A Unique Product
GlukoFix works by reducing blood glucose rise after starch-containing meals.
- GlukoFix (alpha-cyclodextrin) has an inhibitory effect on pancreatic amylase, and may also slow gastric emptying.
- In contrast to "carb blockers" GlukoFix contributes with soluble fiber which is good for the gut flora, blood cholesterol, prevention of colon cancer etc., in addition to lowering blood sugar increase after starch containing meals.
- The product is good for everyone, but especially for diabetics (who are recommended 40g of fiber intake per day, while actual intake is 15g max). This will therefore be a good way to reach recommended fiber intake, while blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and body weight are influenced positively.
Low-glycemic-index (GI) foods are an important component of a healthy human diet not only for diabetics but also for health-conscious people who want to control their blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods take longer to digest and maintain the blood glucose at a more even rate. A balanced healthy low-GI diet can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and other diseases related to blood sugar levels, such as chronic inflammatory conditions. GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) a soluble fiber with an approved EU health claim is available and can lower the blood sugar increase, thus helping to easily turn carbohydrate rich high-GI foods to low-GI !!
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are generally divided into two groups: sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates). Most people associate carbohydrates with bread, cereals, rice and pasta, while potatoes, apples and carrots, for example, are considered separately, as vegetables and fruit. But vegetables and fruit also contain carbohydrates, in addition to water, fibre (a non-digestible carbohydrate), vitamins and minerals. Sweet foods, such as sugar, honey, biscuits and ice cream, are also carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients in the human diet in the same way proteins and some fats are (omega 3 and omega 6), as the body can produce all the carbohydrates it needs from proteins and fats. However, many foods containing carbohydrates also provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, proteins and healthy fats that are essential to good health. In addition, carbohydrate foods are the body’s – and in particular the brain’s – preferred source of energy. After they have been digested, more or less all carbohydrates end up in the blood as glucose – hence blood glucose, or blood sugar, as most people call it. Our brain is absolutely dependent on a stable supply of blood sugar, and it uses about 75 per cent of all the glucose that circulates in our blood. This explains why a low blood sugar level, known as hypoglycaemia, leads to considerable discomfort. At this point, the brain signals that there is danger ahead. It tells us to eat something sweet or starchy, because this is the quickest way to increase blood sugar.
Healthy Carbohydrates
Some foods lead to a gentle, low rise in blood sugar. They contain relatively fewer carbohydrates and a lot of fibre and water as well as protein and fat. These low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrate containing foods are slowly transformed into blood sugar in the body, and they do not particularly stimulate the production of insulin. This results in less fat storage and other undesirable consequences of a high blood sugar and insulin level.
What is the Glycaemic Index?
The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a method of ranking foods according to their impact on blood sugar. What determines the GI of a food is how quickly and how much its carbohydrates can be digested and absorbed. The faster they are digested and absorbed by the small intestine, the faster and higher the rise in blood sugar, and the higher the GI. Pure glucose can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream, so it has an immediate effect on blood sugar; on a scale of 0 to 100, glucose has a GI of 100. The GI compares food based on equal carbohydrate content not equal amount of food, 50g glucose is pure carbohydrate, whereas the GI for carrots is based on the amount of carrots that contains 50g of carbs.
Foods that do not contain carbohydrates do not have a direct influence on blood sugar, consequently their GI is zero. This is why there are no GI numbers for foods that consist primarily of protein, such as eggs, chicken, meat and fish. The same is true of foods that consist mainly of fat, such as butter, margarine and oils. Most of non-starchy vegetables have a very low carbohydrate content, usually less than 5 per cent, which is too low to measure their GI. Therefore, you will not find the GI of many vegetables in the GI lists.
A food’s GI cannot be predicted; it has to be measured through tests on humans. The test procedure is expensive and demands eight to ten people in a test panel per food. Between six and eight hundred foods have been tested internationally.
The Glycaemic Index (GI) ranks carbohydrate foods according to their effect on blood sugar, which is of profound importance for hormonal balance, metabolism, body weight and health. Carbohydrates that are absorbed rapidly and converted into blood sugar have a high GI. Conversely, carbohydrates that are broken down and absorbed slowly have a low GI and cause a less pronounced, more stable rise in blood sugar. It is these ‘slow’ carbohydrates, with a low GI, that should form the basis of every meal and snack – always balanced by an appropriate amount of protein.
