Therese Hjorth at Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Life Sciences, Division of Food Science did her PhD on the topic of carbohydrate quality and their effect on health.
In one of the included studies, Therese evaluated whether the glycemic index (GI) plays a role in eating a healthy diet. Here, she found that a low glycemic index (GI) diet improved post-meal blood sugar control compared to a high GI diet in people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in individuals eating a Mediterranean diet. The low GI diet also contributed to smaller fluctuations in blood sugar. The study clearly shows that even if you eat a healthy diet, you should choose low GI products.
Another exciting discovery from this study was that different individuals show different patterns of blood sugar response after the same meal, which can be linked to both the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and the composition of bacteria in the gut.
Read Therese's full doctoral thesis here.