Compared with fresh injera, stale injera increases satiety in healthy subjects, but does not decrease the glycemic index

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The impact of food structure on postprandial physiological responses has received sustained attention in recent years. Changes in the glycemic response and satiety score to commonly consumed starchy foods may have a positive impact on health. However, no data on Ethiopian staple foods has been reported. This study aimed at investigating the effects of structural changes in injera (stale and fresh with similar macronutrient content) on glycemic and satiety responses in 10 healthy subjects during 2 h in a randomized cross-over design. Findings: With increasing hardness, stale injera had a marked higher satiety index (iAUC = 407 ± 14; p =.001) than fresh injera (iAUC = 333 ± 18). Besides, stale injera had a slightly, but not significant, lower glycemic index (GI) than fresh injera (stale, 35.9 ± 3.6; fresh, 40.2 ± 3.0). Conclusions: Injera staling increased satiety but not glycemic response, and may provide a simple means for improving its health potential. Significance and Novelty: The effect of injera staling on satiety/glycemic responses has never been studied before. Injera is a staple food in Ethiopia, eaten several times a day. Therefore, stale injera may help reducing food intake of subsequent unhealthy foods through increased satiety.