GI and insulin – the vital equation
To understand how eating low-glycaemic foods can help you lose weight and become healthier, you need to understand the connection between GI and the hormone insulin.
Every time you eat foods containing carbohydrates (like bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, sugar and to a lesser extent, vegetables, fruit and pulses) your blood sugar will rise. The Glycaemic Index is a method of ranking foods according to their impact on blood sugar – the more quickly and completely a carbohydrate can be digested and absorbed, the higher its GI.
As the blood sugar level rises, the pancreas secretes insulin, which is responsible for storing glucose from the bloodstream in the cells. Because the blood sugar level in the body needs to be kept within strict boundaries, the higher the rise in blood sugar, the more insulin is released to deal with it. A limited amount of glucose can be stored in the liver and muscles (as glycogen) – any remainder is stored as fat. So quite simply, the more insulin you have in your blood, the more fat will be stored.
Besides making it almost impossible to lose weight, too much insulin can also result in long-term damage to your body. The more often your body experiences a high level of insulin, the more difficult it becomes for insulin to lower blood sugar. The pancreas tries to compensate for this by secreting more insulin. The more high-glycaemic food you consume, the more insulin your body will produce, and as a result you soon become caught in a vicious circle of hyperinsulinemia (higher insulin production) and reduced insulin sensitivity (insulin resistance). When this happens, your insulin level remains high constantly, whether you have eaten or not. However, it is only the blood-sugar-lowering effect of insulin that has deteriorated. Insulin still continues to promote fat storage. The result is that you will gain weight and have a greater risk of developing type II diabetes, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disorders, as well as certain types of cancer.
Glukofix reduces the glycemic index (GI) of bread by 50%
The positive effect of GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) on the glycemic index (GI) has been proven by clinical research (Diamantis et al, 2002). In an initial treatment, 12 male individuals were given 100 g of white bread (approximately three slices), corresponding to 50 g of starch. Three hours after consumption the blood glucose and blood insulin levels were measured. In a second step the same amount of bread was consumed together with 10 g GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) (in 250 ml of water). And in a third step 25 g GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) was consumed alone. In between treatment days there was a wash-out period of at least 48 hours. It was shown that the usual peak in blood glucose after consumption of starch-containing food is significantly lower and delayed in time when GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) is administered in parallel (see graphic).
GlukoFix (alpha cyclodextrin) itself, as a soluble fiber, does not lead to any increase in blood sugar.
The European Commission has confirmed a health claim to the effect that alpha-cyclodextrin (Glukofix) can reduce blood sugar peaks. Commission Regulation (EU) No. 536/2013 on the list of permitted health claims made on foods ascribes a scientifically accepted blood-sugar-regulating effect to alpha cyclodextrin:
“Consumption of alpha-cyclodextrin as part of a starch-containing meal contributes to the reduction of the blood sugar rise after that meal.”
In order to bear out the claim, at least 5 g of alpha-cyclodextrin (Glukofix) per 50 g of starch should be consumed.
Ann Nutr Metab. 2006;50(2):108-14. Epub 2005 Dec 21.
Buckley JD1, Thorp AA, Murphy KJ, Howe PR.
Beneficial effects of Glukofix on blood lipids and weight loss in healthy humans.
In a two month double-blind, placebo controlled crossover clinical trial carried out by the University of California in Davis, CA (UC Davis)* with 28 overweight (BMI 25 – 30) but not obese test subjects, the following observations were made: after taking 6 g of Glukofix (alpha cyclodextrin) per day over a period of two months, the test subjects lost weight without changing their diet or their lifestyle. The blood parameters total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (= blood lipids) both decreased over the course of the study, together with the insulin level, whereas the HDL level remains unchanged (see graphic).
The beneficial effects of α-cyclodextrin on blood lipids and weight loss in healthy humans.
Comerford KB, Artiss JD, Jen KL, Karakas SE.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jun;19(6):1200-4. doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.280. Epub 2010 Dec 2.
PMID:
21127475