Carbohydrate tolerance studies with 3-day-old infants.

Abstract Various derivatives of corn starch were fed to 3-day-old infants in dosages of 2 Gm. per kilogram of body weight to evaluate their effect on concentrations of glucose in the blood. Feeding of glucose resulted in the greatest rise in glucose concentration whereas feeding the 2 forms of starch resulted in minimal increases. Feedings of maltose, Dextri-Maltose, and D.E. (dextrose equivalent) 11 were followed by increases in glucose concentrations of the blood intermediate between those from feeding starch and glucose. When the test carbohydrates were fed as 20 per cent aqueous solutions, carbohydrate tolerance curves differed from those obtained when the same carbohydrates were fed as part of a formula containing protein and fat. Greater peak increases in glucose concentrations of the blood and more prompt return toward prefeeding values occurred after feeding a carbohydrate in aqueous solution than when the same carbohydrate was fed as a component of a formula.