Muffin: a 130 g cake that trials mostly use as a delivery vehicle

The most useful muffin trial is about milk allergy. It enrolled 84 toddlers with cow's milk allergy who had already passed a supervised challenge with baked milk in a muffin. In that randomized trial, eating baked milk in muffins for a year left 88.1% able to tolerate plain milk, against 66.7% in the control group. That is a treatment run with an allergist and has nothing to do with an ordinary breakfast muffin. In another group of 136 milk-allergic children, 30% reacted to a baked-milk muffin at their first supervised challenge, so it is not something to try at home. Almost every other trial bakes something into the muffin and measures that ingredient. As food, a UK retail American-style muffin has 375 calories and 27.7 g sugars per 3.5 oz (100 g). US survey data code a medium muffin at 130 g, about 488 calories when worked out from the 100 g values. In 2016 the FDA doubled the label reference amount for a muffin from 55 g to 110 g because Americans were eating more per sitting.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• A UK retail American-style muffin carries 375 calories, 27.7 g sugars, 19.5 g fat and 250 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g). — CoFID 2021, food code 11-738, Muffins, American, not chocolate, retail (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 375 calories, carbohydrate 47.8 g, total sugars 27.7 g, fat 19.5 g, protein 5.0 g, AOAC fiber 1.8 g, sodium 250 mg

What a real portion looks like

• US survey data code a medium muffin at 130 g and a large one at 180 g, which is about 488 and 675 calories. — USDA FNDDS, Muffin, NFS, food code 52301000, fdc_id 2707829 (n = 6 measures) Evidence E source
  Miniature 25 g 94 calories; small 70 g 263 calories; medium 130 g 488 calories and 437 mg sodium; large 180 g 675 calories and 605 mg sodium
• The FDA doubled the label reference amount for a muffin from 55 g to 110 g in 2016 because Americans were eating more muffin per sitting. — US Nutrition Facts labeling, muffins excluding English muffins Evidence E source
  RACC raised from 55 g to 110 g, based on NHANES 2003-2008 intake data

What your body absorbs

• In a 12-day crossover RCT in 9 adults, muffins made from orange biofortified maize raised blood beta-cryptoxanthin by 131% for whole-grain and 108% for refined flour. — 9 adults, mean age 23, muffins eaten for 12 days per arm (n = 9) Evidence B source
  Serum BCX AUC 1.70 (whole-grain orange) and 1.66 (refined orange) vs -0.06 umol/L per day (white maize)

What it does to your health

• In a crossover RCT in 28 healthy adults, a muffin top with 11.6 g of added resistant starch fiber cut the 2-hour blood glucose response by 33%. — 28 healthy adults, single servings after a 12-hour fast, 7-day washout (n = 28) Evidence B source
  Glucose iAUC 0-120 min -33% (P = 0.037), peak glucose -8%, insulin iAUC -38% vs control muffin top with 0.9 g fiber
• In a crossover RCT in 12 healthy adults, muffins made with oat or barley flour had a glycemic index of 53 and 55, against 74 for wheat flour muffins. — 12 healthy participants, single test meals (n = 12) Evidence B source
  GI: wheat 74, rice 79, corn 74, oat 53, barley 55
• In a crossover RCT in 24 healthy adults, swapping 25 g of muffin carbohydrate for red lentils lowered the glucose response to 84% of a wheat muffin. — 24 healthy adults aged 18 to 40, single test muffins with 25 g available carbohydrate (n = 24) Evidence B source
  Relative glycemic response 84% (red lentil) and 88% (green lentil) vs wheat muffin; red lentil glucose iAUC lower (P = 0.02)
• In a crossover RCT, muffins with 20% or 30% sour cherry pomace in place of flour cut energy eaten at a meal 3 hours later by 13.7% and 15.1%. — healthy adults, single test muffins vs plain muffins Evidence B source
  Energy intake at next meal -13.7% (20% pomace) and -15.1% (30% pomace); incremental peak glucose 7.2 and 11 mg/dL (0.40 and 0.60 mmol/L) lower
• Cohort data on more than 875,000 people did not link refined grain intake to cardiovascular disease. — 17 prospective cohort studies, more than 875,000 participants (n = 875000) Evidence C source
  Refined grains and CVD HR 1.08 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.18, 9 cohorts); same null result in studies with indulgent grain foods

