In an effort to improve communication between manufacturers and consumers with regard to the carbohydrate content of a given food and how it will affect blood glucose levels, AACC International, St. Paul, MN, appointed an ad hoc Glycemic (Net) Carbohydrate Definition Committee to develop measurable definitions related to glycemic carbohydrates.
“The quality of fat type on nutrition has been a focus of nutrition for a long time, and now the quality of carbohydrate and its nutritional impact has become important,” says Julie Miller Jones, chair of the committee and professor of food safety and nutrition, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN. “The work of this committee was to try to define the terms so that food manufacturers might know what terms to use.”
AACC International’s Board of Directors recently approved the following definitions:
- Available carbohydrate is carbohydrate that is released from a food in digestion and which is absorbed as monosaccharides and metabolized by the body;
- Glycemic response is the change in blood glucose concentration induced by ingested food;
- Glycemic carbohydrate is carbohydrate in a food which elicits a measurable glycemic response after ingestion;
- Glycemic impact is the weight of glucose that would induce a glycemic response equivalent to that induced by a given amount of food.
According to AACC, “These definitions represent in vivo responses to food ingestions and are determined via carbohydrate concentration in the blood and/or degree of excretion from the body via feces and urine.”
In developing the definitions, the committee sought input from scientists around the world, via conference calls and at industry events, including a roundtable session at the 2005 “Nutritional Importance of Carbohydrate Quality in Cereal Foods” meeting in Brussels, Belgium, presented by AACC and its European faction, Cereals & Europe. The committee also sought industry input at a “Low Carbohydrate Diet” workshop conducted by the International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, D.C., and a forum at the 2005 AACC Annual Meeting in Orlando. Public input was solicited on an “Open Forum on Proposed Definitions Related to Glycemic Carbohydrates” website.
A report submitted by the committee to AACC stated: “The discussions have been vigorous with differing opinions frequently expressed. This is a complex and controversial issue with increasing global significance and interest.”
These definitions will enable determination of available and glycemic carbohydrate in grams per serving (or per 100 grams) of food, and help consumers better understand how a given food will affect blood sugar levels. The committee is currently developing recommendations on appropriate analytical methods.
