0718 GMT May 23, 2019
A new study suggests that people have very different blood sugar responses to the same food, with some showing large spikes even after eating supposedly healthy choices, HealthDay said.
Researchers said the findings underscore the message that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' diet.
The investigators also suggested that carefully tailoring diets to meet individuals' blood sugar tendencies could be the wave of the future.
"I think our research offers a new, distinct look at nutrition and how it may affect our body," said Dr. Eran Elinav, a senior scientist. "Each human being has a unique response to any food he or she consumes."
A dietitian who reviewed the study expressed doubt about how useful this information might prove, however.
For one, designing your diet based on short-term blood sugar responses does not ensure that it's healthy, said Lauri Wright, an assistant professor of community and family health at the University of South Florida, in Tampa.
"I'd be concerned about it meeting a person's nutritional needs," said Wright.
The new study focused largely on people's blood sugar levels two hours after eating a meal, also known as the post-prandial glucose response.
Research has linked habitually high after-meal glucose responses to increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other health problems, said coresearcher Eran Segal.
That's the premise behind so-called low-GI diets, which tell people to shun foods that tend to trigger a large increase in blood sugar. The list of bad guys includes white bread, potatoes, instant oatmeal and certain fruits.
But in the current study, a number of surprises emerged, Segal said.
"We saw vast variability (in blood sugar responses) when we gave people identical meals," he said.
"With bread, some people showed almost no change in glucose, while others showed a large response," he said. "Some had higher responses to bread with butter than to bread alone."
That, Segal pointed out, goes against the conventional wisdom that adding fat to a simple carbohydrate reliably reins in the blood sugar response.