Why oatmeal keeps you full

Glance through a popular magazine’s list of healthy breakfast foods and you’ll likely find oatmeal in the group. Among other benefits, oatmeal is touted as having the ability to keep you full, effectively squelching the desire for that midmorning snack. In fact, a group of researchers recently found that a serving of instant oatmeal decreased the desire to eat more than the same amount of Honey Nut Cheerios, an oat-based cereal. I decided to talk with lead author Candida Rebello of the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre to find out what makes oatmeal so special. 
 

The story begins with dietary fibre, the part of plant foods that the body can’t digest, which has been shown to promote a feeling of fullness. Both the oats in oatmeal and ready-to-eat oat-based cereals contain β-glucan, a type of soluble fibre. 

However, it’s not just the fibre content that matters, according to Rebello and her fellow researchers. Fullness and the desire to eat may also be influenced by a property of fluids called viscosity, which, in this case, is generated by oat β-glucan. Rebello described viscosity as the slimy feel of oatmeal that you can both see in the bowl and feel in your mouth. Scientists think viscosity affects appetite by influencing the way foods interact with the mouth, as well as the stomach and intestines. For example, increased viscosity in the intestinal tract can stimulate the release of appetite-regulating hormones. The oral and gastric effects work together, according to Rebello, meaning a food with both a high initial viscosity in the mouth and a high subsequent viscosity in the gastrointestinal tract will likely produce a greater feeling of fullness.

The study Rebello and colleagues recently authored looked at instant oatmeal, old-fashioned oatmeal and Honey Nut Cheerios and measured each food’s viscosity and effect on satiety. (I should note that though Rebello works for the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre, the study was a collaborative effort with researchers from PepsiCo R&D Nutrition and was funded by PepsiCo R&D Nutrition’s Quaker Oats Centre of Excellence.) 

The researchers found that instant oatmeal improved several measures of satiety, or the feeling of fullness, over a four-hour period more than Honey Nut Cheerios did. Old-fashioned oatmeal improved one measure of satiety when compared to Honey Nut Cheerios. As might be expected, the study found that instant oatmeal had greater initial and subsequent viscosity compared to Honey Nut Cheerios. Old-fashioned oatmeal had greater subsequent viscosity but not higher initial viscosity, which could explain why it was less effective at promoting fullness.

Viscosity of oatmeal or cereal appears to be a key player in promoting fullness, so my next question was naturally about what determines differences in viscosity. 

“Viscosity is generated by the particular fibre in oatmeal, which is called β-glucan,” said Rebello, who is a research dietician. “The fibre is affected by the manner in which it is processed.” 

Ready-to-eat oat-based cereals, instant oatmeal and old-fashioned oatmeal are processed differently, which can lead their β-glucan to have a different structure and result in a different viscosity. 

So if you find yourself feeling satisfied until lunch after a bowl of instant oatmeal, now you’ll know why.

How Sweets are Made

Candy especially sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water to which flavouring and colouring are added to make them seem more attractive on shop shelves. Sweets have a long history and come in a variety of colours.

Rock candy is made from crystallised sugar and is the simplest form of candy. Even though this is the easiest form of candy to make it was considered a luxury and was only attainable by the rich. However in contrast to this since 1979 the world has produced more sugar that can be sold making it easily accessible and cheap.

When the invention of the candy press came along in 1847, it meant that people could produce different shapes and sizes of candy at once, because production was happening so fast confectioners used a revolving steam pan to assist in boiling water. The introduction of this revolving steam pan meant that candy makers were no longer needed to continuously stir the boiling sugar. Also, the use of this machine cut down the probability of the sugar burning as it was much more evenly distributed.

