Hi-Maize Resistant Starch May Improve Insulin Sensitivity in Men at Risk for Prediabetes
The company says this was the first study to examine the lower dose of 15 g/day.
According to study results presented at the recent Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, low doses of hi-maize resistant starch may improve insulin sensitivity in men at risk for prediabetes. The study was funded by hi-maize resistant starch supplier National Starch LLC (Bridgewater, NJ), a business unit of Corn Products International.
The American Diabetes Association defines prediabetes as a nondisease state in which glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Study leader Kevin C. Maki, PhD, of Biofortis-Provident Clinical Research (Glen Ellyn, IL) said that in the trial, overweight or obese but nondiabetic males showed a 72.7% improvement in insulin sensitivity after taking 30 g/day of Hi-maize resistant starch 260. A 15 g/day dose resulted in a 56.5% improvement.
The company says this was the first study to examine the lower dose of 15 g/day.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial took place over three four-week treatment periods, with a three-week washout in between. Subjects included both men and women; however, men experienced the statistically significant improvement in insulin sensitivity while the women did not. The researchers postulate that menstrual cycles may have altered the effects in women.
