Ever notice some foods, like oatmeal, fill you up quickly, but others, like rice, you can go on eating seemingly forever? Researchers have measured this "satiety" food index as well as how long a food will keep you full to help you choose better snacks.


This "Are Bananas as Bad for You as Cookies" infographic from Massive Health maps the satiety index (PDF) that researchers from the University of Sydney produced for foods across six food categories.

The satiety index measures how full you feel after eating 240 calories of food and how long after eating you feel full again, while the sugar crash scale or glycemic index measures how quickly you get a sugar high from the food and then crash (a low glycemic index is preferable, meaning the food sustains you longer.)


Looking at the chart, the foods at the top right corner are those with the greater satiety and lower glycemic index: More filling and less crashing!

As Massive Health says, you can put the index to work by making easy snacking swaps, since choosing the right food can mean the difference between one snack or five throughout the day. Instead of eating bananas, then, go for oranges or apples. Instead of cereal, try eggs or all-bran for breakfast.

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Here's the full graphic (click to expand or right-click to save):




Are Bananas as Bad for You as Cookies? | Massive Health