. Physiological effects of cereal b-glucan
2.1. Postprandial blood glucose and insulin response
The levels of glucose and insulin in circulating blood
following a meal (the postprandial blood glucose and
insulin responses) differ with different foods, and are
greater the greater the quantity of available glucose
consumed (glycemic load). A lower or attenuated response
is believed to be of benefit in both healthy and diabetic
people, and the response to a food may be estimated by the
glycemic index. This index compares the cumulative 2 h
blood glucose response following consumption of the food
with a control (glucose, or white bread2
) containing the
same weight (or load) of available glucose (normally 50 g).