Here's the interesting conclusion of the study.
The research conducted by the P. S. University got a phenomenal result. 46 women (aged 20 - 45), not following any kind of diet, were invited to have five meals at the University canteen at lunch time.
They were served with a meal of salad and tortellini with tomato sauce. Salad was served:
- 20 minutes before lunch started
- or during the meal.
On the last day of research, on the other hand, the 46 women ate only tortellini.
The result was surprising. When the volunteers didn't have salad, the calorie intake of the lunch increased.
Keep it low-fat. The study looked at six salads varying in size, calories and fat. The lowest-fat salads -- those with 14 percent of calories from fat -- worked best at reducing overall food consumption.
Size matters. In the study, larger salads were better than smaller ones at shaving calories from the meal. Eating three cups of low-fat salads resulted in a 12 percent overall reduction in lunch calories compared with 7 percent fewer calories for those who ate 11/2 cups of salad. Best (and most surprising) news: Participants felt equally full on 3 cups of salad, whether it contained 100 or 400 calories.
Watch the tipping point. The study found that a salad of about 100 calories had the most effect at reducing overall calories for the meal. As calories crept to 200, with moderate fat, there was either no change in total meal calorie consumption or a slight increase in calories. High-fat salads of 200 calories or more actually resulted in higher total calories at lunch, up to 145 more. That's another reason, Rolls says, to load up on the low-cal veggies -- and not the cheese and (high-fat) dressing.
Pile on the greens. They're filled with flavor, water, fiber and plenty of phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins and have about five calories per cup. Plus, 3 cups of greens provide three of the five to nine servings per day of fruit and vegetables recommended by the National Cancer Institute. In the study, salads were made of romaine and iceberg lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, celery and cucumbers (as well as small amounts of cheese and dressing). But any combination of greens and other water-filled vegetables will likely do. "The bigger the vegetable volume, the bigger the impact of this first course," Rolls says.
Ask for the dressing on the side. That puts portion control in your court, not the restaurant's. Study participants got one to three tablespoons of dressing on their salads -- far less than most restaurants slather on -- yet they still reported feeling full afterward. "The fullness wasn't affected by the calories, only by the portion," Rolls says.
Try the low-fat dressing and cheese. While taste has driven a lot of consumers away from low-calorie or low-fat dressings, the Penn State study found that participants had trouble detecting the reduced-fat dressings. "The low-fat products have just gotten much better in taste," Rolls says.
We don't want to bring back the calories we are trying to cut away!
Avoid the croutons. That's because they tend to be high in calories. And they're missing the water found in the greens and other vegetables, so they're less likely to fill you up.
One more reason to enjoy a dish of healthy, delicious and slimming salad!
Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15389416
