Using cereal to increase dietary fiber intake to the recommended level and the effect of fiber on bowel function in healthy persons consuming North American diets.

Background: Dietary fiber intake remains low despite increasing evidence for its health benefits, including laxation.

Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of increasing fiber intake on bowel habits and gastrointestinal tolerance in healthy persons consuming a typical Canadian or US diet.

Design: Under a randomized crossover design, 23 free-living participants consumed a typical Canadian or US diet (35% fat, 12 g fiber/d) and received 25.

Unrecognised severe vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency remains common and may mimic other musculoskeletal disorders or mental health problems

Five batches representative of Ontario-grown American ginseng root produce comparable reductions of postprandial glycemia in healthy individuals.

Evidence indicates that the glycemia-lowering effect of American ginseng root may be batch dependent. We therefore evaluated the effect of 5 root batches, representative of Ontario-grown American ginseng, on postprandial glucose and insulin indices. Twelve healthy subjects (5 male, 7 female), mean +/- SE age 26.

Supplementation of conventional therapy with the novel grain Salba (Salvia hispanica L.) improves major and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether addition of Salba (Salvia hispanica L.), a novel whole grain that is rich in fiber, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and minerals to conventional treatment is associated with improvement in major and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Using a single-blind cross-over design, subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 37 +/- 4 g/day of Salba or wheat bran for 12 weeks while maintaining their conventional diabetes therapies.

When a placebo is not a 'placebo': a placebo effect on postprandial glycaemia.

Aims: Placebo effects in clinical trials remain uncertain. To investigate a placebo effect on acute postprandial plasma glucose, we conducted a follow-up investigation on a previous study.

Methods: The effect of placebo (9 g encapsulated cornstarch +500 ml water, taken at -40 min) on the plasma glucose response to a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was assessed in a previous study in 12 healthy subjects (gender, five male, seven female; age 27 +/- 6 years; body mass index 24 +/- 3.

Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng) improves glucose and insulin regulation in well-controlled, type 2 diabetes: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of efficacy and safety.

Background And Aim: To address the paucity of randomized clinical studies assessing ginseng on long-term outcomes in type 2 diabetes, we assessed the clinical antidiabetic efficacy and safety of 12 weeks of supplementation with a Korean red ginseng (KRG) preparation, dose, and mode of administration, selected from an acute, clinical, screening model.

Methods And Results: Nineteen participants with well-controlled type 2 diabetes (sex: 11 M:8 F, age: 64+/-2 years, BMI: 28.9+/-1.

Korean red ginseng rootlets decrease acute postprandial glycemia: results from sequential preparation- and dose-finding studies.

Background: Fractionation of a ginseng source to produce differences in the ginsenoside profile might influence its effect on postprandial glycemia. To explore this possibility and identify an efficacious ginseng for a longterm study, we conducted a preparation-finding study of different Korean red ginseng (KRG) root fractions followed by a dose-finding study of the most efficacious fraction.

Methods: A double-blind, randomized, within-subject design was used in both studies.

Long-term intake of North American ginseng has no effect on 24-hour blood pressure and renal function.

Ginseng is consumed by 10% to 20% of adults in Asia and by up to 5% in Western countries. Despite observational evidence suggesting a link between its intake and the development of hypertension, there remains no long-term scrutiny for its effect on blood pressure (BP). We therefore undertook a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, crossover trial in 52 hypertensive individuals to determine the effect of 12-week North American ginseng intake on 24-hour BP; we also measured serum cystatin C as a marker of renal function.

Herbal remedies in the management of diabetes: lessons learned from the study of ginseng.

The only example of an approved antidiabetic drug that was developed from a herbal source with a long history of use for diabetes is the biguanide Metformin from French lilac (Galega officinalis). Clinical data are beginning to emerge that support antidiabetic indications for several other herbs. This viewpoint discusses the state of the evidence for their clinical antidiabetic efficacy.

Decreasing, null and increasing effects of eight popular types of ginseng on acute postprandial glycemic indices in healthy humans: the role of ginsenosides.

Background: It is unclear whether other ginseng sources can replicate the glycemic-lowering efficacy observed previously with American ginseng and whether ginsenosides are mediators. We assessed the effect of eight popular ginseng types on postprandial plasma glucose (PG) and insulin (PI) indices, linking effects to ginsenoside profiles.

Methods: Using a double-blind, randomized, multiple-crossover design, 12 healthy participants (gender: 6M:6F, age: 34 +/- 3 y, BMI: 25.

Null and opposing effects of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) on acute glycemia: results of two acute dose escalation studies.

Objective: We have repeatedly reported that a batch of American ginseng with a specific ginsenoside (glycosidal saponin) profile decreases acute postprandial glycemia. We investigated whether Asian ginseng is able to replicate this glycemia-lowering efficacy in two separate acute dose escalation studies.

