS version 11.0
(SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Statistical differences between GI values of different
foods were investigated by comparing means with non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests, in
SPSS. Glucose response curves were constructed in SigmaPlot version 8.0 (SPSS Inc.,
Chicago, Illinois, USA).
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Results
The measured GI values of the foods are shown in table 1 and figure 1. Breakfast cereals
ranged from low (55) to high GI (70), with the majority having a moderate GI of around
60-65. Differences between the breads were much smaller, with the majority having high GI
values. Both pastas tested were found to be low GI, whilst different types of rice were more
variable. All potatoes tested had relatively high GI values.
Discussion
This study measured the GI values of 33 different carbohydrate-rich foods, including various
breakfast cereals, breads, pastas, rice and potatoes. These food groups represent around 60%
of the total carbohydrate intake in the typical UK adults diet (Henderson et al., 2002;
Henderson et al., 2003). Substituting high for low GI versions of these foods will therefore
make a significant contribution to the GI of the UK diet.
The variability in published GI values for foods of similar description could be explained by
real differences between the foods, and/or by variations in the methodology used. Food
factors which can influence the GI include the processing, preparation and cooking methods,
the physical form of the food, the type of sugars and starch in the food, the presence of other
macronutrients and anti-nutrients, and the ripeness or maturity of the food. The effects of
several of these factors are illustrated by the findings of this study.
Use of varying methodology by different laboratories for the measurement and calculation
of GI also contributes to the variation seen in published GI values. Although there is a
recommended standard protocol for the determination of GI (FAO/WHO, 1998), there is
scope within this for slight variations, and an inter-laboratory study has found that
differences in GI of up to 18 units may in part be due to methodological factors rather than
real differences between the foods (Wolever et al., 2003). Such variations shown to
influence the GI include the use of venous rather than capillary blood, the use of differenct
food composition tables to calculate the required portion size, and the method used for
determining the AUC. The effect of using portion sizes providing differing amount of
available carbohydrate on resulting GI values was investigated here. Insulin responses
increase to a greater extent than glucose responses when portion sizes increase (Lee &
Wolever, 1998). This could potentially affect the GI value obtained, although this is unlikely
if the standard for comparison provides the same amount of available carbohydrate as the
test food. However, the smaller insulin : glucose ratio resulting from a 25 g compared to a
50 g portion could in theory diminish the differences between foods, including that between
the standard food and the test food. Two of the breads were tested using portions containing
both 25 g and 50 g available carbohydrate, in order to compare the results obtained. There
was not found to be a significant difference between GI values obtained with different
portion sizes for either of these breads, indicating that it is acceptable to use a smaller
portion size where necessary when measuring GI.
In this study, foods were tested as they would be expected to be consumed, with milk or
margarine added. GI values are therefore for the food with milk/margarine. Milk has a low
GI with published values ranging from 25 to 48 (Foster-Powell et al., 2002; Henry et al.,
2005). This makes it lower GI than the majority of the breakfast cereals tested, so it would
be expected to lower the resulting GI values of the meals. In addition, milk is known to have
an insulinotropic effect, eliciting a much higher insulin response than would be expected
from the glucose response (Bjrck et al., 2000; stman et al., 2001). This could further
lower the apparent GI of the breakfast cereals, as the enhanced insulin response to the milk
would stimulate a more rapid removal of glucose from the circulation. As the same quantity
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of milk was added to each cereal, it could be expected to influence the glycaemic responses
to all cereals in the same way. However, some previous findings suggest that this may not be
the case, and that milk may have a greater effect in reducing the glucose response to high
than low GI meals (Liljeberg Elmstahl & Bjrck, 2001; stman et al., 2001). This may have
reduced differences in GI values between cereals, and could in part explain the clustering of
values seen.
The addition of margarine to the other foods may also be expected to lower their GI, as fat
has been shown to flatten and reduce glycaemic responses by delaying gastric emptying and
enhancing GIP secretion (Collier & ODea, 1983; Collier et al., 1984; Ercan et al., 1994).
However, in these studies, much larger quantities of fat were added to meals (between half
and equal amounts as carbohydrate by weight). Fat acts in a dose-dependent manner in
lowering the IAUC
G
and the appearance of exogenous glucose in the blood (Normand et al.,
2001). It is therefore likely that the quantities of fat added here would have only have had a
small or negligible effect on the glycaemic responses to the foods.
The importance of measuring the GI of foods rather than assuming values from those
published for similar foods is highlighted by the fact that the two brands of cornflakes tested
here had very different GI values. Such differences between brands are most likely to be due
to subtle differences in processing methods and/or formulations. Cornflakes contain resistant
retrograded starch, which forms during production (Nugent, 2005). It could be that the
different production methods employed by different manufacturers result in the production
of different amounts of resistant starch, which could contribute to this difference in GI.
However, in contrast to this, the white and wholemeal breads were found to have similar GI
values between brands, and for the majority of foods tested, results were similar to those
previously published for foods of the same description. Results for several of the breads
tested were higher than expected from published values. Previous findings have shown that
