Can a muffin help doctors diagnose diabetes?

Giving a "muffin test" to people at risk for diabetes might help doctors diagnose the disease and its warning signs, according to a new study.

Tests for diabetes and its precursor, impaired glucose tolerance, check how well the body uses glucose, a type of sugar.

In one common test, called an oral glucose tolerance test, a person fasts overnight and then drinks a sugary solution while doctors monitor how the body reacts and how much sugar sticks around in the blood.

Researchers behind the new report wondered if people might prefer munching on a muffin to downing the glucose drink -- and if a muffin test would give doctors a better idea of how the body deals with real food.

"Women really hate to get tested" with the oral glucose tolerance test, said Dr. Michael Traub of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, who worked on the study.

"It's really not such a pleasant test," he told Reuters Health, adding that many people often feel ill from the drink.

"A muffin more closely resembles what someone really eats -- it may just provide a more adequate test."

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