Safety, limits and interactions

• Among 136 milk-allergic children, 30% reacted to a baked-milk muffin at the first food challenge. — 136 milk-allergic children, median age 7, followed for 36 months (n = 136) Evidence C source
  Baseline reactions: muffin 41 (30%), pizza 31 (23%), non-baked milk 43 (32%)

What people believe that the data does not support

• Under US rules, calling a product oat bran muffins is a statement of identity, not an implied nutrient claim, unless the label suggests a nutrient amount. — US food labeling, 21 CFR 101.65(b)(5) Evidence E source
  The name alone is not a nutrient content claim

Who this works differently for

• In an RCT in 84 milk-allergic toddlers, eating baked milk in muffins for a year led 88.1% to tolerate plain milk, against 66.7% in the control group. — 84 children aged 6 months to 3 years with cow's milk allergy who tolerated baked milk in muffin (n = 84) Evidence B source
  Tolerance to unheated milk after 1 year 88.1% (37/42) vs 66.7% (28/42), P = 0.018

The bottom line

The flour changes the blood sugar response. In a single test meal in 12 healthy adults, muffins made with oat or barley flour had glycemic index values of 53 and 55, against 74 for wheat flour. Swapping wheat for red lentils in a muffin carrying 25 g of carbohydrate brought the glucose response down to 84% of a wheat muffin in 24 healthy adults. Green lentils came to 88%, which did not reach significance. A muffin top made for the study with 11.6 g of added resistant starch cut the 2 hour glucose response by 33% in 28 healthy adults after one serving, and a shop muffin has none of that added fiber. Muffins with 20% or 30% sour cherry pomace in place of flour cut the energy people ate at a meal 3 hours later by 13.7% and 15.1%, in a trial whose abstract does not say how many took part. Over 875,000 people in 17 cohorts, refined grain foods were not linked to cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio 1.08, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.18, 9 cohorts), and the authors warn that confounding may remain. That is an association and tells you little about any one muffin. Milk allergy is the real caution. The children who reacted to a baked-milk muffin had a median age of 7, and their result shows that baking does not make milk safe for every allergic child. Under US rules a name like oat bran muffins is only a statement of what is in it and is not a nutrient claim. We found no data on what baking does to the nutrients in a muffin.

