How blood sugar reaction to food differs from one person to another? Find out here!

The World Health Organization reports that the global prevalence of diabetes is 9 percent among adults 18 years old and above. In 2012, the disease claimed the lives of 1.5 million people. High blood sugar levels are also one of the risk factors for diabetes, which is why a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute took a closer look at how blood sugar levels react to food intake through a study, EurekAlert reports.

Titled "Personalized Nutrition Project", the study led by Prof. Eran Segal of the Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Department and Dr. Eran Elinav of the Immunology Department. Segal analyzed the blood sugar levels of 800 participants aged 18 to 80 for seven days. Results had shown that different participants responded very differently to simple and complex meals. Results showed that the blood sugar levels of a large number of participants suddenly elevated following standardized glucose meal, but other participants experienced a sharp increase in blood sugar level after eating white bread, but not after eating glucose.

"We chose to focus on blood sugar because elevated levels are a major risk factor for diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome," the study authors explained, "The huge differences that we found in the rise of blood sugar levels among different people who consumed identical meals highlights why personalized eating choices are more likely to help people stay healthy than universal dietary advice."

The study also included an analysis of gut microbes known collectively as the microbiome, which according to researchers also play a role in human health and disease. The participants wore small monitors that kept track of their blood sugar levels and recorded their food consumption, sleeping patterns, and physical activity. Throughout the study, researchers were able to study participants' responses to over 46,000 meals.

From this data, the researchers built an algorithm to predict individualized response to food based on the participant's lifestyle, medical background, and the composition and function of his or her microbiome. This algorithm was then applied to 100 more new participants for a follow-up study.

Results showed that the same food affected blood sugar levels differently. Examiner reports that according to Segal, "There are profound differences between individuals—in some cases, individuals have opposite responses to one another."

Researchers are now looking to conduct a longer-term follow-up dietary intervention study on those who have consistently high blood sugar levels and those at risk for diabetes, in the hopes that they could find a way to prevent the disease.