High protein diets have been the rage over the past few years, with different models of healthy eating or diets aimed at losing weight taking up all the spotlight, most notable through Atkins and the more recent Paleo Diet - and now, a new study points to the idea that protein snacks could actually greatly help the body.
As the obesity epidemic grows, there have been a number of nutritional studies over the past few years greatly focusing on things like anxiety eating or what's exactly the right diet to stay healthy and lose weight, and now the new study on protein snacks sheds some more light on one of the aspects of healthy eating.
According to Science Daily, the study regarding protein snacks was created by researchers from the University of Missouri along with Columbia, and it was published recently on the Journal of Nutrition under the title "Consuming High-Protein Soy Snacks Affects Appetite Control, Satiety, and Diet Quality in Young People and Influences Select Aspects of Mood and Cognition."
Medical Daily reports that, for the research, scientists studied 31 healthy 31 year-olds for about a year and randomly rotated three different afternoon snacking routines; for three days, they'd eat protein snacks (soy ones), then changing to three days of high fat and ultimately no snacks at all.
The teenagers participating in the protein snacks study were healthy and either on normal weight or slightly overweight; also, so the subjects weren't too sure what they were consuming, both snacks were given to them in the form of chocolate-peanut-caramel-flavored pudding.
CTV News reports that, in either case, the consumption of any snack at all during the afternoon was better at curbing the subjects' appetites, but the protein snacks were considerably more effective in this and even led the teenagers to choose less fatty foods and protein-rich ones at mealtime.
"As long as the snack contains about 25 grams of high quality protein like dairy or soy, similar effects should occur," said Heather Leidy, one of the researchers behind the protein snacks study. "As long as the snack contains about 25 grams of high quality protein like dairy or soy, similar effects should occur."
