Filling Up on Oatmeal.

According to research published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, scientists have found that having oatmeal  for breakfast results in greater fullness, lower hunger ratings and fewer calories eaten at the next meal compared to a calorie-matched breakfast of a ready-to-eat cereal such as sugared corn flakes.

"Our results show that despite eating the same number of calories at breakfast, satiety values were significantly greater after consuming oatmeal compared to sugared corn flakes. After three hours, subjects reported the same level of hunger after having a corn flakes breakfast as they did when they consumed only water," explained lead researcher Allan Geliebter, PhD, research psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital.

"Interestingly, the results were more pronounced for the participants who were overweight, suggesting that overweight individuals may be more responsive to the satiety effects of the dietary fiber in oatmeal."

The study authors suggested that the greater satiety effect of oatmeal cereal compared to sugared corn flakes or water might be due to a slower gastric emptying (oatmeal took longer to leave the stomach).

Source: Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism

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Turkey's No Snooze

The notion that eating turkey will make you sleepy has been around for a long time, but it’s not true.

This myth started because turkey contains tryptophan, which human bodies use to make serotonin - a brain chemical that helps make melatonin, a hormone that can control sleep/wake cycles. So it makes some sense to blame the turkey for sleepiness after a Thanksgiving dinner.

However, turkey doesn’t contain much tryptophan. Pork and cheddar cheese contain more, as do eggs, fish, milk, nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, soy and tofu.

And unless the tryptophan is consumed in high doses and on an empty stomach, its unlikely to have much affect on the brain.

So what's causing that after-dinner drowsiness? Most scientists believe its the heavy portions of carbohydrates in the typical Thanksgiving meal: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce — and pumpkin pie to top it off. Those food items alone provide more carbohydrates — and calories — than most people eat in an average day. That kind of over-indulgence diverts the body’s blood supply to the digestive system and away from the brain and other parts of the body.

Source: Science 360 News, National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society.
Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

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Peanut Skins Make a Better Butter

While 60 percent of the 3 million metric tons of peanuts grown in the U.S. each year goes into peanut butter, virtually none are processed with their skins.

"They're discarded as waste, which is a shame because peanut skins are high in antioxidants, specifically phenolics, and dietary fiber," according to Ruthann Swanson, University of Georgia associate professor of foods and nutrition.

Swanson and a team of UGA scientists say peanut skins can be incorporated into traditional peanut butter without alienating consumers.

Historically, consumers have found the presence of particulates in peanut butter to be objectionable, she said. "But what has happened in recent years is a movement towards healthier products in general, including nut butters, and an increased emphasis on natural (products), and the peanut butters than contain some skin particles are perceived to be more natural by the consumer."

Source: The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Science.

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Green Beans Not Really Beans?

Green beans are not really “beans,” according to U.S. Dietary Guidelines. The primary difference is in protein content. A cup of green beans contains just 2 grams of protein, whereas a cup of black beans contains 15 grams of protein.

Green beans are usually harvested before the bean in the pod has fully matured — that’s why they don’t have as much protein as black beans, kidney beans or other types of dry beans.

Consequently, when paired with rice in a meal, they won't combine to make a complete protein like other beans do.

Source: Martha Filipic, Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

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Is It Really Organic?

Researchers at the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority in Oberschleissheim, Germany have found a way to use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to answer the question "Is it really organic?"

The technique has previously been used to authenticate foods like honey and olive oil. The scientists analyzed tomatoes grown in greenhouses and outdoors, with conventional or organic fertilizers and their data showed a trend toward differentiation of organic and conventional produce.

The test is a good starting point for the authentication of organically produced tomatoes, they conclude, and its further refinement could help root out fraudulently labelled foods.

The global market for organic foods nearly tripled in value between 2002 and 2011, reaching $62.8 billion. But because organic food can fetch prices often twice as high as conventionally produced food, the risk for fraudulent labelling has grown just as fast.

Source:

American Chemical Society 

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The Okra in Your Ice Cream

While okra is widely used as a vegetable for soups and stews, a new study suggests that okra extracts can be used as a stabilizer in ice cream.

Ice cream quality is highly dependent on the size of ice crystals. As ice cream melts and refreezes during distribution and storage, the ice crystals grow in size causing ice cream to become courser in texture which limits shelf life. Stabilizers are used to maintain a smooth consistency, hinder melting, improve the handling properties, and make ice cream last longer.
   
The study found that water extracts of okra fiber can be prepared and used to maintain ice cream quality during storage. These naturally extracted stabilizers offer an alternative food ingredient for the ice cream industry as well as for other food products.

Sources:

Journal of Food Science

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Good Microbes Love Chocolate

Many of the health benefits of eating dark chocolate are a consequence of bacteria in the stomach that gobble the chocolate and ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart.

Researchers at Louisiana State University have identified two kinds of microbes in the human gut: the 'good' ones and the 'bad' ones.

Good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate. When a person eats dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory. When these compounds are absorbed by the body, they lessen the inflammation of cardiovascular tissue, reducing the long-term risk of stroke.

The other bacteria in the gut are associated with inflammation and can cause gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. These include some Clostridia and some E. coli.

The study was the first to look at the effects of dark chocolate on the various types of bacteria in the stomach. Researchers tested three cocoa powders using a model digestive tract, comprised of a series of modified test tubes, to simulate normal digestion. They then subjected the non-digestible materials to anaerobic fermentation using human fecal bacteria.

Cocoa powder, an ingredient in chocolate, contains several polyphenolic, or antioxidant, compounds such as catechin and epicatechin, and a small amount of dietary fiber. Both components are poorly digested and absorbed, but when they reach the colon, the desirable microbes take over. The fiber is fermented and the large polyphenolic polymers are metabolized to smaller molecules, which are more easily absorbed. These smaller polymers exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.

Combining the fiber in cocoa with prebiotics is likely to improve a person’s overall health and help convert polyphenolics in the stomach into anti-inflammatory compounds. When you ingest prebiotics, the beneficial gut microbial population increases and outcompetes any undesirable microbes in the gut, like those that cause stomach problems.

Prebiotics are carbohydrates found in foods like raw garlic and cooked whole wheat flour that humans can’t digest but that good bacteria like to eat.

Sources:
American Chemical Society

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Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods