Basal and postprotein insulin and glucagon levels during a high and low carbohydrate intake and their relationships to plasma triglycerides.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
The effects of acute and chronic differences in the carbohydrate content of the diet on plasma insulin, glucagon, insulin-glucagon molar ratio (I/G), and triglycerides were studied. Acute effects were studied by varying the carbohydrate content of a single test meal, while chronic effects were determined by varying the carbohydrate content of the diet for a week. A test meal containing 0.6 gm of gelatin per kilogram plus 0.6 gm. per kilogram of glucose resulted in much higher levels of insulin and I/G (p smaller than 0.005), lower glucagon levels (p smaller than 0.05), and slightly higher triglycerides (N.S.) than did a meal of 1.2 gm, per kilogram of gelatin alone. One week of a 12 gm. carbohydrate, 2870-calorie diet lowered insulin (p smaller than 0.001), I/G (p smaller than 0.05), and triglycerides (p smaller than 0.001) and increased glucagon (N.S.), whereas a 390-gm. carbohydrate, 2784-calorie intake significantly increased insulin, I/G, and triglycerides (p smaller than 0.005) and lowered glucagon (p smaller than 0.02) within two days; even greater changes in hormones were observed on a 510-gm. carbohydrate intake. Of those patients in whom a high carbohydrate intake induced a triglyceride rise of at least 40 mg. per deciliter, a significant correlation between the change in I/G and the change in triglycerides was noted (r equals 0.85; p smaller than 0.01). The results are compatible with but do not prove the proposal that pancreatic alpha and beta cells play a mediating role in carbohydrate induction of hyperlipidemia.