the GI of breads tends to decrease as the proportion of intact grains increases (Jenkins et al.,
1988; Holm & Bjrck, 1992; Liljeberg et al., 1992). This may be a critical feature which is
hard to objectively assess, and the published values could be for multigrain loaves with far
higher proportions of intact grains than those used here.
Similarly, the more intact jumbo porridge oats gave a lower GI than the more finely
processed oats. It may also have been expected that less finely ground flour would produce a
bread with a lower GI. However, whilst the stoneground wholemeal bread (made from less
finely ground flour than standard wholemeal bread flour) had a slightly lower GI than the
standard wholemeal bread, this difference was not significant. This is supported by findings
of previous studies which suggest that particle size probably exerts its greatest effect on
glucose and insulin responses when large food or grain particles are present (Heaton et al.,
1988; Behall et al., 1999).
The similarity between results for white and wholemeal breads demonstrates a lack of effect
of wheat fibre on GI, which is consistent with findings that addition of wheat bran to breads
and other high-carbohydrate foods has no effect on post-prandial glucose responses (Jenkins
et al., 1983; Fontvieille et al., 1988; Jenkins et al., 2002b). In contrast to this, addition of -
glucan, a soluble fibre present in oats and barley, has consistently been shown to reduce the
GI of breads and other products (Pick et al., 1996; Tappy et al., 1996; Battilana et al., 2001;
Jenkins et al., 2002a). Wheat fibre is an insoluble fibre, which is not fermentable due to a
high degree of lignification. It provides bulk to gastrointestinal tract contents, and slows
transit time of matter through the tract, but does not seem to reduce the rate or extent of
carbohydrate absorption from the gut. -glucan is a viscous soluble fibre which slows
gastric emptying and increases gastrointestinal transit time. Soluble fibres also slow the rate
of starch digestion by pancreatic amylases in vitro, probably by delaying the interaction of
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the enzyme with the substrate. These factors cause delayed and reduced carbohydrate
absorption from the gut (Battilana et al., 2001). In addition, the degree of viscosity of the
fibre is positively related to the extent of flattening of the postprandial glucose response
(Jenkins et al., 2002a).
The baked potato with skin was found to have a lower GI than that consumed without the
skin. The skin is higher in fibre than the flesh, and is particularly high in soluble fibre.
This study found potatoes to have a high GI, regardless of variety, cooking method and
maturity. Despite this, the difference in the GI of the new and old potatoes was still quite
large (15-20 units), which will make an important contribution to dietary GI given the
importance of potatoes in western diets. New potatoes have frequently been reported to have
lower GI values than old potatoes (Foster-Powell et al., 2002), and findings have shown
average tuber size to be significantly correlated with GI (Soh & Brand-Miller, 1999). As
potatoes mature, the degree of amylopectin branching increases, rendering the starch in
more mature potatoes more readily digestible than that in newer potatoes (Soh & Brand-
Miller, 1999). In agreement with previously published values, both types of pasta were
found to have low GI values. Published GI values for rice vary widely. This is largely due to
variety, with the ratio of amylose : amylopectin being important. High amylose rices, such
as basmati, have widely been found to have low GI values, as was the case in this study.
Within variety, the easy-cook basmati had a significantly higher GI value than the standard
basmati rice. This is therefore likely to be due to the processing method used in making the
rice easy-cook.
In conclusion, this study has provided GI values for a number of common staple
carbohydrate-rich foods in the UK diet. It has also highlighted some of the multiple factors
affecting the GI of a food, which illustrates the importance of measuring the GI values of
foods rather than applying values from foods of similar description. This information is
useful to researchers interested in calculating the GI in dietary surveys to study diet-disease
relationships, and in the planning of dietary intervention studies, in order to have a clear idea
of the GI of the intervention diets and to ensure that the diets for comparison truly differ in
GI. It also provides valuable data for practitioners who have responsibility for advising
individuals on their diet.
Acknowledgments
Sponsorship: This study was funded by the Medical Research Council.
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Figure 1. Measured GI of 33 foods, with 95% confidence interval
Effects of various processing and cooking methods on GI
The GI of porridge made with the intact jumbo oats was significantly lower than that made
with the smaller, more finely-processed oats (P=0.019; figure 2). However, although the GI
of stoneground wholemeal bread was lower than that of conventionally (more finely) ground
wholemeal bread, this difference was not significant.
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Figure 2. Effects on blood glucose of porridge made with small or jumbo oats (mean SD)
The GI of instant mashed potato was slightly lower than that for fresh mashed Desire
potato, although this difference was not significant and blood glucose curves were very
similar. The GI of basmati rice was significantly lower than that of easy-cook basmati rice
(P=0.035; figure 3).
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Figure 3. Effects on blood glucose of regular and easy-cook basmati rice (mean SD)
The GI values of white potatoes cooked by a variety of methods and consumed without the
skin all had high GI, which did not differ significantly from each other.
Effects of fibre on GI
The GI values of wholemeal bread and white bread were virtually identical, with both breads
causing similar peak rises in blood glucose. The fibre contents of the two white breads were
2.8 and 3.3 g per 100 g, and the wholemeal breads contained 6.0 g and 5.7 g per 100 g. The
GI value of a baked potato eaten with skin was significantly lower than that for a baked
potato eaten without skin (P=0.008; see figure 4).
Aston et al. Page 10
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.

