Influence of Different Staple Food Compositions on Blood Glucose and Lipid in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

  Objective  To compare the effect of staple food containing edible medicinal foods versus wheat fiber on blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

  Methods  We recruited 120 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus into this study, and randomly divided them into 2 groups (80 participants in the study group and 40 in the control group). The staple food in the study group was steamed bread with wheat flour and flour of several kinds of edible medicinal foods, and in the control was steamed bread with wheat flour and wheat fiber. The study lasted for 13 weeks. The changes of anthropometry, biochemical tests, blood glucose and insulin levels before and after the dietary intervention were compared between the two groups.

  Results  Compared with the control group, patients in the study group showed more remarkable improvement in diastolic blood pressure(-0.05 mm Hg vs. 0 mm Hg, P=0.021), triglyceride level (-0.10 mmol/L vs. 0.27 mmol/L, P=0.040), fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood insulin levels (-1.30 mU/L vs. 0.62 mU/L, P=0.001; -14.82 mU/L vs. -3.93 mU/L, P=0.020).The patients in the control group had a larger reduction in waistcircumference compared with the study group(-5.00 cm vs. -4.00 cm, P=0.001). There was no significant inter-group difference in changes of body weight, hip circumference, systolic blood pressure, or glucose tolerance (P > 0.05).

  Conclusions  Compared with wheat fiber, staple food containing wheat flour and edible medicinal foods can reduce triglyceride and insulin levels more significantly in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus, while staple food supplemented with wheat fiber has a more obvious effect on waist circumference.