Chemically speaking, sugar sweets are broken down into two groups

1. Crystalline Candies – they are named this because of the texture the sweets have and from there microscopic organised sugar structure which is formed through the process of crystallisation. Crystalline candies include; fudge creams and fondants. Browse a range of chewy sweets here - http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/soft-chewy

2. Amorphous Candies – these types of sweets have a disorganised crystalline structure making them chewy, hard or brittle. They also tend to have a higher sugar concentration. Amorphous candies include; caramels, nut brittles and toffees

All types of candy are made the same way by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup which is then boiled until it starts to crystallise. However the type of candy is determined by the ingredients that are added and how long the mixture is boiled for. Once you have got the mixture fitted to your preference you then take it off the heat and pour it into certain moulds that you want your sweets to look like. The sweet mouldings are easily accessible however you need to make sure that they have been sterilised properly to prevent contamination.

Besides the making of hard boiled sweets, sour sweets are made / flavoured using food acids, they are naturally found in foods such as lemons, oranges, apples, berries and more. They are inexpensive and indispensible. They are found in many different types of acid you can add to make a sweet sour; the most common types of acid used are malic acid and citric acid. Acids which are less commonly used included tartaric acid and fumaric acid. All of these acids used in making sweets sour are listed on the FDA’s safe additives list. However, safe does not mean harmless, people who like sour foods should swill their mouth with water and brush their teeth. When adding acid to a heated mixture such as hard gummy candy, it is important to add them late into the process; this will ensure that the heat won’t weaken the sour flavour.

Browse a range here - http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/soft-chewy

Seasonal Sweets

Sweets have been around for many years. The sweet industry booms mainly around seasonal holidays such as, Halloween, Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas.

Halloween

The reason as to why people give candy out on halloween is because in ancient rome people would give out sweets and pastries on a day which they celebrated the dead. Trick or treats came for the medieval practise of souling when the poor classes would walk door to door asking and receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on all souls. In modern day celebrations of halloween, children go door to door and say trick or treat and their neighbours give them candy mainly because of tradition, however the people who want to be disturbed will often have a pumpkin outside their home, welcoming children. The candy given represented a peace offering to send away the ghouls without harming any of the living people, and because food was already left out it meant that they wouldnt, theoretically, come and eat you. Also candy was given out as a kind of bribe to stop the children from tricking which is where the term came from ; trick or treat.

Sweets have been around for many years. The sweet industry booms mainly around seasonal holidays such as, Halloween, Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas.

http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/seasonal/halloween

Valentines

Sweets and chocolate are also given out on Valentines Day. Named after Saint Valentine, even though he never married he fell in love with the jailers blind daughter, and through the power of love her eyesight was restored. Before he was publically hung he wrote her a love note and signed it 'From your Valentine'. Chocolate and sweets were given out because in ancient times these were considered a devine, valuable and decadent possession that only the upper class could afford. The first chocolate candies were invented in the 1860's by Cadbury.

Cadbury was also the first to market them in a heart-shaped box for Valentines Day during the same decade. As we all know chocolate is an aphrodisiac, however giving out chocolate on Valentines Day has been linked with women falling in love Chocolate contains an endorphine called phenylethylamine which can affect the levels of the brain which are linked with falling in love.

http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/seasonal/valentines-day

Easter

A lot of chocolate is produced around the time of Easter. It is one of the most exciting times for the confectionary market, with new ranges and presentations attracting more and more customers every year. The easter egg gift market reaches all ages of the population making it an accessible product. Shell eggs make up a large portion of the market as they are hollow eggs filled up with chocolate assortments, involving anything from cadbury roses to crunchies and milk trays. Creme-filled eggs are the most famous Cadbury Egg. They mimic a chicken egg as inside the crème egg it is filled with white fondant cream and a yellow cream yolk. However over the years people have adapted the orginal crème egg and have filled it with hazlenut truffle, dairy milk truffle, marble and caramel.

http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/seasonal/easter

Christmas

One of the main reasons for having sweets and chocolate around christmas is because it was once seen as a precious and an expensive commodity. It was because of this that it was typically reserved for holidays like christmas.

http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/seasonal/christmas

This History of Sweets

Everyone has been fond of sweet food. The earliest sweet food was honey which is also a natural antibacterial property. In the middle ages rich people ate desserts like preserved fruits, jelly and dried fruit and wafers which were made from batter, nowadays wafers are mainly used to form ice cream cones.