Methods: Each study was conducted in a separate sample of 11 healthy subjects (gender: 8M:3F and 6M:5F, age: 29 +/- 2y and 27 +/- 3y, BMI: 28.

Fat versus carbohydrate in insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Purpose Of Review: This review assesses the relative effect of fat versus carbohydrate and the differences between fatty acids and types of carbohydrate on insulin resistance and associated risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Recent Findings: The debate continues over whether high-carbohydrate or high-fat diets have the more deleterious metabolic effects. Large randomized controlled trials have shown that a reduction of fat intake as part of a healthy lifestyle combined with weight reduction and exercise reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Variable effects of American ginseng: a batch of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) with a depressed ginsenoside profile does not affect postprandial glycemia.

Background: We have repeatedly reported that American ginseng (AG) with a specific ginsenoside profile significantly decreases postprandial glycemia. Whether this effect is reproducible using AG with a different profile is unknown. We therefore investigated the effect of a different batch of AG on glycemia following a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Insulin resistance: concepts, controversies, and the role of nutrition.

Insulin resistance is a prevalent condition, in which insulin loses its normal physiological action. Since people were first classified as insulin resistant over 60 years ago, one of the main discoveries has been that insulin resistance clusters with other risk factors such as obesity, elevated triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, increasing cardiovascular disease risk. Although insulin resistance appears to manifest first in the periphery and then in the liver, other sites, such as the brain and the pancreatic &b.

Konjac-Mannan and American ginsing: emerging alternative therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Despite significant achievements in treatment modalities and preventive measures, the prevalence of diabetes has risen exponentially in the last decade. Because of these limitations there is a continued need for new and more effective therapies. An increasing number of people are using dietary and herbal supplements, even though there is a general lack of evidence for their safety and efficacy.

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) attenuates postprandial glycemia in a time-dependent but not dose-dependent manner in healthy individuals.

Background: We previously showed that 3 g American ginseng administered 40 min before an oral glucose challenge significantly reduces postprandial glycemia in subjects without diabetes. Whether this effect can be replicated with doses <3 g and administration times closer to the oral glucose challenge is unclear.

Objective: Our objective was to study the dosing and timing effects of American ginseng on postprandial glycemia.

Simple skinfold-thickness measurements complement conventional anthropometric assessments in predicting glucose tolerance.

Background: Skinfold-thickness measurements are considered to have limited clinical utility.

Objective: To assess whether skinfold-thickness measurements may be a useful adjunct to conventional anthropometric assessments in predicting glucose and insulin regulation, we studied responses to replicate 75-g oral-glucose-tolerance tests (OGTTs) and performed simple anthropometry in a cross section of subjects.

Design: Thirty-five subjects completed the study: 11 lean [mean (+/-SEM) age: 33 +/- 3.

American ginseng improves glycemia in individuals with normal glucose tolerance: effect of dose and time escalation.

Objective: We studied the effect of escalating the dose and administration time of American ginseng (AG, Panax quinquefolius L.) in nondiabetic individuals to achieve further improvements in glucose tolerance seen previously when 3 g of AG was taken 40 minutes before a 25 g glucose challenge.

Methods: Ten nondiabetic individuals (6M:4F; mean +/- STD: age = 41 +/- 13 years, BMI = 24.

Dilution of the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test improves overall tolerability but not reproducibility in subjects with different body compositions.

Poor reproducibility of the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (75-g OGTT) is a major criticism. To test whether dilution might be a contributor, we studied the effect of administering it at 300, 600, and 900 ml on the coefficient of variation (CV) and overall tolerability. Each dilution was randomly repeated three times by 35 subjects: 11 lean (body fat [BF]: 11.

Similar postprandial glycemic reductions with escalation of dose and administration time of American ginseng in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: We previously demonstrated that 3 g American ginseng (AG) reduced postprandial glycemia (PPG) in type 2 diabetic individuals. We investigated whether further reductions can be achieved with escalation of dose and time of AG administration.

Research Design And Methods: Ten type 2 diabetic patients (6 men, 4 women; age 63+/-2 years; BMI 27.

Beneficial effects of viscous dietary fiber from Konjac-mannan in subjects with the insulin resistance syndrome: results of a controlled metabolic trial.

Objective: Dietary fiber has recently received recognition for reducing the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. The implication is that it may have therapeutic benefit in prediabetic metabolic conditions. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of supplementing a high-carbohydrate diet with fiber from Konjac-mannan (KJM) on metabolic control in subjects with the insulin resistance syndrome.

Dilution of the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test increases postprandial glycemia: implications for diagnostic criteria.

Background: Dilution has been noticed to increase the glycemic response to various sugars, including glucose. This effect may contribute to the poor reproducibility of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). To test this hypothesis we assessed the effect of diluting a 75-g OGTT on 2-hour postprandial blood glucose based diagnostic outcomes, incremental glycemia and area under the glucose curve.