Having trouble staying full? Here’s one way to kick hunger to the curb: Add a bowl of beans to your diet. New research from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada says that people who ate an average of 160 grams of beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils everyday felt 31 percent fuller.
The findings, led by researcher Dr. John Sievenpiper, are published in the August issue of Obesity, a health journal.
“Despite their known health benefits, only 13 percent of Canadians eat pulses on any given day and most do not eat a full serving, which is 130 grams or 3/4 cup,” says Sievenpiper, who serves as a Consultant Physician in the Division of Endocrinology at St. Micheal’s Hospital. “The finding that pulses make people feel fuller was true across various age categories and body mass indexes (BMIs).”
Conducting something called a meta-analysis, used to evaluate several studies to find a common pattern, Sievenpiper first identified studies which investigated the effects of dietary pulses on post-meal satiety. From there, he, along with other researchers, compared the data to see if there was an universal rise or decrease in post-meal intake among those who ate varying amounts of dietary pulses.
At the end of his review, Sievenpiper wasn’t surprised to find out that increasing the intake of certain pulses, such as beans and lentils, resulting in improved satiety. Furthermore, he found that eating just 160 grams of dietary pulses resulted in the most optimal increase of satiety levels–by up to 31 percent.
“90 percent of weight loss interventions fail, resulting in weight regain, which may be due in part to hunger and food cravings,” says Sievenpiper. “Another bonus from eating pulses is that they are Canadian crops. That means eating local, being more sustainable and receiving many health benefits.”
On the downside, his research also showed that eating pulses did not affect how much people ate in meals following the meal containing pulses, so the effects aren’t long lasting.
Still, an increase in satiety of over 30 percent means you’ll probably eat fewer calories during your first meal, making it easier to lose weight.
“Knowing which foods make people feel fuller longer may help them lose weight and keep it off,” says Sievenpiper.
What You Should Do
If you’re having trouble staying full on your diet, adding just 160 grams of a dietary pulse, such as lentils, chickpeas, or beans, could help increase your satiety levels by over 30 percent. However, it won’t make you eat fewer calories throughout the day, so be mindful about your other eating choices as well. Increasing your intake of foods containing fiber, for example, has also been shown to improve satiety levels.
Readers: How often do you eat beans, lentils, chickpeas, or peas in your daily diet?
Sources:
Study: Adding 160 Grams of Dietary Pulses To Your Diet Increases Satiety By 31 Percent – Wiley.com
Beans, Lentils, Chickpeas, and Peas Increase Satiety By Nearly 1/3 For Those On a Diet – ScienceDaily.com
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