Turn Up The Heat On Oatmeal

To avoid mid-morning hunger pangs, switch from cold oat cereal to hot oatmeal. That’s the conclusion of a recent study comparing the same-calorie meal of either hot oatmeal (instant or old-
fashioned oats) with cold, ready-to-eat oat cereal.

In an experiment, 48 volunteers were randomly given either the hot or cold cereal with milk on three different test days separated by at least a week. After each meal, the volunteers rated their hunger scores for the next four hours, and both versions of the hot oatmeal provided more satiety than the cold oat cereal.

Oatmeal’s soluble oat fiber has a viscosity that may be the key, according to the research published in Nutrition Journal and funded by Quaker Oats Center for Excellence and PepsiCo R&D Nutrition.