Battle of the cereals: flakes v puffs!

A recent Spanish study has found that the process which makes breakfast cereals tastier may also make them less nutritious.

The findings, published in the journal Food Chemistry, suggest that cereal puffs have lower levels of protein than cereal flakes. The chemical process which is used to make puffs is called the Maillard reaction, and it affects both flavour and nutrition in cereals. This reaction is triggered by heat and causes sugar and amino acid molecules to interact and produce flavour and aroma.

Dr Francisco Morales of the Instituto del Frío in Madrid, who led the research, said that it is this technique which gives many foods their golden, toasted qualities, but which also reduces nutrients and can lead to the formation of contaminants.

Morales and his team measured the levels of a chemical called furosine, which is produced during the Maillard reaction, in sixty packaged cold cereals. No significant differences in levels of furosine were evident among corn, wheat and rice cereals, but cereal puffs were found to be higher in the chemical than flakes were. Puffs are cooked at a higher temperature in order to achieve their characteristic puffiness, and this higher temperature causes a stronger Maillard reaction, which in turn produces more furosine. Interestingly, the research found that cereals with added dietary fibre had the highest furosine levels.

So what's the best choice for breakfast cereals? We recommend chossing a low GI breakfast cereal, and for more information the glycemic index read this article here.

Source: ABC Online, 9 October 2006

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