Satiety Index

by Rick Mendosa and John Walsh, P.A., C.D.E.

How full did that meal you just ate make you feel? Did it satisfy your hunger or did you feel like you needed to snack later? Now a new tool for measuring hunger and helping with blood sugar control is available.

Studies by Australian researcher Dr. Susanne Holt at the University of Sydney have developed one of the most exciting diet concepts ever. Called the "Satiety Index", it was developed by having students come in the morning and eat 240-calorie portions of a specific food. Then they rated their feelings of hunger every 15 minutes, and over the next two hours, students could go to a buffet table and eat as much as the liked, all under the observation of researchers.

Using white bread as the baseline of 100, they scored 38 different foods that were given to the students. Foods scoring higher than 100 were judged to be more satisfying than white bread, while those under 100 were less satisfying. Foods that have a higher satiety index keep hunger down longer, and would be better choices for those who want to lose weight.

A fascinating finding of Dr. Holt's study is that some foods like croissants are only half as satisfying as white bread, while potatoes are more than three times as satisfying, but French fries did not score well! As a group, fruits ranked at the top for foods to choose with a satiety index 1.7 times higher than white bread.

The Satiety Index
All are compared to white bread, ranked as "100" Each food is rated by how well it satisfied their hunger. Tip: If you want to lose weight, avoid the LOWER numbers!
Bakery Products		Carbohydrate Rich Foods
Croissant	47%	White bread	100%
Cake	65%	French fries	116%
Doughnuts	68%	White pasta	119%
Cookies	120%	Brown Rice	132%
Crackers	127%	White rice	138%
Snacks and Confectionary		Grain bread	154%
Mars candy bar	70%	Wholemeal bread	157%
Peanuts	84%	Brown pasta	188%
Yoghurt	88%	Potatoes	323%
Crisps	91%	Protein Rich Foods
Ice cream	96%	Lentils	133%
Jellybeans	118%	Cheese	146%
Popcorn	154%	Eggs	150%
Breakfast Cereals		Baked beans	168%
Muesli	100%	Beef	176%
Sustain	112%	Fish	225%
Special K	116%	Fruits
Cornflakes	118%	Bananas	118%
Honeysmacks	132%	Grapes	162%
All Bran	151%	Apples	197%
Porridge/Oatmeal	209%	Oranges	202%

Using this study, the May 1996 issue of the "University of California-Berkeley Wellness Letter," gave suggestions for weight-watchers trying to get the most satisfaction from the fewest calories:

• Potatoes gave the highest satisfaction, seven times higher than the least-filling croissants.

• Whole grain breads are 50% more filling than white breads.

• Cakes, donuts, and cookies are among the least filling.

• For fruits, oranges and apples outscore bananas.

• Fish is more satisfying, per calorie, than lean beef or chicken.

• Popcorn is twice as filling as a candy bar or peanuts.

Source: diabetesnet.com
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Copyright 1997, 2001 Rick Mendosa and John Walsh. All Rights Reserved.
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