This document discusses a study on the effect of different factors on the glycemic response to pasta. The study tested the glycemic index of various types of pasta that were cooked for different lengths of time and with added protein. It found that pasta has a significantly lower glycemic index than bread. The type of pasta affected the response, with spaghetti having a lower index than macaroni. Cooking time between 5-15 minutes did not impact the response. Added protein to spaghetti slightly lowered its index. Overall, pasta elicits variable glycemic responses that are not fully explained by surface area, cooking degree, or protein content.

1. Pasta and its Glycemic
Response
PRESENTED BY
BHARATH KUMAR S.
PRESENTED BY
BHARATH KUMAR S.

2.  Pasta is unleavened dough, made of wheat flour, water, and sometimes eggs,
that is molded into any of a variety of shapes and boiled.
 Eggs are the source of the liquid component in fresh pasta.
 Fresh pasta was traditionally produced by hand, sometimes with the aid of
simple machines.
 Most dried pasta is commercially produced by
an extrusion process.
PASTA
Both dried and fresh pasta come in a number of
shapes and varieties, with 310 specific forms known
variably by over 1300 names having been recently
documented.

4.  Many factors affect the glycemic response to meals: important among these
are the food form, particle size, protein content of the meal, and the degree
of cooking.
 This study was conducted to know the effect of food form, the degree of
cooking and protein enrichment (2.3 g more protein than the portion of
regular spaghetti) on the glycemic response to pasta.
 Italian method of cooking pasta is different from that in North America,
they prefer their pasta relatively undercooked, or “al dente”.
 Many different types of pasta available, and each type may have potentially
different metabolic effects may be because of different surface areas and
protein contents.
Study (Diabetes care, 1986)

5.  Five different forms of pasta: "overcooked" spaghetti, "undercooked" spaghetti,
macaroni, star pastina (small pasta stars), and protein-enriched spaghetti.
Food Dry wt (g) Cooking method
Glycemic
index#
White bread 67.0* Baked in diet kitchen 100a
White bread + C + T 67. 0* Baked in diet kitchen 99 ± 4a
5-min spaghetti + C + T 66.0 Boiled, 180 ml water, 5 min 45 ± 6b
15-min spaghetti + C + T 66.0
Boiled, 300 ml water, 15 min;
frozen, reheated before test
46 ± 6b
Macaroni + C + T 66.0 Boiled, 180 ml water, 5 min 64 ± 8c
Star pastina + C + T 66.0 Boiled, 180 ml water, 5 min 54 ± 6b,c
Spaghetti + C + T
(protein-enriched)
66.3 Boiled, 180 ml water, 7 min 38 ± 4b
Excess water from cooking was consumed with the test meals.
#Means not sharing the same letter superscript are significantly different (P < 0.01).
*Weight of flour. C = 32 g mild cheddar cheese, T = 100 g cooked tomato.
Test-meal constituents, cooking methods, and mean ± SE glycemic indices

6. Each test meal contained 50 g available carbohydrate from white bread or pasta.
All the test meals were served with 32 g cheddar cheese and 100g cooked
tomato for palatability,.
Effect of added cheese and tomato
The effect on the glycemic response of adding cheese and tomato to the test
meal and with bread was also studied before
proceeding with the same.
The effect was negligible. Therefore, no
adjustment for added cheese and tomato was
made to the GI of the pasta meals.

7. Effect of type of pasta
The mean glycemic responses to the pasta meals were significantly lower than
those to the bread meals. The GI of spaghetti was significantly lower than that of
macaroni (P < 0.01). The glycemic responses to star pastina and protein-enriched
spaghetti were not significantly different from those to regular spaghetti.

8. Effect of cooking
Cooking spaghetti for 5 or 15 min had virtually no impact on the mean glycemic
response.
Diabetes care, 1984

9. Surface area plays an important role in determining the rate of digestion of
starch, which, in turn, is related to the glycemic response.
The difference in cooking time of spaghetti for 5 or 15 min was not shown any
difference in glycemic response.
Protein addition to meals has been found to increase insulin secretion and
reduce the glycemic response, large amounts of protein (30-50 g protein/50 g
carbohydrate) are used.
By this it can be concluded that pasta has a significantly lower GI than bread.
However, different types of pasta have different glycemic responses that are not
necessarily related to surface area, the degree of cooking, or protein
enrichment.
Conclusion