Type 2 diabetes: Towards the Identification of Distinct Starch Digestion Products of Importance in the Regulation of Glucose Homeostasis |Biomedgrid

It is trite that glucose is an energy source for humans and is exclusively used by the brain for energy. Glucose is typically concentrated in the form of starch, organised in yet not well understood architectural and molecular structures. The molecular structures range from relatively highly branched amylopectins, moderately branched intermediate materials and relatively linear amyloses. The digestion, over time, of these diverse and complex molecules to release glucose has been linked to the increasing rates of degenerative conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Unlike in the case of for instance oils and proteins which comprise known essential fatty acids and essential amino acids respectively, the essential structure(s) and/or molecule(s) in the nutrition of carbohydrates remains elusive. Hints from research findings exist that it is not simply the amount of starch in a diet that influences the rate of glucose production during digestion. But different starch digestion structures can also inhibit or amplify the rate of glucose release or sensing and concomitant insulin response. To improve the understanding of carbohydrate digestion.