In the Tudor times, sweets were also popular however they were called sweetmeats. The rich, who were the only people who could afford them as they were very valuable, ate preserved fruit, gingerbread, sugared almonds and jelly. In the late middle ages, marzipan was then introduced, it was a paste made of almonds and jelly. Marzipan was also used by the Tudors to create edible sculptures of animals, castle, trees and people called subtleties. Furthermore, since the 17th century people were fond of barley sugar.

Sweets and confectioneries only became known during the 17th and 18th century this was mainly due to the industrial revolution. The productions of sweets were so big that the inflation of those goods was reduced. Since the high prices of sweets were reduced it meant that the expensive goods that were once considered only available to the upper class could be made available to the middle and lower classes. As the demand for sweets were so high more and more sweets were invented and as farmers had to grow more sugar cane to keep up with the high demands it meant that the global cost of sugar went down.

It was because of those times that we have the amount of sweets we do today. Haribo, Rowntrees and Maynard’s have become the most popular sweets with them each producing a variety of different sweets. Haribo has established itself on the markets beyond national borders and is now the world leader in the fruit gum and liquorice sector. Many online sweet shops include Haribo sweets within their produce because it is such a popular brand amongst the public. Haribo has built up national and international relations and including the consistent expansion of the product range by the purchasing of appropriate quality brands both at home and abroad has also contributed towards the leading marketing position.

Last but not least due to the amount of different flavours sweet company incorporate in their sweets means that there will not be a sweet a person doesn’t like. Sweet flavours may range from aniseed, apple, banana, bubblegum, cherry, chocolate, coconut, cola, cream, custard, fruit, hot, lemon, liquorice, mint, raspberry, rhubarb, sour, strawberry, toffee and many, many more. Along with all the different textured sweets.

http://www.theonlinesweetcompany.com/

New Innovation Centre to Open in July

Healy Group are very proud to announce the development of a multi-purpose food technology centre. Opening in July 2014, this facility offers a professional and flexible environment, high-end kitchen equipment with an auditorium, to create a unique multi-channel food experience. The variety of functions that it can provide enables Healy Group and its clients to foster a greater cooperation and synergy between key components of the UK and Irish food industry.

Potential opportunities for use include:

• A Research and Development Centre for Internal and External Use
• Manufacturer and Supplier-Driven Presentations on New and Existing Ingredients and Solutions
• Ingredient Innovation Open Days
• Industry Seminars and Workshops
• New Product Launches and Press Conferences
• Practical Education Experiences for Food and Nutrition Technologists and Students
• Multimedia Broadcasts
• Bespoke Hire Packages to Fit the Needs of a Variety of Clients

Healy Group are a solutions provider for food manufacturers, supplying high-quality ingredients and raw materials, offering tailored responses to the trends and challenges facing the food industry. Working closely with their customers and alongside key strategic partners across the world, the company draws on significant technical knowledge and experience to deliver meaningful results.

Using innovative food technologies from a diverse range of manufacturers, Healy Group offer solutions in areas such as Fat/ Salt/Sugar Reduction, Ingredient Replacement, Clean-Label Development, Cost Engineering, Improving Product Functionality, and Dietary/Allergen Adjustments, as well as general commodity supply. Furthermore, our BRC-grade storage facility enables professional distribution capabilities for small and large volumes of ambient materials.

Healy Group will be offering this facility for external hire, for use in conjunction with their clients in key research and development projects, and as a tool to boost internal product innovation and solutions-driven development. The scale of the investment reflects the confidence within the company of their capacity to maintain and enhance its position as a significant presence in the UK and Irish food markets. Healy Group welcomes the interest of new and existing clients to take advantage of this facility in the near future.