Choose Thicker Drinks to Suppress Hunger
Ever notice how you feel fuller on a thick fruit smoothie than on pure fruit juice? It is not your imagination; The thickness and viscosity of a drink can greatly affect your satiety or feeling of fullness, and can also help suppress hunger.
This advice is based primarily onone study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior . In the study, the researchers compared drinks that were identical in almost every way except for the viscosity of the drink. This showed that thicker drinks suppressed hunger better than thinner and less viscous drinks.
However, the amount of calories in a drink also matters. Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the degree to which the drink contributed to satiety depended on both its thickness (and creamy consistency in the case of the study) and the actual nutrients it provided. A thick, high-calorie drink has been shown to provide greater satiety than a thick, low-calorie drink.
The explanation for this is that viscous liquids stretch the stomach in the same way as solid food and do not leave the stomach as quickly; and textures such as the thickness of the high satiety expectation replica. Together, they seem to suggest that they may affect appetite and perhaps even consumption at later meals.
So, if you do decide to drink your calories, you’re better off choosing or preparing thicker, viscous liquids (or even homemade protein shakes ) to curb your appetite and hunger. Just make sure the smoothies are n’t too sweet.
Drink viscosity is inversely proportional to postprandial hunger | Physiology and behavior