Fiber-added Foods May Not Stem Your Hunger

August 8, 2012 by REUTERS in HEALTHY MEALS

Fiber-enriched processed foods promise a healthier version of your favorite snacks, but do not expect them to keep your hunger at bay, a small study suggests.

In a short-term study of 22 women, researchers found no hunger-quashing effects of chocolate bars containing four different “functional fibers,” such as inulin – aka “chicory root extract” – commonly found in fiber-enriched processed foods.

Overall, the women were just as hungry come lunch time as they were on a day when they ate a low-fiber bar for breakfast. And their food intake for the rest of the day was similar as well.

The findings, reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, are in line with other research on added fibers.

“In general, added fibers don’t work across the board” when it comes to helping you feel fuller longer, said senior researcher Joanne Slavin, a registered dietitian and professor at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat fiber-enriched foods, though, Slavin said.

“It’s hard to get people to eat enough fiber. It’s one of our shortfall nutrients,” Slavin told Reuters Health. “I think putting fiber into foods that people will actually eat is a good thing.”

“It would be nice if these foods had an effect on satiety,” Slavin added. On the other hand, she noted, they may still help keep you regular or control your cholesterol.

GAS AND BLOATING

For the study, Slavin’s team recruited 22 young women who were not trying to lose weight. They had each woman eat five different chocolate crisp bars on separate days; four of the bars had one of four added fibers, while the fifth one had no extra fiber.

The women had one bar in the evening and then a bar for breakfast the next morning. They then had lunch at the research lab, where they rated their fullness and hunger on a standard scale. After that, they used diaries to record their food intake for the rest of the day.

Overall, Slavin’s team found, there were no differences in the women’s hunger ratings or food intake with the fiber-rich bars versus the low-fiber one. The fiber did, however, cause more gas and bloating.

The Kellogg Company, which provided the bars used in the study, said the products were developed specifically for the research and are not on the market.

“This study is part of our ongoing efforts as a fiber leader to support research on potential benefits from different fibers to understand how to provide the best nutrition to our consumers,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Charles said in an email.

LOOK AT AMOUNT OF FIBER

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