Oatmeal Beats Ready-to-eat Cereal on Satiety

Remember the gluey texture of the oatmeal your mom served you as a kid? Turns out, this is a good thing, according to new research comparing the satiating effects of oatmeal versus ready-to-eat cereals.

The key to oats’ effect on satiety is in fact the viscous nature the oat fiber develops when fully hydrated. And, according to a new study presented last week, it has to be in oatmeal itself. The oats and oat fiber added to boxed cereals has been changed by the manufacturing processes common to ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC).

“RTEC is often produced via an extrusion process, and that changes the molecular weight of the fiber itself. The soluble fiber is the component that influences satiety; it absorbs a lot of water and becomes viscous,” Marianne O’Shea, senior director of nutrition R&D for Pepsico told FoodNavigator-

“If you change or reduce the molecular weight of that fiber it…