If you’re planning on making a smoothie for breakfast, try using less water to stay fuller for longer.
A new, albeit small, study discovered that when it comes to keeping you full, it’s the thickness of the beverage that counts - not the calorie content.
Researchers have dubbed the phenomenon “phantom fullness”.
They believe it could help tackle overeating and prevent weight gain.
Wageningen University researchers asked 15 men to drink one of four milkshakes, with differing thicknesses and calorie content (either 100 or 500 calories).
After the men had drank the shakes, they underwent MRI scans so that researchers could determine how much liquid volume was in their stomachs.
An hour and a half after drinking the shakes, participants were asked how full they were - this was then repeated every 10 minutes.
Men who drank the thin, 100-calorie milkshakes were most likely to feel hungry quickest.
Whereas those who drank the thick 100-calorie milkshakes felt fuller for longer compared to those who had the thin, 500-calorie beverages.
Researchers call this “phantom fullness”.
“These results underscore the lack of the satiating efficiency of empty calories in quickly ingested drinks such as sodas,” the researchers wrote.
“The increase in perceived fullness that is due solely to the increased viscosity, which is a phenomenon that we refer to as phantom fullness, may be useful in lowering energy intake.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
[H/T Time]
