Glycemic Response and Glycemic Index of Common Sweeteners and Honey Incorporated Products

Honey is the sweet and viscous product, produced by the honeybee from the nectar of plants. Honey is composed mainly of carbohydrates, lesser amounts of water and a great number of minor components. Sugars are the main constituents of honey, most important sugars are the monosaccharides hexoses, fructose and glucose, which are products of the hydrolysis of the disaccharide sucrose. Honey is considered a valuable medicinal food in Indian system of medicine and is found to be useful in management of diabetes. Honey is a powerful antioxidant and used in the day to day life as natural sweetener. The study was conducted to determine the glycemic index (GI) of products made with different natural sweeteners. Normal healthy subjects (n=9) and impaired glucose tolerant (IGT) subjects (n=9) were included in the study. Blood glucose curves at 0, 30, 60, 90 & 120 minutes indicated significant difference in incremental area under the curve (IAUC) of glucose and nutribar made with different sweeteners in subjects with IGT as well as in normal healthy subjects. The mean IAUC of nutribar was significantly lower (p=<0.01) than that of glucose in subjects with IGT as well as in normal healthy subjects.