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Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether Low GI bread will help a person to perform better and keep their blood sugar levels more stable than a normal breakfast of white bread. I investigated this by selecting 5 candidates and monitoring their blood sugar levels over a period of 2 days. On day 1 they were given plain Low GI bread to eat for breakfast and on day 2 they were given white bread. On both days they were not allowed to eat anything besides what I gave them and could only drink water. To ensure a fair test I tested their glucose levels before they ate to eliminate the possibility that the previous nights food could affect my results and to provide a basis to observe the increase in sugar. I then tested their Blood sugar levels 2 more times leading up to lunch. My results at first seemed completely random and did not seem to follow any trend but when plotted on a graph, similarities could be seen. They proved that Low GI is a better alternative to white bread On a personal level, the success of this investigation will help me to convince my mother to buy us Low GI bread for school instead of white bread or even normal brown bread (one of the preparation tests done for my proposal proved that Low GI bread is even better then brown bread). This will help me to concentrate better in class because I will not be distracted by hunger.

Will Low GI bread keep a persons blood sugar levels more stable than white bread and make them feel less hungry?

To observe the effect of Low GI bread on a persons blood sugar levels and how hungry they feel.

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

Low GI bread will keep a persons blood sugar levels more stable than white bread and make them feel less hungry

Glucometer Lancets(to prick the candidates finger) Low GI bread Normal White bread

In preparation for this experiment I performed 2 preparation tests (attached to results)). The final test was performed over 2 mornings. 1. On Day 1 the 5 candidates were each given 2 slices of plain Sasko Low Gi Seed loaf . Their blood sugar levels were measured with a Glucometer and they were then told to eat. 2. Half an hour after they ate their Low GI breakfast their blood sugar levels were measured again. 3. This was repeated again another 2 hours later. 4. During this time they were only allowed to drink water and were not allowed to eat anything until the last test was completed. 5. On Day 2 the same experiment was performed but the Low GI bread was exchanged for normal white bread for breakfast.

A Table showing the Blood sugar levels of 5 candidates when eating Low GI bread and normal white bread.

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

Candidate number 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Glucose level before breakfast 6.5 5.9 4.4 4.9 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.2 6.4 5,2

Glucose level 30 min after breakfast 6.1 7.9 5.0 5.2 6.8 6.8 6.7 8.1 5.4 6.2

Glucose level 2 hours later 6.3 4.3 5.7 8.1 5.5 4.9 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.6

Key: The columns shaded blue show the results for Low GI bread and the columns shaded red represent the white bread. To add more interest to the experiment, every time I was measuring a candidates blood sugar I also asked them how hungry they felt. Their account of how hungry they felt usually corresponded to their blood sugar levels. At 30 minutes after breakfast when the candidates sugar levels were highest they were least hungry. All the candidates said that they were the hungriest 2 hours after eating, which corresponds with their blood sugar levels that were the lowest at that time.

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

Blood sugar levels for Candidate no. 1


Blood sugar levels in mg Blood sugar levels in mg 10 8 6 4 2 0

Blood sugar levels of candidate no.1


6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Low GI Bread Whitebrea d

Low GI Whitebrea d

Blood sugar levels for candidate no.3


Blood sugar levels in mg 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 Low GI Whitebrea d Blood sugar levels in mg

Blood sugar levels of Candidate no.4


10 8 6 4 2 0

Low GI Whitebrea d

Blood sugar levels of Candidate no. 5


Blood sugar levels in mg 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Low GI Whitebread

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

Line Graph showing the average blood sugar levels of 5 candidates:


8 7 Blood sugar levels in miligrams 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Before breakfast 30 minutes later 2 hours later

Low GI Whitebread

Time in minutes and hours

The graphs of all 5 candidates show that low GI bread creates steadier blood sugar levels with a gradual increase and drop during the time monitored. The white bread causes a steeper peak and drop. The candidates account of how hungry they felt corresponded with their current blood sugar levels.

The Hypothesis was proven correct. Low GI bread did create more stable blood sugar levels then white bread and they did feel less

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

hungry after eating it because theyre blood sugar levels did not drop so low as it did when they had white bread. The results of my experiment differed considerably amongst the candidates due to a number of reasons but mostly to two factors. Firstly, every person is different and will react differently when tests are done. This is a factor that I could not control in many ways except for establishing an average glucose level for each candidate and comparing their results over a couple of days or a week with themselves and then with each other. This would show much more reliable results but would not be possible unless the tests were done in a holiday as the candidates need to be monitored from early in the morning without breakfast and all do the exact same amount of physical activity. Secondly, my experiment was only at a High School level and not strictly professional. Although I tried to control all the variables there is no guarantee that I was completely accurate. I have come to the conclusion that my hypothesis was correct but could have been proven more strongly and accurately had i performed the tests over a longer period eg. a week.

As mentioned before I would have liked to perform the tests again over a week long period to ensure accuracy and more data to work with. My data would also be more reliable if I had tested more people. Unfortunately it is hard to control and test what a large amount of people eat making this type of experiment difficult. I could have tried to persuade more people to take part but unfortunately 3 of 12 people who agreed to take part in the experiment had a phobia for

Elsa Nel

Science Expo Investigation

2012/03/20

needles and pulled out. Again the nature of the experiment made it difficult. I thoroughly enjoyed performing this experiment and found the experience and results very interesting.

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