Fibre Drunk as a Beverage Lowered Post-Meal Blood Glucose More: Meta-Analysis of 37 Trials

Post-meal blood glucose is measured less often than fasting blood glucose, but it is a metabolic load that repeats three times a day. One of the most widely studied ingredients for easing a steep rise in blood glucose after meals is resistant maltodextrin, a water-soluble dietary fibre.

Pooled results from 37 randomised controlled trials

A meta-analysis published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition pooled 37 randomised, placebo-controlled trials in which healthy adults received 10 g or less of resistant maltodextrin. The trials used meals containing 30 to 173 g of available carbohydrate, such as rice, noodles, pastries, bread and refined carbohydrates.

The effect rose with the dose and did not depend on the amount of carbohydrate eaten with it. What made the difference was how it was consumed. When 6 g was drunk as a beverage, the blood glucose response to starchy foods fell by about 20%, but when it was added into food, the drop was about 10%. The researchers concluded that the evidence is stronger for the beverage form. An analysis checking for publication bias also found no systematic bias.

A fibre that isn't sticky

Highly viscous fibres such as guar gum are known to lower post-meal blood glucose, but their taste and texture make them hard to take consistently. This meta-analysis drew attention because it found an effect in the same direction with a fibre that has low viscosity and almost no taste. In calorimetry measurements in people, resistant maltodextrin supplied about 1.7 kcal per gram (about 7.1 kJ), less than half the energy of ordinary carbohydrate.

As a drink, one bottle after a meal

The meta-analysis studied the ingredient itself, not any specific product. A product that reflects this evidence in its formulation is ONDAM BIO's "SANBIDAM Premium." It puts 10,000 mg of resistant maltodextrin in one 50 ml liquid bottle, designed to be drunk right after a meal, with no pills to swallow and no powder to mix into water.

It also contains the Cornus extract complex (MFDS individually approved functional ingredient No. 2022-26), developed over seven years by NINEB, a subsidiary of Ajou University's technology holding company. The product carries four functional claims: resistant maltodextrin may help suppress the rise in blood glucose after meals, may help improve blood triglyceride levels and may help support regular bowel movements, and the Cornus extract complex may help reduce body fat. For middle-aged and older adults who have started to worry about post-meal blood glucose and find several supplement pills a day burdensome, one bottle after a meal may be worth considering.