The effect of consuming a local Ready- to - Use Supplementary Food on human blood sugar concentration

Abstract

Blood sugar may spike after meals and then stabilises as the sugars are converted to energy or fat.
Bioactive phytochemicals, fibres, minerals, and proteins can stabilise blood glucose concentration.
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of consuming a local Ready -to -Use
Supplementary Food and a reference meal on postprandial blood glucose concentration, insulin
concentration, and urine glucose concentration on 32 participants by using the Quantum
Resonance Magnetic Analyser machine. The post meal blood glucose concentration was measured
after one hour and two hours for group one that ate RUSF only, group two that consumed the
reference meal plus the local RUSF, and group three that ate reference meal only. Satiety was rated
using a 7-point rating scale. Data was analysed by Sigma Plot Version 12. There was no significant
spike (p 0.05) in glucose concentration in all participants after two hours but there was a
statistically significant rise (p0.05) in blood glucose levels one hour after meal treatments. The
mean postprandial blood glucose concentrations were 5.50 ± 1.34 mmol/L for group one, 5.51 ±
1.34 mmol/L for group three, and 5.42 ± 1.78 mmol/L for group two respectively. Satiety was rated
between two and four at base line testing and between five and seven after meal treatments. Mean
Insulin and urine sugar levels changes were insignificant (p 0.05). The local Ready -to -Use
Supplementary Food had low glycemic index due to bio-active compounds, proteins, and fibres
which regulated the release of glucose into the blood stream and maintained the steady blood
glucose concentration in participants. From this study, it was concluded that incorporation of the
local Ready -to -Use Supplementary Food in routine diets could reduce spiking of postprandial
blood glucose, insulin, and urine glucose levels, and maintain satiety for long hours in humans.