Sources

1. mufn-daily-r8-01 · food composition dataset
   CoFID 11-738 Muffins, American, not chocolate, retail: Energy 375 kcal | Carbohydrate 47.8 g | Total sugars 27.7 g | Fat 19.5 g | Protein 5.0 g | AOAC fibre 1.8 g | Sodium 250 mg
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England (OGL v3.0), code 11-738 Muffins, American, not chocolate, retail · checked 2026-10-02
2. mufn-daily-r8-02 · reference dataset
   Muffin, NFS, FNDDS 52301000, fdc_id 2707829: 1 miniature 25 g | 1 small 70 g | 1 medium 130 g | 1 large 180 g || Energy 375 kcal | Sodium 336 mg per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS (FoodData Central survey), Muffin, NFS, food code 52301000, fdc_id 2707829 · checked 2026-10-02
3. mufn-daily-r8-03 · federal rule
   (Comment 56) Muffins--One comment opposed increasing the RACC for muffins from 55 g to 110 g. ... The 2003-2008 NHANES data shows an increased consumption for muffins, so we are updating the RACC accordingly.
   FDA, Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion, Federal Register 2016-11865 · checked 2026-10-02
4. mufn-daily-r8-09 · RCT
   9 adults (mean ± SD age: 23.4 ± 2.3 y; 5 men) were provided with muffins made from BCX-enhanced whole-grain orange maize (WGOM), refined orange maize (ROM), or refined white maize (RWM) for 12 d in a randomized, blinded, crossover study followed by a 7-d washout. ... A greater increase occurred in serum BCX from WGOM muffins (131%) than from ROM muffins (108%) (P ≤ 0.003).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2018 · checked 2026-10-02
5. mufn-daily-r8-05 · RCT
   This was a randomized, double-blind, crossover study to evaluate the postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses of healthy adults (n = 28) after the consumption of a muffin top made with VERSAFIBE™ 2470 RS (11.6 g TDF fiber muffin top) or a control muffin top (0.9 g TDF). ... The consumption of the fiber muffin top resulted in a significant 33% reduction in postprandial serum glucose incremental area under the curve from 0 to 120 min and an 8% decrease in maximum glucose concentration versus the control muffin (P = 0.037 and P = 0.007, respectively).
   Nutrition, 2018 · checked 2026-10-02
6. mufn-daily-r8-06 · RCT
   Twelve healthy participants consumed wheat, rice, corn, oat and barley muffins once and the reference glucose solution three times in a random order on non-consecutive day. ... Muffins baked with wheat, rice, corn, oat and barley flours gave rise to GI values of 74, 79, 74, 53 and 55, respectively.
   Eur J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-10-02
7. mufn-daily-r8-07 · RCT
   In randomized, crossover studies, healthy adults consumed foods containing 25 g AC from green lentils, red lentils or a control (wheat muffin, n = 24; rice chili, n = 24; potato soup, n = 20). ... The RGR for muffins, chilies and soups was 88, 58 and 61%, respectively, for green lentils, and 84, 48 and 49%, respectively, for red lentils.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
8. mufn-daily-r8-08 · RCT
   the incremental peak glucose was 0.40 and 0.60 mmol L(-1) lower than for plain muffins (PM). ... 20% CP and 30% CP resulted in improved satiety and induced a lower energy intake at a test meal ingested 3 h later (-13.7%; -15.1%) as compared to PM, respectively.
   J Sci Food Agric, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02
9. mufn-daily-r8-12 · meta-analysis of cohorts
   Meta-analyses of hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) obtained from 17 prospective cohort studies (>875,000 participants) indicated that refined grain intake was not associated with risk of CVD (HR = 1.08, 95% CI, 0.99-1.18, I2 = 70%; 9 cohorts), stroke (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.23, I2 = 70%; 9 cohorts), or heart failure (HR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.77-1.16, I2 = 10%; 5 cohorts).
   Trends Cardiovasc Med, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
10. mufn-daily-r8-11 · clinical cohort
    A total of 136 children (70% males) were enrolled in the active group (median age, 7 years). At baseline, 41 (30%) reacted to muffin, 31 (23%) to pizza, 11 (8%) to rice pudding, 43 (32%) to non-baked milk; and 10 (7%) tolerated non-baked milk.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract, 2018 · checked 2026-10-02
11. mufn-daily-r8-04 · regulation
    A statement of identity that names as a characterizing ingredient, an ingredient associated with a nutrient benefit (e.g., “corn oil margarine,” “oat bran muffins,” or “whole wheat bagels”), unless such claim is made in a context in which label or labeling statements, symbols, vignettes, or other forms of communication suggest that a nutrient is absent or present in a certain amount
    21 CFR 101.65, Implied nutrient content claims and related label statements · checked 2026-10-02
12. mufn-daily-r8-10 · RCT
    A randomized clinical trial was carried out with 84 patients (6 months-3 years old) diagnosed with allergy to cow's milk who tolerated baked milk in form of muffin in oral food challenge (OFC). ... It was shown that by the end of the 1-year study period, 88.1% (37/42) of the patients in the case group and 66.7% (28/42) of those in control group had developed tolerance to unheated milk (P-value: 0.018).
    Pediatr Allergy Immunol, 2018 · checked 2026-10-02