Food structure and its relation to starch digestibility, and glycaemic response

Food macro- and microstructure has been studied very rarely in relation to physiological effects. This review deals with the influence of food macro- and microstructure on the postprandial glycaemic response. An article published in 1986 with the title "Swallowing food without chewing; a simple way to reduce postprandial glycaemia" illustrated the importance of food structure in relation to glucose metabolism [1]. In a whole cereal grain the intact cell walls protect starch from digestion. Processes such as milling and heat treatment influence the degradation of the plant cells during in vivo digestion. We demonstrate that bread porosity, mechanical properties and the starch ultrastructure per se have important effects on starch digestibility. Examples are presented of the possibilities to modify starch granule structure and continuous phase of breads in a way that breads with low starch digestibility and low insulin responses can be manufactured