Eating a full English for breakfast can help you lose weight, a new study suggests.
Research shows that a meal high in protein instead of carbohydrate or fibre for breakfast can fight off hunger and avoid the urge to over-eat later in the day.
A hearty sitting of foods like sausage, egg or bacon instead of low-fat cereals or fruit for the first meal of the day helps to curb hunger throughout the morning and cut the number of calories eaten at lunch time, experts claim.
A hearty sitting of foods like sausage, egg or bacon for the first meal of the day helps to curb hunger throughout the morning and cut the number of calories eaten at lunch time
An experiment at the University of Missouri on a group of 18 to 55-year-old women showed that a high-protein breakfast kept them fuller longer than a meal with less protein but the same amount of fat and fibre.
The team, led by research scientist Dr Kevin Maki, found eating between around 35 grams of protein for breakfast - the equivalent to a four-egg omelette or two sausages and a rasher of bacon - helped regulate appetite.
He said: 'Eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and may help women to avoid overeating later in the day.'
In the experiment the participants all ate a 300 calorie meal with equal amounts of fat and fibre, although one group had between 30 and 39g of protein in their bowls and a third group were given just a glass of water.
Breakfasts that are mainly carbohydrate or fibre are less filling and satisfying, the research found
Dr Heather Leidy, an assistant professor specialising in appetite regulation, explained: "In the USA, many people choose to skip breakfast or choose low protein foods because of lack of high protein convenient choices.
The team tracked the test subjects' hunger throughout the morning, using appetite questionnaires every half an hour to gauge levels of hunger, fullness, and desire to eat before before breakfast and up until lunch.
The group who ate a high-protein meal had improved appetite rating scores and ate less of the lunchtime meal of tortellini and sauce than the other groups.
Dr Leidy said: "These results demonstrate that commercially prepared convenient protein-rich meals can help women feel full until lunch time and potentially avoid overeating and improve diet quality."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2507979/Eating-English-breakfast-CAN-help-lose-weight-Protein--cereal-fruit--best-preventing-hunger-pangs.html#ixzz2l11DUFOl
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