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Figure 4. Effects on blood glucose of baked potato consumed with and without skin (mean SD)
Effects of variety and brand on GI
There were no significant differences between the GI values of the three different varieties
of potato when cooked by boiling. Charlotte and new potatoes did have lower GI values than
white potatoes, but this was not significant. The GI value of the Kelloggs cornflakes was
higher than that for the Sainsburys cornflakes, although this did not reach significance
(P=0.09). The peak change in blood glucose was significantly greater for the Kelloggs (3.7
mmol/l) than the Sainsburys cornflakes (2.6 mmol/l, P=0.04; figure 5). The GI values of
both wholemeal breads and both white breads were very similar.
Aston et al. Page 11
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.

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Figure 5. Effects on blood glucose of different brands of cornflakes (mean SD)
Effects of selected portion size on GI
There were no significant differences between GI values resulting from testing with
different sized portions for any of the breads (table 2).
Aston et al. Page 12
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.

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Aston et al. Page 13
Table 1
Measured GI values of 33 foods
Food GI SEM 95% CI
Breakfast cereals with 150 ml semi-skimmed milk
Balance 74.2 5.1 64.2 - 84.2
Cornflakes 65.3 5.4 25.7 - 121.5
Kelloggs cornflakes 92.6 13.5 66.1 - 158.7
Mini wheats 59.4 7.3 45.1 - 73.7
Rice pops 79.7 6.2 67.5 - 91.9
Branflakes 76.3 5.4 65.7 - 86.9
Precise 58.8 4.4 50.2 - 67.4
Fruit & fibre 61.2 4.3 52.8 - 69.6
Original muesli 59.8 5.7 48.6 - 71.0
Swiss muesli 60.1 6.4 47.6 - 72.6
Pertwee wheat free muesli 49.2 6.5 36.5 - 61.9
Porridge (small oats) 60.9 5.5 50.1 - 71.7
Porridge (jumbo oats) 40.1 6.1 28.1 - 52.1
Breads with 5 g margarine (25 g available carbohydrate)
Wholemeal 70.9 11.9 47.6 - 94.2
Hovis wholemeal 74.2 8.1 58.3 - 132.5
White 70.1 9.5 51.5 - 88.7
Hovis white 73.1 11.6 50.4 - 123.4
Waitrose stoneground wholemeal 65.7 13.1 40.0 - 91.4
Multigrain 79.6 9.6 60.8 - 98.4
Vogels sunflower & barley 70.4 10.4 50.0 - 90.8
White pitta 67.1 16.1 35.5 - 98.7
Breads with 10 g margarine (50 g available carbohydrate)
Hovis wholemeal 67.6 8.5 51.1 - 118.7
Hovis white 75.1 11.9 51.8 - 126.9
Pasta, rice and potatoes with 10 g margarine
Penne 42.8 7.2 33.4 - 52.2
Egg tagliatelle 53.5 5.4 42.9 - 64.1
Basmati rice 42.8 8.3 26.5 - 59.1
Basmati easy-cook rice 68.4 7.7 53.3 - 83.5
American easy-cook rice 49.4 12.2 25.5 - 73.3
Baked old white potato with skin 69.0 4.8 59.6 - 78.4
Baked old white potato without skin 98.2 8.3 81.9 - 114.5
Boiled old white potato 95.9 9.5 77.3 - 114.5
Boiled new potato 79.8 15.4 49.6 - 110.0
Boiled charlotte potato 80.8 10.7 59.8 - 101.8
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.

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Aston et al. Page 14
Food GI SEM 95% CI
Instant mashed potato 94.8 15.7 64.0 - 125.6
Mashed Desire potato 102.4 12.8 77.3 - 127.5
All products Sainsburys supermarket own-brand, except where otherwise stated.
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.

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Aston et al. Page 15
Table 2
GI values of breads measured using 25 g and 50 g portions
Bread
25 g portion
(mean SEM)
50 g portion
(mean SEM)
Wholemeal 74 8 68 9
White 73 12 75 12
Breads both Hovis brand
Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22.